CAIRO: In an attempt to foster a regional network of young human rights advocates and increase awareness of human rights issues, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) and the Arab Institute for Human Rights (AIHR) are launching a joint training program for human rights advocates in December 2006. The 1-year long Youth for Human Rights Program is designed for young human rights defenders employed in member states of the Arab League in a wide range of different professional fields. Human rights activists involved in women's rights, religious freedom and minority rights are particularly encouraged to apply to the program. According to Moataz El-Fegiery, program director at Cairo Initiative for Human Rights Studies and a member of the Executive Committee of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, the program is intended to spur a new generation of human rights activists in the Middle East. "The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies has worked closely with university students interested in politics and human rights issues since the organization's start in 1994. We feel that this is the time to establish a strong new generation of young activists and enhance their capacity as human rights defenders. They are the true force of change in the North Africa and Middle Eastern regions, El- Fegiery says in an interview with The Daily Star Egypt. Today, there are a growing number of human rights organizations in the Middle East and North Africa, El-Fegiery continues. For example, the human rights organizations Freedom House and the European-Mediterranean Human Rights Network recently launched new programs that provide young human rights activists in the Middle East and North Africa with the opportunity to travel to the United States and participate in courses on democracy building and human rights advocacy. In addition to providing intensive training and support for young human rights defenders in the Arab World, one of the main purposes of the Youth for Human Rights Program is to connect newly established Arab human rights organizations to each other for collaborative efforts, El-Fegiery argues. Seventy-five trainees and 30 auditors will partake in the program, which is scheduled to begin in December 2006 and end in 2008. Selected participants will complete several distance learning courses on human rights advocacy and human rights monitoring as well as 2 week-long workshops held in Tunisia and Egypt. More information about the program can be found on the CIHRS Web site: http: http://cihrs.org. The Youth for Human Rights Program is sponsored by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ford Foundation
