At first glance, the business and civil society sectors may seem strange bedfellows for a comparative study. In the mind of the public and policymakers, these two entities appear distinct, warranting separate rules and treatment. The basis for this treatment seems to boil down to one dividing point: One exists to make a profit; the other is non-profit. But beyond their dissimilar profit motives, are businesses and associations really that different? Both are non-state actors, potential employers, providers of goods and services, magnets for investment, and possible platforms for mobilizing people and influencing policy. Both are crucial to economic and political development, both domestically and internationally. And both have potential to enhance the protection and promotion of human rights. Despite these sweeping similarities, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of freedom of assembly and association Maina Kiai has observed over the past four years that many governments do, in … Continue reading →
Tags: business civil society Discussion enabling environment UNGA UNGA70
Maina Kiai is nearing the completion of his fourth year as the inaugural UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association – leaving him with two years before he departs the mandate. Over the last three-plus years, Kiai has strived to actively protect and promote the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, through his reports, through official and unofficial country visits, and by meeting and consulting with as many stakeholders as possible. It has been an exciting and productive four years, but there remains much work to be done. Despite increased international awareness of the issues, for example, many governments are growing increasingly restrictive when it comes to regulating their citizens’ abilities to enjoy the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. As he prepares to enter the final two years of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur would like … Continue reading →
The need for natural resources such as land, water, timber, minerals, oil and gas is continually increasing worldwide. That increasing demand has naturally led to more competition – and often more social conflict. In many cases, decisions concerning the exploitation of natural resources are made in an opaque manner. Governments cut backroom deals with corporations without the input of those affected. Official corruption often looms large. The ostensible owners of the property being exploited may not benefit at all from the project. The systematic exclusion of key stakeholders in the context of natural resource exploitation is counterproductive and may, in some circumstances, amount to a deprivation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. More to the point, this exclusion can lead to anger, divisions within society and long-term threats to the project in question. For his upcoming report to the Human Rights Council in June 2015, … Continue reading →
Global trends show increasingly shrinking space for civic organizations and actions, as well as significant threats to the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In an effort to help reverse these trends, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has begun a new project that will focus on protecting these rights via litigation in national and regional courts. The project, which is supported by the government of Norway, will focus first on providing technical assistance and advisory services for public interest litigation on assembly and association issues, with a view to increasing such litigation and encouraging the application of international law norms at the domestic level. The Special Rapporteur also plans to submit amicus briefs in relevant cases, where he can highlight international norms and principles. The project will begin in earnest with a two-day experts consultation … Continue reading →
Global governance has long been the domain of States – whether at the United Nations or other lesser-known multilateral bodies. These organs are typically formed by States, run by States and controlled by States. In recent years, however, civil society has gained increasing recognition as a legitimate actor in the global government process. And this is as it should be, since civil society is one of the primary means for ordinary citizens to organize and peacefully raise concerns with governments and effect change. But just how inclusive are multilateral organizations when it comes to giving civil society a seat at the table? How do multilaterals’ actions and inactions – whether financial, structural, or programmatic – affect the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association? This will be the subject of Maina Kiai’s next report to the UN General Assembly in October 2014. Kiai’s report will explore whether States … Continue reading →
The ability to seek, receive and utilize resources is an inherent part of the right to freedom of association. This shouldn’t be a controversial statement. By definition, organizations need resources – financial, human and material – to operate. Without money, staff and equipment, an association is reduced to an empty shell – a vehicle stripped of its engine, fuel and driver. Unfortunately, civil society’s ability to access resources is far from secure in today’s world. Restrictions on funding have in recent years become a major threat to associations in a range of countries across all regions of the world, as UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has repeatedly pointed out. There is clearly a trend toward strangling civil society with the financial noose, and the trend is growing. There is an urgent need to further strengthen associations’ ability to access resources, and to protect it. In this spirit, the Special Rapporteur … Continue reading →
Tags: civil society Community of Democracies Discussion funding
UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai convened an expert consultation in Geneva on December 9 to help shape the parameters of his next thematic report, which will be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2014. The thematic report will focus on how laws and practices may discriminate against and exclude certain groups when exercising or seeking to exercise their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. The Geneva consultation was organized to focus on problems faced by specific groups that the Special Rapporteur and his team had identified as frequently at risk, including youth, women, LGBT individuals, indigenous peoples, minorities, refugees, migrants and other non-nationals/stateless persons, and persons with disabilities. This is, of course, a non-exhaustive list. As one of the participants in our consultation pointed out, all of us can face heightened risks in certain circumstances (as Kiai’s latest thematic report on elections makes clear). As … Continue reading →
Tags: at-risk groups Discussion HRC indigenous people LGBT migrants minority groups persons with disabilities women youth
Six women working on women’s issues in Pakistan are killed in an ambush. A workshop for LGBT human rights defenders is disrupted by authorities in Uganda. Indigenous leaders in the Philippines are subject to a wave of harassment, threats and killings. Thirteen women in Cambodia are imprisoned for defending their community against corporate land-grabbing. And four migrant bus drivers in Singapore are charged with inciting an illegal strike. Exercising the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association can be dangerous for anyone, anywhere in the world. But sometimes – and in some places – the danger is elevated for certain groups. Maina Kiai’s next report as Special Rapporteur is expected to focus on exactly this subject: groups most at risk of attacks and reprisals when exercising their assembly and association rights. Kiai and his team are currently in the process of researching the report. As we begin work on … Continue reading →
Tags: at-risk groups ECOSOC HRC indigenous people LGBT migrants minority groups persons with disabilities women youth
Many States view human rights as an integral part of their foreign policy – or at least claim to. There are many challenges in fully integrating human rights into foreign policy, and in keeping them there through difficult geopolitical circumstances. On November 13, 2013, the Ireland Department of Foreign Affairs will host its annual NGO Forum on Human Rights in Dublin. The subject is “Ideals and Interests; the place of Human Rights in Foreign Policy.” The goal of the conference is to examine the difficulties in the integration of human rights into foreign policy, and to gauge areas of progress in recent years. We’d like to hear your views on the subject, particularly as it relates to the freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association. These freedoms are particularly important in foreign policy considerations at the moment: massive protest movements continue in geopolitically strategic countries such as Bahrain and Egypt, … Continue reading →
Tags: discussions FOAA foreign policy
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