• Civil society forms “watch committee” in Rakhine State, Myanmar, to “see whether their aid goes to the right places.” (In March, mobs attacked UN and aid group offices in Rakhine, forcing many INGOs to flee; they were accused of favoring the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group). (Myanmar Times) • The EU is pumping €674K into civil society into Armenian civil society focused on healthcare, agriculture and social security. (ARKA News Agency) • In Cambodia, civil society condemns the (currently one-party) National Assembly’s passage of three “flawed judicial reform bills” (the opposition party continues its 10-month boycott of parliament due to allegedly flawed elections last summer). (Asian Human Rights Commission) Special Rapporteur Surya Subedi has chimed in as well. • The .ngo website suffix comes online in October 2014. (Nonprofit Quarterly) More here. • Is Israel jumping on the “foreign agent” NGO law bandwagon? Proposed bill “directed at left-leaning groups.” (Haaretz) • In Brazil, Rival World Cup protest songs jostle for football fans’ attention. “Rival tunes, anti-FIFA raps and instrumental lamentations challenging the poorly received official theme,” writes Jonathan Watts. (The Guardian) • Violinists’ protest video goes viral after they... Continue reading →
Issue No. 4 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • UN Releases Special Rapporteur Kiai’s latest report on groups ‘most at risk’ • Kiai joins UN experts in urging Azerbaijan to drop charges against human rights defenders • OSCE civil society says ‘political will’ a major obstacle in protecting right to funding • Three years after Tunisia: Thoughts on the rights to freedom of assembly and association from Maina Kiai • Narrowing space in Canada: A video from Maina Kiai • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special rapporteur news in brief: April and May 2014 • World briefing: Freedom of assembly and association in the news For a link to the newsletter, click on the image at right or click here (1 MB file) or here (5.3 MB full resolution file). To subscribe to our newsletter, please drop us a line at info@freeassembly.net with the subject line “subscribe to newsletter.” For other recent newsletters, see the links below: The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 1, Issue 1 (Jan. 2014) The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 1, Issue 2 (Feb-March 2014) The Assembly and... Continue reading →
The Journal of Global Ethics has published an essay by Maina Kiai, in which he reflects on the first three years of his mandate, and the global state of assembly and association rights three years after protests exploded in Tunisia, sparking the Arab Spring. The essay, “Three years after Tunisia: thoughts and perspectives on the rights to freedom of assembly and association from United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai,” is available for free download to the first 50 people; subsequent access is by purchase only. Although Kiai’s mandate was created in late 2010 against the backdrop of shrinking space for civil society, a massive and growing global protest movement has grabbed most of the headlines since 2011. Kiai argues that the mandate has made a measurable impact – having helped raise awareness of repressive NGO laws, provided technical assistance to governments to strengthen assembly and association rights and developed soft law. But perhaps the most important work of the mandate, he argues, has been its contribution to a better understanding of just how important the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association are. “These rights satisfy people’s fundamental desire to take control of their own destinies,” Kiai writes. “They need to speak out, to work together... Continue reading →
Issue No. 3 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • UN experts condemn mass death sentences in Egypt • UN rights experts express concern as Turkey bans Twitter and YouTube ahead of elections • China: UN experts deplore events leading to death of HRD Cao Shunli, ask for full investigation • UN experts: Venezuela must account for arbitrary detentions and violence against protesters • Thailand: 10 years after Somchai’s disappearance, family still awaiting truth and justice • Myanmar: UN expert raises alarm on Rakhine State • Assembly & association rights: By the numbers • Special rapporteur news in brief: March and April 2014 • World briefing: Freedom of assembly and association in the news For a link to the newsletter, click on the image at right or click here. To subscribe to our newsletter, please drop us a line at info@freeassembly.net with the subject line "subscribe to newsletter." For other recent newsletters, see the links below: The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 1, Issue 1 (Jan. 2014) The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 1, Issue 2 (Feb-March... Continue reading →
Issue No. 2 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the official newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • Kiai makes official visit to Rwanda; calls for increased space for peaceful dissent • Kiai makes unofficial visit to Cambodia, calls on gov’t to lift ban on public assemblies • Freeassembly.net website updated with new ‘country invitation status’ page • Community of Democracies & UNSR launch new project on civil society’s right to access funding • UK lobbying bill threatens to ‘stain’ British democracy • World briefing: freedom of assembly & association in the news • Assembly & association rights: By the numbers • Plus, our new Flickr page, which allows anyone to download and reuse official photos from the UNSR mandate under a Creative Commons attribution license For a link to the newsletter, click on the image at right or click... Continue reading →
UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai completed a three-day unofficial visit to Cambodia last week, where he met with a range of civil society leaders, activists and government officials. Following months of massive post-election protests, Cambodia recently instituted a broad crackdown on public demonstrations, which has left at least four people dead, dozens injured, and a number of activists imprisoned in the past month. All public gatherings have now been banned. Kiai raised the issue of the blanket protest ban with Secretary of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ouch Borith, and called upon the government to lift the ban as soon as possible. The two also discussed the use of force by authorities during demonstrations, the fate of a youth who was allegedly shot during a protest in January and has not been heard from since, and the cases of 23 activists and civil society leaders who were arrested during a demonstration (two of the 23 were released on bail during Kiai’s visit). “The government has absolutely no right … to kill people when they march peacefully,” Kiai told local media on February 7, during a visit with land activists in the Boeung Kak Lake community. “That is not acceptable under international law. The use of force needs to be proportional and it needs to be... Continue reading →
Nairobi – United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai will visit Singapore and Cambodia in early February as part of a brief non-official academic visit to Southeast Asia. Kiai, who is the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, will begin his tour in Singapore on Feb. 3-4, where he will take part in a regional consultation to help inform his next thematic report to the Human Rights Council. The report, which will be presented in June 2014, will focus on groups most at risk of retribution when exercising or seeking to exercise their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. Members of civil society from throughout Asia will also attend the consultation. Kiai will visit Cambodia on Feb. 5-7, where he will meet with civil society members, labor activists and other stakeholders to discuss the state of the rights to peaceful assembly and association in the country. Following months of massive post-election protests, Cambodia recently instituted a broad crackdown on public demonstrations which has left four people dead, dozens injured and a number of activists imprisoned in the past month, according to NGO and media reports. All public gatherings have now been banned. Kiai has closely followed recent freedom of association and assembly... Continue reading →
The inaugural issue of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the official newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • Call for input as Kiai readies report on groups most at risk • UN Special Rapporteur launches new website for mandate • Repressive amendments to NGO law defeated in Kenya • Kiai to visit Rwanda in Jan. 2014 • NGO Bill Threatens to Hinder Civil Society’s Work in South Sudan, UN Rights Experts Warn • Maina Kiai presents first report to UN General Assembly • Authorities in Cambodia ban all public gatherings after demonstrations swell • Kiai pens commentary for openGlobalRights • Plus, UNSR activities in brief For a link to the newsletter, click on the image at right or follow this... Continue reading →
A piece by Maina Kiai has been featured today in the Guardian's Poverty Matters blog. As he prepares to present his latest report -- which is on the freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association in the context of elections -- to the UN General Assembly in New York, Kiai argues that the international community should stop endorsing flawed elections that amount to "civilian coups." He calls upon UN member states to improve their efforts to facilitate and protect assembly and association rights during all phases of elections. Click here for a link to the... Continue reading →
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. Maina Kiai, warned that the current public draft of the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations in Cambodia - if adopted - risks breaching the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. “The current draft NGO Law contains a set of problematic provisions, raising concerns over a potential negative impact on Cambodian citizens’ democratic participation in furthering the development of their country,” warned the UN rights expert. Welcoming a recent statement by the Ambassador of Cambodia to the UN Human Rights Council promising “further consultations,” he called on the authorities to review the draft law in open and meaningful discussions with associations and NGOs. Mr. Kiai stressed that the draft law makes registration of associations and NGOs mandatory, not voluntary, and prohibits any activity by unregistered groups. “This constitutes a clear infringement of the right to freedom of association. Having a recognized legal status may confer rights and benefits to organizations such as the ability to open bank accounts, but legal status is not necessary for the enjoyment of the right to freedom of association.” “The draft law excludes refugees, stateless... Continue reading →
