Defend International
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Defend International (commonly known as DI) is a
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
focused on promoting and protecting human rights in the Middle East and North Africa region. Defend International was founded in 2007. The co-founder of the organisation, Dr. Widad Akreyi, was awarded the
International Pfeffer Peace Award The International Pfeffer Peace Award or Pfeffer Peace Award is one of the three peace awards presented by the United States Fellowship of Reconciliation (United States) (FOR), along with the Martin Luther King Jr. Award and the Nyack Area Peace Aw ...
and the 2017
Pacem in Terris Award The ''Pacem in Terris'' Peace and Freedom Award is a Catholic peace award which has been given annually since 1964, in commemoration of the 1963 encyclical letter '' Pacem in terris'' (Peace on Earth) of Pope John XXIII. It is awarded "to honor a ...
for her "commitment to human rights for all."


Structure

Defend International is made up of voluntary members and representatives. The organisation states that since its establishment, it has collaborated with many civic and humanitarian organisations as well as agencies of various nations. The structure is based on national, sub-regional and regional networks of individuals and civil society organisations.


Partnership

Defend International is a partner of the
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves The Clean Cooking Alliance, formerly the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, is a non-profit organization operating with the support of the United Nations Foundation to promote clean cooking technologies in lower and middle-income countries. ...
, an initiative led by the
United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, ...
and a member of the
Peace One Day Peace One Day is a non-profit organisation whose objective is to institutionalise the International Day of Peace. It was founded in 1999 by British documentary filmmaker and actor Jeremy Gilley. History In 1999 Jeremy Gilley desired there be ...
NGO Coalition and Peace Now.


Work

Defend International states that it was formed to target governments, parliaments, international institutions and non-governmental groups or organizations. DI reports that it has been active in: * Defending the rights of minorities (e.g., Christians outside of western countries and
Yazidis Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The ma ...
) and ending modern-day slavery * Ending
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
* Stopping
Torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...
* Protecting the rights of Prisoners of Conscience and Civil Society Activists * Defending
Children's Rights Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.
* Defending
Women's Rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
* Defending the rights of
human rights defender A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing camp ...
s * Defending the rights of Refugees * Reviewing healthcare policies and human rights legislation * Safeguarding the
Environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
*Promoting
Disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as ...
and International Security


Humanitarian Campaigns and Charitable Activities


Defending Women and Girls

The organisation expresses that it has identified strategies to address violence against women and child marriages It has called for an end to female genital mutilation, the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls, and called on UN negotiators of the Arms Trade Treaty to include a legally-binding provision to prevent armed gender-based violence. According to Everywoman Everywhere Coalition, Defend International has endorsed an international treaty on violence against women and girls worldwide and is a member of Everywoman Everywhere Coalition.


Defending Yazidis, Christians and Kobanî

Through partnerships with artists like Edison band, Claude Arfaras, Jane Adams and Daniel Dalopo, Defend International launched a worldwide campaign in September 2014 to raise awareness about the Yazidis, Kobanî and the Christians. Speaking of women and girls kidnapped by ISIS, co-founder of Defend International said that ISIL uses slavery and rape as weapons of war against Yazidis and Christians. She asked the international community to intensify the efforts aimed at rescuing women and girls enslaved by ISIL. Asked about Kobanî, Widad said that "a massacre can be avoided, if there is a well-organized and well-defined plan on how to deal with IS – a plan that sets out the strategic and tactical activities to be undertaken at the international, regional and local levels", adding that journalists, humanitarian- and human rights organizations are not allowed to pass through Turkish checkpoints near the border.


Charity

In October 2014, co-founder of Defend International was awarded the International Pfeffer Peace Award, which she dedicated to all victims of persecution, particularly the Yazidis, Christians and all residents of Kobane.


External links


Defend International official site


References

{{International human rights organizations International human rights organizations Imprisonment and detention Prison-related organizations 2007 establishments in Norway