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img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/MENA/western-sahara-A-Haider-100.jpg alt= title= /br/Amnesty International has welcomed the news that Aminatou Haidar, a Sahrawi human rights activist who has spent the past month on hunger strike in Lanzarote airport, has returned home and been reunited with her children.br /
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Aminatou Haidar said that she was allowed to fly back to Western Sahara on a private plane after being informed by a Spanish official that an agreement was reached between the Moroccan and Spanish authorities. Her passport was returned to her on arrival by the Moroccan authorities.br /
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She told Amnesty International on Friday that her return was ldquo;a victory for human rights and justicerdquo;. br /
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Aminatou Haidar has been on hunger strike since 15 November after she was expelled from Western Sahara by the Moroccan authorities. She was admitted to hospital on Thursday morning as her health deteriorated.br /
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ldquo;We are delighted that Aminatou Haidar has finally been allowed home and obtained back her passport,rdquo; said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty Internationalrsquo;s Middle East and North Africa Programme. br /
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ldquo;There must, however, be no conditions imposed on her as a result. She, and other Sahrawi human rights defenders, should be able to enjoy their right to freedom of expression without fear of retribution.rdquo; br /
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A plane carrying Aminatou Haidar, her sister and her doctor landed in Laayoune at about midnight on Thursday. There was reportedly a heavy security presence in the city, particularly around Aminatou Haidarrsquo;s family home.br /
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According to Moroccorsquo;s official news agency, the activist was allowed to return following requests by ldquo;friendrdquo; countries to find a humanitarian solution. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Moroccorsquo;s decision to allow Aminatou Haidar to return ldquo;on humanitarian groundsrdquo;.nbsp; Amnesty International has called for her unconditional return since she was stranded in Lanzarote airport.br /
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Aminatou Haidar was detained at Laayoune airport in Western Sahara on 13 November when she returned from a month-long visit to other countries, including the USA, where she received the 2009 Civil Courage Prize, awarded annually ldquo;for steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk.rdquo;br /
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She was questioned about why she had given her home as Western Sahara rather than ldquo;Moroccan Saharardquo; on her landing card; she was also asked about her travel, as well as her political opinions and affiliations.br /
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Her Moroccan passport was then confiscated and she was detained in the airport overnight.br /
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She says that on 14 November Moroccan officials offered to release her if she would publicly acknowledge Moroccorsquo;s ldquo;sovereigntyrdquo; over Western Sahara. She refused to do so, and a few hours later she was put on a flight to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.br /
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Amnesty International wrote to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 11 December, urging him to continue his efforts to obtain Aminatou Haidarrsquo;s return to Western Sahara, unconditionally and without delay, and to ensure that her documents were returned to her. br /
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Amnesty International also reiterated its call for the inclusion of a human rights monitoring component in the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, in place since 1991 to monitor a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front, and to organize and conduct a referendum on the status of the territory.br /
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The incorporation of a human rights component in the UN Missionrsquo;s mandate, up for renewal in April 2010, would be an important step forward towards addressing human rights violations in Western Sahara.br /
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Western Sahara is the subject of a territorial dispute between Morocco, which claims sovereignty, and the Polisario Front, which calls for an independent state in the territory and has set up a self-proclaimed government-in-exile in refugee camps in south-western Algeria.br /

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/MENA/western-sahara-A-Haider-100.jpg alt= title= /br/A Sahrawi human rights activist, on hunger strike in Lanzarote airport since she was expelled from Western Sahara by the Moroccan authorities, was admitted to hospital on Thursday morning as her health had deteriorated.br /
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Aminatou Haidar, who is currently in intensive care, refuses to be fed through a tube and is determined to continue her hunger strike.br /
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She started her hunger strike on 15 November in protest at her expulsion and to demand that she be allowed to return home. She was taken to Lanzarote General Hospital at about 1am.br /
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Amnesty International said it was quot;deeply regrettablequot; that the Moroccan authorities have not yet allowed Aminatou Haidar to return to her home and her children in Laayoune.br /
