Working on how to improve humanity
Today FIDH, a worldwide movement for human rights, starts a major conference in Joburg. Janet Smith spoke to the federation’s president, Karim Lahidji, about the people who protect whistleblowers and the innocent
FIDH is a truly exceptional organisation in a world dominated by capital, which is often so distanced from the arenas in which your federation operates. What’s its focus? How did the 178 organisations from 120 countries which the federation includes, come together?
FIDH is an international human rights NGO which operates in the whole world since 1922. It is the first international human rights NGO. Our headquarters are in France and we have offices in many other countries on all continents, such as Thailand, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Belgium, US and so on.
Our objective is to promote the respect of human rights everywhere. We document violations, we denounce them, we advocate, we sue the perpetrators.
Our 178 member organisations, all of which work at national level, are the essence of our movement, they are the raison d’être of FIDH. It is thanks to them, for them and with them that we move forward, always together.
How has the federation remained true to its founding principles involving two world wars, a number of other wars, many perpetrated by the West, genocide, unlimited attacks on women and children, xenophobia and a massive, unprecedented refugee crises?
Our founding principle is quite simple: human rights are universal and every single person in this world must enjoy these rights. And I do mean here all human rights: civil, political, economic, social and cultural. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is our guide.
Remaining true to these principles has never been a problem. On the contrary, the tragic events the world went and is going through just reinforce the necessity to apply these principles.
The issue is more about how to ensure respect for these principles. Here are the difficulties and it’s precisely when the situation is extremely bad that we must be strong and not lose faith in our actions.
Even if sometimes you feel you are caught in vicious circles, you must never doubt that your actions will have positive consequences over time. Sometimes your actions have direct and evident results, sometimes you have to be patient.
You have been the president for three years. What kind of job is it, also on the emotions, on the soul? How tough is it to be in the vanguard of a movement like this?
The president must put in force the orientations decided at the triennial international congresses and the policies resulting from them as determined by the international board. The responsibilities – both political ones and also the ones required by the mandate given by the congress – are heavy.
The very tragic news and events that occur every day worldwide and the pressures on human rights defenders deeply impact my emotions and soul, but those responsibilities drive us forward.
Your personal history is studded with human rights interventions. You started that kind of work back in high school. What propelled you into this kind of thinking as a teenager?
You also established the Iranian Association of Jurists and the Iranian Association for Liberty and Human Rights to promote the Universal Declaration.
But you’ve suffered for your conscience and your work, having been exiled to France after condemning the executions and other violations of human rights following the revolution in 1979.
Please tell us about how that evinced an even greater consciousness on your part?
Yes, it all started in high school, when the 1953 coup d’état was staged against the democratic government of Mohammad Mosaddegh (the democratically elected prime minister of Iran from 1951 until 1953, when his government was overthrown in a coup d’état aided by the US).
When I saw his picture at his trial by a martial court, where he was sitting between two military officers as lawyers, I decided to become a lawyer.
During my studies at Tehran University, I worked for the rule of law and democracy. I went to prison several times.
But, 25 years later, when civilian lawyers were allowed to defend political defendants before military courts, I was the first lawyer in Iran who defended scores of such political defendants prior to the 1979 revolution.
After the revolution, I protested repeatedly against the proceedings in the Islamic Revolution Courts as well as the implementation of the death penalty and the extra-judicial executions.
When a former political prisoner who had been in prison before the revolution was arrested and put on trial by the Islamic regime, I was again the first lawyer to defend him before the Islamic Revolution Court.
Unfortunately, the Islamic regime did not tolerate my efforts and protests more than two years.
They shut down the Human Rights Association and the pressures and threats against me increased daily.
They stormed my house to arrest me and I had to go into hiding.
