Directorio at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy

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Directorio at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy
By Directorio Democrático Cubano

From left to right, human rights activists Ellen Bork, Jose Gabriel Ramon Castillo, Gonzalo Himiob Santome, and Nazanin Afshin Jam at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy.

Geneva. April 19, 2009. Cuban Demcoratic Directorate. The Cuban Democratic Directorate co-sponsored and attended the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy (http://www.genevasummit.org/) where Cuban opposition activist and former political prisoner José Gabriel “Pepín” Ramón Castillo set the record straight on the Castro regime’s record of human rights violations.

John Suárez, Directorio’s Director of International Relations, represented the organization at the Summit, held one day before the international community gathered in Geneva to address racism, intolerance and persecution in the High-Level Segment of the UN Durban Review Conference (DRC). A coalition of human rights, anti-racism and pro-democracy activists from Cuba, Iran, Burma, Zimbabwe and many other countries assembled to place the most pressing situations on the world agenda.

The civil society conference was hosted at the Centre International de Conférences Genève, adjacent to the Palais des Nations UN compound. Organized by an international coalition of human rights NGOs the parallel event to the DRC was held in support of its aims of promoting universal human rights through the eradication of discrimination, intolerance and persecution.

Below is the full text of the Summit’s Final Declaration:

The following was declared at the conclusion of the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy, by leading human rights activists from around the world: Saad Eddin Ibrahim of Egypt; Jose Castillo of Cuba; Gibreil Hamid of Darfur, Sudan; Soe Aung of Burma; Marlon Zakeyo of Zimbabwe; and Gonzalo Himiob Santome of Venezuela. UN Watch, SOS Racisme, Freedom House and 30 human rights groups from around the world organized the event on the eve of the Durban Review Conference, to urge the UN to address compelling issues of discrimination and human rights.

DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS VICTIMS

FROM GENEVA SUMMIT FOR HUMAN RIGHT, TOLERANCE AND DEMOCRACY

Declaration of “Eternal Vigilance”

19 April 2009, Geneva

Having assembled at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy, and on the proposal by the Venezuelan NGOs represented at the, it was decided to create a forum and platform for “Eternal Vigilance” that is integrated by all NGOs, human rights defenders, human rights protection institutions, former and present victims of discrimination on the basis of opinion, political persecution, prisoners and prisoners of conscience, to fulfill the objectives listed below.

This proposal was supported by the representatives of Zimbabwe, China, Cuba, Iran, Burma, Belarus, Sudan (Darfur), Venezuela and Egypt, taking into account that in those countries the governments do not respect human rights; have proved to be intolerant in several ways against dissidents; and in fact have arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned activists that work towards freedom and democracy.

We call on these governments to release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience as defined by Amnesty International, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, and regional human rights organizations, and commit to work to resolve the critical human rights situations in their respective countries.

We call on the democratic governments to develop a systematic effort to improve human rights in countries where there is a critical human rights situation.

We hereby launch the campaign “Freedom for All.” This campaign consists in raising awareness in consciousness of the plight of all political prisoners in the world currently serving unjust prison sentences for defending human rights in some manner. We establish a map of liberation, which demonstrates which countries have and do not have political prisoners.

We invite all who wish to join to make this their struggle and cause for freedom. We ask for support for all those struggling for human rights and freedom around the world. We call on political, religious and student leaders, intellectuals, artists, and everyone, to struggle for the life and liberty of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.

We call on members of the UN General Assembly to take into account and question candidates for membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council and vote against candidates that are systematic human rights violators, to avoid having the council undermined.

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