Be Part of Lifesaving Commitment
Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) is very pleased to announce to its highly valued members and supporters that the coming month of June 2012 marks the fifth anniversary of the Agency. HRLHA, originally known as HRL, being the largest human rights organization in the Horn of Africa, now covers a very wide geographic area in the region in its battle with perpetrators of human rights violations. Sporadically occurring natural crises added to civil wars and political instabilities have made the Horn of African region a home for multiple forms of human miseries. Locally, ordinary citizens are subjected to extra-judicial killings and imprisonments, economic and social insecurities and, displacement, and the like mainly due to their political beliefs and positions. When forced to flee their homelands as a result of those instabilities, they are met with situations not different from (and in some cases worse than) what they are trying to escape by running away from. Apart from the very common socio-economic challenges they face in a foreign environment as refugees, they become victims of killings by different groups pursuing different interests, arrests, imprisonments and deportations, human trafficking, and others. What is more, these crimes against helpless and defenseless people are characterized by flowing over and across borders among those countries of the Horn, in some cases stretching as far as Yemen and other Middle East countries. It is this reality that has made HRLHA’s presence and operations in the Horn very vital, and Its job very challenging.
With very limited human and financial resources, the HRLHA has so far (i.e. in the past five years) been able to help a lot of those defenseless and helpless people escape or avoid arrests, detentions and deportations, released from prisons when detained, granted relative security and protection from what they are entitled to as citizens in their home lands, and as refugees when they flee their countries. Going beyond the legal and political boundaries presumed to be existing in the Region, HRLHA has been able even to challenge outlaw groups and secure the freedom of very young children who were kidnapped for the purpose of human trafficking after being orphaned by their kidnappers.
Although it is not unfair to be optimistic, it is hard to speculate as to when and how soon such human miseries in the Horn could come to an end. So, HRLHA’s presence and operation in the Horn of Africa remains inevitable as long as both the legitimate and the illegitimate groups continued their perpetrations of human rights violations against innocent people.
Get Involved With the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa, and Be Part of This Life-Saving Work.
Formation and Mission:
v The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) was re-launched, as an exiled version on an agency known as Human Rights League (HRL), in 2007 in Toronto, Canada. HRL was originally formed in Ethiopian in 1996; but silenced from almost from the outset by the TPLF/EPRDF Government, and closed down in 1997.
v HRLHA is committed to defending fundamental human rights and freedoms of the peoples in the Horn of Africa in general and in Ethiopia in particular. These include socio-economic and political rights, freedoms of thought, expression, and organization or assembly It supports and works with human rights agencies and democratic organizations or groups and countries that are engaged in fighting against discriminations of any kind or form, and upholds and promotes social, economic and political freedoms, and the delivery of justice.
Challenges;
HRLHA’s biggest challenge has been financial resource, as it has not been able to secure any fund from any donor organizations in those five years. The main reason for unable to secure fund from donor agencies is that the financial support HRLHA managed to collect in the past years from its supporters was very minimal. However, with almost all in all volunteer resources; except for the very small amount of money collected from its members, it did not stop performing its job of monitoring, detecting, investigating and reporting on human rights violations in Ethiopia and in the Horn. It has managed to execute most of its plans of action and meet its objectives for the past five years through the extraordinary commitment of its tireless and dedicated volunteer staff. This dedication elevated the status of our organization to the highest level one can’t even imagine. Today, HRLHA can represent the voiceless with confidence and speak loudly on international stages about the hidden human rights abuses in Ethiopia and other Horn of African countries.
In addition to what HRLHA has laid down as its long and short term plans in the Horn, the Special Consultative Status that HRLHA has been awarded by UN comes with multiple direct and indirect responsibilities that require us to double and triple our efforts in order to meet the expectations. To this end, the financial help from human rights supporters is very crucial to ease from this financial challenge. Therefore, your urgent action to strength HRLHA financially is extremely significant at this point.
To solve the financial problems that HRLHA has encountered, worldwide campaigns of raising funds and recruiting supporters are underway as of April 1, 2012. Besides the big fundraising event scheduled to be held on May 5th, 2012, the other ideal way of supporting HRLHA is making regular monthly contributions directly to HRLHA’s bank account. To ensure the continuity of HRLHA’s commitment to representing the voiceless and the defenseless, to setup a minimum monthly contribution of $20 from HRLHA’s supporters would be inevitable. Those of us who are able to do can go above the minimum contribution requested, and do contribute as much as we can.
Through our current fundraising campaign, we are aiming to raise $100,000; and recruit up to 500 permanent supporters who are willing to make the monthly contribution of $20 each, so that HRLHA can raise another $10,000 a month. By so doing, we could go beyond ensuring HRLHA’s existence, and enable it to operate in its full capacity. We request you to setup your support as SOON AS POSSIBLE, and do YOUR part.
The following would be some of the good reasons why you should do so:
- To raise awareness of ordinary citizens about their fundamental human rights,
- To speak on behalf of the voiceless who were subjected to injustices and held behind bars because they attempted to exercise their fundamental rights,
- To assist victims of human rights abuse in the Horn of Africa and other targeted peoples,
- To support the HRLHA so that it could continue its activities as a rights’ defender,
- To be part of and actively participate in the growing global and regional human rights movements,
- To become and remain an informed and active global citizen.
To setup and start a continuing monthly financially support for HRLHA, use the following Options
Direct Deposit
- Name of the Bank, TD Canada Trust
- Customer Name:- The Human Rights League
- · TDCT Account NO.
- Transit No. : – 11442
- Inst No. : – 004
- Account No. : – 05165213128
- 3. SWIFT Code: – TDOMCATTTOR (all are letters),
- 4. Routing # 026009593
- 5. 5. Bank Address:- Canada Trust, 2440 Bloor Street West & Jane Street
Toronto, Ontario M6S 1P9, Canada
Or go to HRLHA web site, www.humanrightsleague.com and use Paypal Payment Method
Thank You for helping Human Rights!
“We fight for human Rights”
