NEWSLETTER: MAY 2016

Call for Participants: LGBTQ Regional Action Plan (RAP)

CTDC is delighted to announce the launch of its Gender and Sexuality Program in the MENA region, with its first project under the title of LGBTQ Regional Advocacy Action Plan (RAP) in the MENA Region. Funded by the Swedish Institute- SIDA, and in partnership with Cecilia Karlstedt Consulting, CTDC are organising two workshops in Turkey for LGBTQ rights activists to come together and discuss a way forward for advocacy.

The first workshop is intended to take place between 17 and 21 November 2016 in Turkey.

The second workshop is intended to take place between 16 and 20 November 2017 in Turkey.

CTDC is currently seeking statements of interest from LGBTQ activists, individuals and organisations from Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria. We are disheartened that we cannot include more countries in this call for participation, as places are limited to twenty participants, but we are hoping that this will be a pilot project that will lead to a larger MENA-region wide program. If you are interested, please submit a statement of interest to info@ctdc.org.

Deadline for submissions is 1 August 2016.

CTDC Launches New Project: Defending the Rights of LGBT People in Tunisia

In collaboration with local partners, CTDC has signed the contract for the Magna Carta Human Rights and Democracy Fund, for our project entitled “Defending the Rights of LGBT People in Tunisia”.

This project will seek to widen the democratic spaces available to Tunisia’s vibrant and active LGBT rights groups. Overall, the project – which will run through to the end of 2017 – seeks to increase equality and non-discrimination by improving the institutional protection against discrimination.

Ultimately, CTDC aims to remove or amend discriminatory laws, policies and practices which target LGBT individuals, activists and organisations in Tunisia.

Dr Nour Abu-Assab Offers Some Critical Insights at MEFD Media and Civil Society Workshop

On 23 May 2016 CTDC took part in the Middle East Forum for Development (MEFD)’s workshop on the Media and Civil Society. Discussions revolved around the role of social media as a crucial tool in the development of democracy in the Middle East. However, Nour took a pessimistic tone, demonstrating how social media can also be used as a way of oppressing minorities. Nour also warned that social media may actually disable deep-rooted advocacy, becoming an easy but ultimately limited tool in the fight for equality and human rights protection.

Nour also argued that the U.N. often fails to address gross human rights violations despite well documented cases of atrocities, like the ones in Syria perpetrated by government forces. “One has to look to who is funding the United Nations in order to understand such phenomena”, Dr Assab added.”

For more information on the workshop please visit MEFD’s website here.

A full video of Nour’s presentation is available here.