MUNA and Shelter City
Shelter City, Justice and Peace and MUNA
In the last three years MUNA has collaborated in Shelter City The Hague. Shelter City is an initiative of Human Rights Organisation Justice and Peace
The Hague Shelter City Initiative offers Human Rights Defenders the possibility for rest and respite by letting them escape from a temporarily threatening situation. Human Rights Defenders can stay in the Hague for a periode of three months and can continue their work from here. The Hague is the first Shelter City. The project is approved and supported by the city council of the Hague. Justice and Peace organizes several events where Human Rights Defenders can get in touch with other people and talk about their human rights work.
In the last three years Human Rights Defenders have been guest speakers during MUNA. In 2014 Congolese Human Rights defender Sylvestre Bwira held an unforgettable talk in the Crisis Committee (see banner).
The collaboration of MUNA with Shelter City has led to more projects during the year. The Cuban Human Rights activist, the Graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado Machado, the Sudanese women's rights activist Asha El-Kharib, the Kenyan Human Rights worker Betty Okero and the Rwandese Human Rights lawyer Laurent Munyandilikirwa all visited Alfrink College in the last three years to talk with our students.This school year Ugandese LGBT activist Geoffrey Ogwaro visited Alfrink on Purple Friday together with a wonderful Human Rights Defender from Lybia All visits have inspired us. We feel honoured to have met such brave people who risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones every day in defence of human rights. With many Human Rights Defenders we have kept in touch since their visit and we hope to see them one day again at Alfrink College.
Betty Okero Keynote speaker 2014
Also in other ways MUNA and Alfrink College are extending the partnership with Justice and Peace. For example two students of Alfrink College have created a lesson series on Human Rights Defenders as part of their master paper (profiel werkstuk).
We therefore would like to express our big appreciation for everybody at Justice and Peace and all Human Rights Defenders who inspired us at MUNA. We hope to extend our collaboration in the future.
Contact Justice and Peace
Dutch schools can contact Justice and Peace if they also want to organize a class visit of a Human Rights Defender at their school. If Human Rights defenders are in The Hague again during MUNA 2015 we will surely invite them to our conference. For a report of the visit of Laurent Munyandilikirwa to Alfrink College and to get in touch with Justice and Peace have a look here.
