Cartoonists Rights Pledge Drive

From Cartoonists Rights. 

Another December is upon us, and with it Giving Tuesday and our annual Pledge Drive. We hope to count on your support us as our organization prepares to mark 25 years defending the freedom of expression of cartoonists. We continue to work collaboratively and in partnership with like-minded organizations around the world. Here are some highlights from the last twelve months: alongside co-authors Cartooning for Peace (Paris), presenting ourCartoonists on the Line report to the Human Rights Subcommittee at the European Parliament, Brussels representing cartoonists' interests at the IFEX international conference of free expression organizations, Berlin gathering with colleagues and our partners the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation (Geneva) to honor Rachita Taneja (India) and Zunzi (Hong Kong) with this year's Kofi Annan Courage in Cartooning Awards  delivering a workshop on cartoonists' safety and legal defense at the European Cartoon Awards event, The Hague contributing to the Forum for Humor and the Law (FORHUM)'s new toolkit on moderation of humorous and satirical content, presented at Columbia University, NYC supporting a cartoonists' discussion panel at the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship (IDJC), Syracuse University, Washington DC Regrettably, 2024 has evidenced many highly concerning instances of cartoonists' persecution, from the imprisonment and alleged beating of Atena Farghadani in Iran, to the rolling "pretrial detention" of Ashraf Omar in Egypt, and the astonishing twenty-three year prison sentence handed down to Mohamed Al-Hazza in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, Turkish cartoonist ZehraÖmeroğlu still awaits the outcome from her protracted trial on criminal charges of "obscenity". And cartoonists everywhere were dismayed by the death of Mahasen al-Khatib in Gaza. In addition to the mounting issue of authoritarianism overseas, the changing domestic political climate is making the work of non-profits that much harder. The legislation in bill HR 9495 – set to come before the Senate shortly – could be used by the office of the President and Treasury Secretary to target civil and human rights organizations, stripping them of their 501(c)(3) status. Next month the tenth anniversary of the killings at Charlie Hebdo magazine will offer an opportunity to reflect upon the state of our profession and the changing threats we've faced over the intervening decade. Later in 2025, we will present the Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award to an exemplary cartoonist who has remained steadfast in their dedication while working under duress. All of this is impossible without the donations that come from friends of free expression like you. SUPPORT OUR PLEDGE DRIVE TODAY And thank you. Terry Anderson Executive Director PS – our Pledge Drive will run for the next three weeks, and in the days ahead we'll be giving away some great artwork from wonderful cartoonists; please keep an eye on our social media for further details!