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The activist was detained at Laayoune airport, Western Sahara on 13 November when she returned from a month-long visit to other countries, including the USA where she accepted the 2009 Civil Courage Prize, awarded annually quot;for steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk.quot;br /
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She was questioned about why she had given her home as Western Sahara rather than quot;Moroccan Saharaquot; on her landing card; she was also asked about her travel, as well as her political opinions and affiliations.br /
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Her Moroccan passport and identity card were then confiscated and she was detained in the airport overnight.br /
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She says that on 14 November Moroccan officials offered to release her if she would publicly acknowledge Moroccorsquo;s ldquo;sovereigntyrdquo; over Western Sahara. She refused to do so, and a few hours later she was put on a flight to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.br /
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Amnesty International wrote to Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations on 11 December, urging him to continue his efforts to obtain Aminatou Haidarrsquo;s return to Western Sahara, unconditionally and without delay, and that her identity card and passport are restored.br /
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On 7 and 10 December, he had expressed concern about the condition of Aminatou Haidar, and acknowledged the need for an urgent resolution of her case.br /
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The Moroccan authorities have so far refused to comply with their international obligations, and insist that Aminatou Haidar quot;renouncedquot; her Moroccan nationality.br /
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quot;Aminatou Haidar’s expulsion appears to reflect a growing intolerance on the part of the Moroccan authorities to the exercise by Sahrawis of their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly,quot; said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme of Amnesty International.br /
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In recent months, Amnesty International has noted an increase of reports of harassment of Sahrawi human rights defenders and activists including violations of their freedom of movement, verbal intimidation and threats, increased surveillance, the prevention of activists meeting with foreign observers, and the confiscation of travel documents. br /
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Amnesty International’s letter to Ban Ki-moon highlighted the specific responsibility of the UN towards Western Sahara, which is a non self-governing territory under the UN Charter.br /
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The organization called for a legal opinion by the UN on the legal status of the inhabitants of Western Sahara, particularly of those, like Aminatou Haidar, in a situation of statelessness or legal limbo as a result of actions of the Moroccan authorities, and to put such advice in the public domain.br /
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It also reiterated Amnesty Internationalrsquo;s calls for the inclusion of a human rights monitoring component in the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, in place since 1991 to monitor a cease-fire between Morocco and the Polisario Front, and to organize and conduct a referendum on the status of the territory.br /
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quot;The incorporation of a human rights component in the UN Missionrsquo;s mandate, up for renewal in April 2010, would be an important step forward to addressing human rights violations in Western Sahara,quot; said Malcolm Smart.

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/AFR/zimbabwe-gertrude-hambira-1.jpg alt= title= /br/p
Women often bear the brunt of poverty and human rights abuses; but as activists they use these roles to trigger positive social change. To mark World Human Rights Day, Amnesty International spoke to three women who put their lives on the line in defence of human rights.br /
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Women are affected by poverty, violence and human rights violations more than men because of the discrimination they face the world over. Over 70 per cent of the worldrsquo;s poor are women. Women earn only 10 per cent of the worldrsquo;s income but do two thirds of the worldrsquo;s work.br /
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Three quarters of the worldrsquo;s illiterate are women. Women produce up to 80 per cent of the food in developing countries but own only one per cent of the land.br /
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In spite of these overwhelming odds, women are often the most active agents of positive social change in their communities, working tirelessly to improve their lives and the situation of their families. Women are responsible for some of the most effective grassroots-based human rights work all over the globe.br /
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strongGertrude Hambira, General Secretary of the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ)/strongbr /
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quot;I have been threatened and told to leave this job on several occasionshellip; my children tell me, lsquo;mummy, your work is very dangerous.rsquo;br /
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quot;When the [farm] invasions are taking place the workers call us and we go to observe. You need courage to see those people when they are singing, when they are dancing, when they are holding those machetes, axes and all that. But in order to say that theyrsquo;re violently evicting the farmers themselves, you need to be part and parcel of it.br /
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quot;Women play a big role in defending human and workers rights in their constituencies by using the non-violent approach. We [(GAPWUZ]) have done a lot of campaigns, we have done a lot of education and raising awareness so that women can speak for themselves on issues that affect them on a day to day basis.br /
