In one of her first engagements as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet said the world is losing touch with human rights.
Ms Bachelet said on Thursday women and women rights defenders are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations and stressed the need to do more to counter the problem.
“We are witnessing widespread efforts to silence and delegitimise specifically targeted at women human rights defenders,” she said speaking at an event hosted by the International Peace Institute.
The former Chilean president, who was tortured by her country's military in 1975, said that while technology has enabled women to embolden their cause it also runs the risk of being used against them.
“Online campaigns against women human rights defenders aim to damage their credibility as advocates, diminish the power of their voices, and restrict the space where women can mobilise and make a difference,” she said.
Without naming countries, Ms Bachelet said some authorities are attempting to undermine women rights defenders and weaken their voices. Despite this, she added, there is still an active civil society making progress on these matters.
“Heroic men and women have stepped forward to claim the rights for their fellow human beings, and many have succeeded,” she said. Activists can be a “powerful antidote to extremism”.
Ms Bachelet stressed the need to create a safe environment for activists and journalists to pursue their work and this way counter the decay of human rights.
“We need to safeguard the rights of people around the world, not just in our societies, people who are struggling to shape a world of great equality and great dignity,” she said.
She said that citizens need to remind officials that criticism of their governments is not terrorism, but an attempt to better the world.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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