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Human Rights Fellowship Program
From 2004 to 2007, the program brought
19 activists from Angola, Mozambique
and East Timor to Brazil. The majority
of these activists work in their countries
of origin with the protection of an
ample array of rights: women’s
rights, rights of children and adolescents,
rights of homosexuals, rights of people
deprived of their liberty, right to
physical integrity against police abuse,
right to health, among others. They
participate, coordinate and, sometimes,
create both local and international
programs.
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year
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name
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country
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2004
|
José
Patrocínio |
Angola
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| Andre
Dambi |
Angola
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| Manuel
da Costa |
Angola
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| Unaity
Costa |
Mozambique
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2005
|
Joaquim
Dimbana |
Mozambique
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| Custódio
Duma |
Mozambique
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| Berta
Chilundo |
Mozambique
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| Sheila
Mandlhate |
Mozambique
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| Marta
Uetela |
Mozambique
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2006
|
Ermelinda
Lucrecia Muachiteca |
Angola
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| Emilio
José Manuel |
Angola
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| Manuel
João da Cunha Sousa |
Angola
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| Arminda
Joana Zandamela |
Mozambique
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| Iveth
Saloque |
Mozambique
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| Josué
Julião Bila |
Mozambique
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| Pedro
Camões |
East
Timor
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2007
|
Cecília
Augusto |
Angola
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| Maíra
Solange |
Mozambique
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| Eduardo
Madope |
Mozambique
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Below, some comments from these activists:
"After the fellowship program in Brazil, I worked at a project in Mozambique in which female leaders are capacitated on sexual and reproductive rights. The main objective of this project is to empower NGOs which work with sexual and reproductive rights through the incorporation of a human rights perspective. So far, our achievements have been the publishing of a manual to be used in the training of female leaders and a research on NGOs that work with sexual and reproductive Rights. In September this year (2007), a conference will be held in order to raise awareness on this theme.
After the period I spent in Brazil, I have also become the coordinator of a project called 'Promoting Initiatives to save Women´s lives', which deals with the issue of unsafe abortions. It focuses on promoting legal refor and on improving the government’s legal structure to be able to expand the government’s services in relation to women’s health" - 10/08/07
|
Arminda Zandamela,
from Mozambique |
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"My field of work is the protection of human rights using the media as one of its main instrument. After returning to Mozambique, I gathered with other colleagues and founded the Association of Journalism for Human Rights and Political Affairs (called in Portuguese Pro-Direitos).
I have also dedicated myself to constantly upgrade our website: www.dhnet.org.br/redes/mocambique/index.htm, where human rights information and news are published to raise awareness. This website takes part of a larger project called ‘Human Rights and Communication.’ I am also a volunteer providing technical services for the Association for Community Development and the Protection of the Environment (from the Portuguese APDCOMA), which has very recently launched the project: “Assistance for Citizen’s Access to Justice” which is also co-sponsored by UNDP. This projects is being implemented in the province of Inhambane, south of Mozambique with the HQ of the project in Maputo (capital city)" - 20/07/07
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"My project
in Angola is going very well indeed.
I have been working very closely
with politicians and especially
with the youth. I also have
a very close relationship with
the ministry of Justice here in
my province. During the month
of April, which is also a month
dedicated to the youth here in
Angola, I have developed a project
which trains young people about
politics and increases their political
awareness. I trained 20 adolescentes, and they were very satisfied
with the training. I have also
decided to continue working with
these young people by debating
human rights topic thus introducing
them to the theme and opening
the way to future actions.
I have also organized a Conference
with the workers of the INAC association
on the protection and rights of
the Child. In June I worked with
very poor children who live in
an orphanage, providing them with
care and raising donations for
them. That resumed my beliefs
and my actions: being able to
transmit my knowledge to the ones
who most need them" - 07/08/07
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"Since the restructuring of the country and its joining to the United Nations in 2002, East Timor has signed and ratified various international instruments of Human Rights. When I came back to my country in 2006, it was very difficult to initiate activities related to human rights due to the fragile security situation in the country. Up to this day, the security situation has not calmed down. Since the month of March 2006, ethnic groups have been persecuted by the military. This has resulted in thousands loosing their homes and becoming refugees.
As soon as I have arrived from Brazil, I wrote a letter to Ramos Horta, who is the current president of the RDTL (majority party in the country) to be able to initiate activities related to human rights education and awareness. Through this communication with the president, we have managed to create projects to train military personnel on human rights matters.
I have also created a network through contacts with other NGOs. The first official activity of my project was undertaken in the Manatuto district where we have developed a workshop on human rights. This workshop may also be considered an important meeting point for various human rights actors as it had the participation of various other organizations and five community leaders of the region. I was one of the speakers in this workshop where I was able to lecture on the theme of human rights and its relation to the new East Timorese Civil Code. It was very important and interesting to be able to discuss these hot Timorese themes such as corruption, racism and human rights" - 07/08/0
In September 2007, Pedro Camões was elected president of the Association of the Judges of East Timor (AATL – Associação dos Advogados de Timor-Leste) for a two year period, 2007-2009
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