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quot;If theyrsquo;re employed we encourage them [(women]) to take a leadership role like being a shop steward or being elected to trade union committees where they can also voice the issues that are affecting them on the ground.br /
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quot;Men sometimes easily give up! hellip;They say lsquo;mother, we need to revenge’ and I tell them to cool down. They want to retaliate easily rather than approach issues with a different angle. Irsquo;ve been brought up and trained on non-violent approaches and that has worked very well in my organization. We are in a set up whereby if we had retaliated I think a lot of blood would have been shed.br /
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quot;I do worry about the safety of my family and my own safety too. Irsquo;m a mother of five. They say, lsquo;mum, why donrsquo;t you leave the Zimbabwe?’ and I say, no, not all of us can leave because who will continue the struggle?quot;br /
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Zebo Sharifova, head of the League of Womenrsquo;s Lawyers, Tajikistan/strongbr /
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quot;Those women who donrsquo;t know their rights turn to centres including League of Women’s Lawyers and ask them to defend their rights in courts.br /
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quot;Before women did not know where to go if they wanted to find out about their rights. Todayhellip;they are more aware of their rights.br /
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quot;A lot of women who cannot find a way out of the situation [domestic violence] commit suicide. In our centre we have a psychologist who these women can talk to.br /
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quot;According to the statistics there are about 20 registered crisis centres [for women] in Tajikistan. But these crisis centres only work when foreign organisations provide funding for them.nbsp; As soon as funding stops, their work also stops. The state does not have the funds to finance shelters [for women] and our organization has to accept these women. But eventually they are forced to return to their families where they are subjected to domestic violence.br /
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quot;[We have] initiated and developed a draft law on Protection from Domestic Violence. We have lobbied throughout the whole of the Republic, gathered a lot of signatures in support of this draft law.br /
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quot;If we helped at least one woman who comes and tells [us], lsquo;Thank you! You have helped me. I live at my home now and I get the alimoniesrsquo;, then we have won the process.br /
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quot;We see how her eyes sparkle and it is worth working for such a moment.quot;strongbr /
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Aminatou Haider, Western Saharan human rights defender who has been on hunger strike since 15 November to protest her expulsion from Laayoune in Western Sahara by the Moroccan authorities. She is currently stranded in Lanzarote airport in Spainrsquo;s Canary Islands./strongbr /
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quot;When I was 20 years old, I went through kidnapping and enforced disappearance. I spent about four years, having my eyes covered and without any trialhellip;I went through different physical and psychological torture. After that, I was released and then I was subjected to continuous surveillance.br /
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quot;In June 2005, I was tortured on the street; it caused me serious injury requiring (14 stitches and I had three broken ribshellip; I was again arrested based on a fake police report. I was tried and sentenced to seven months imprisonment that I spent in a prison called lsquo;Lakhal,rsquo; prison in Laayoune.br /
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quot;As women and mothers in Western Sahara, we are aware that we have a very difficult and important role; it is [to] educate our children to stick to the Sahrawi identity, Sahrawi culture and Sahrawi traditions. It is not an easy task and it is not a new issue. The Occupation is always trying to absorb the Sahrawi culture.br /
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quot;It is very difficult for a Sahrawi woman, as a mentor to instil these values and at the same time be an activist outside of her homehellip; It is hectic for a woman activist who works in the human rights fieldhellip; The children are always very scared to loose their mother.br /
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quot;This generation and the children [in Western Sahara] witness with their own eyes the police oppressionhellip; Just imagine many children instead of drawing toys; they draw a policeman with a gun and a stick beating people and people behind bars. I am scared that they will become violent and incite violencehellip; because practicing violence, one day will incite violence.br /
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quot;It is our role as human rights defenders to call for peacehellip; but our means are very limited, we are not authorized even to organise workshops, trainingshellip; Now itrsquo;s becoming more difficulthellip;.quot;
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a href=http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/make-united-nations-more-effective-realizing-women%E2%80%99s-rightsimg src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/AI/action-button-en.gif alt= title= class=asset-align-right//a
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ul
listrongMake the United Nations more effective in realizing women’s rights/strongnbsp;/li
/ul
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