After nine months of hiding, I had to leave Iran secretly to save my life. I continued the struggle for human rights in France after establishing – together with a group of my compatriots – the “League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran”, which became a member of FIDH in 1986. You’ve also been a recipient of the prestigious Human Rights Watch award for outstanding monitors of human rights. These are massive responsibilities to humankind. What does it mean to be an activist for so long? A human rights activist’s goal is to improve the situation of the world. We have to continue the struggle despite all the dangers. One of our activities is to familiarise people with their rights, because as long as they are not familiar with their rights, they will not feel the necessity to fight for their rights.
Why have you brought the congress to Joburg? And what do you think about South Africa’s human rights record, as well as our growing activism against government corruption, rape, inadequate housing and security, and so on?
Inequalities, frustrations, discriminations, when they reach a certain point, always result in awakening the people. And if the people are united, then change is possible.
The civil society in South Africa is in this dynamic. Voices join to say: “No more corruption, no more forced evictions, no more Marikana!”
People, especially the youth, and this is important, seem to be determined to fight for the respect of their rights. I can only encourage this.
One of the reasons that brought us here to South Africa was precisely to pay tribute to the South African civil society, for what they did in the past, under apartheid, but also for what they are doing now.
Our member organisation in South Africa, Lawyers for Human Rights, is the illustration of the fights that need to be led today in the country: gender violence, racism, social and economic inequalities, trampling of refugees’ rights, land reforms and so on.
We also came to South Africa because the country is playing a growing role at the continental and international levels. It is important to meet with these new actors to advocate for a better policy regarding human rights, whether at the national or international levels.
The fact that Omar al-Bashir was not arrested by the South African authorities, despite a South African court order to detain him, when he recently was in the country, shows us that a lot remains to be done in this country when it comes to human rights and justice.
The forum this year is titled “Fighting back for human rights”. You’re focusing very much on the role of civil society as the cornerstone of human development.
The theme of the forum was decided upon, after the following assessment: through their work and efforts, civil societies have contributed to increasing the respect for human rights throughout the world, but for the past few years, they have been attacked on all fronts: stigmatisation, judicial harassment, threats, assaults and assassinations.
The purpose of the forum will be to provide an opportunity for civil society representatives from around the world to meet and discuss how they cope with these attacks.
It is important to share, explain and spread the different ways civil societies answer these attacks – suing directly the alleged perpetrators of human rights violations, advocate for change, educate and so on.
Each situation is different and we can learn from all of them.
We have lawyers all around the world who have been doing an amazing job. Currently, FIDH is supporting almost 1 000 victims in more than 110 judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings.
On the African continent, for instance, we are currently litigating in Guinea, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Central Africa Republic, and DRC.
In Mali, for example, we have filed a complaint on behalf of 80 victims of rape and sexual violence during the occupation of the northern part of the country between 2012 and 2013.
In Côte d’Ivoire, we are currently involved in several judicial proceedings targeting perpetrators of the post-electoral violence of 2011 and we represent 250 victims of both sides.
In France, we have been suing two companies, Qosmos and Amesys, who sold military surveillance systems to respectively Syrian and Libyan authorities; systems which allowed these countries to track, arrest and torture human rights defenders.
In Belgium, Spain, France, Canada, the UK and the US, we sued their respective armies for failing to assist persons in danger in the case of a boat filled with refugees.
These refugees had attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea, drifted many days, called for rescue on the radio, without receiving any help from the military boats of all these countries which were deployed in the area when it happened. Sixty-three people died.
These people, whom we work with, are on the front line. Without them, FIDH could not exist and we would all be in danger. So it is our responsibility to do everything we can to protect them: pressuring the national authorities, alerting key international bodies, mandating lawyers to defend them, helping to find safe places for them and/or their families.
Recently we launched a campaign website, titled #ForFreedom, which features 18 human rights defenders from nine countries unjustly imprisoned because of their activities.
Despite increasing repression, rights groups show amazing resistance and resilient capacity to fight back. This is what FIDH is all about.
The conference starts at Constitution Hill this morning, followed by a march of activists to the Parktonian Hotel where the forum will meet for two days
We have to continue the struggle despite all the dangers