STOCKHOLM – The Community of Democracies has launched a new two-year project in conjunction with the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful association and of assembly aimed at enhancing space for civil society, focusing on the right to access financial resources. The project, “Protecting Civic Space and the Right to Access Resources”, was officially launched in Stockholm, Sweden, on Feb. 24, 2014. The project is funded by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The centerpiece of the project is a series of regional… Continue reading →
GENEVA – Representatives of the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations human rights system today called for an immediate end to renewed clashes in Kiev and other parts of Ukraine that have seen numerous deadly casualties and scores of injuries among the protestors and the security forces. “We are horrified by what has been happening in Kiev,” said Chaloka Beyani, who currently heads the Coordination Committee of international experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. “We strongly condemn the excessive use of force… 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… 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… Continue reading →
KIGALI / GENEVA – United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai commended the Rwandan Government on its economic development in the 20 years since the 1994 genocide, but urged that undue restrictions on the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association be lifted so that the country can expand its achievements to the fields of multiparty democracy and human rights. “I commend Rwanda for its remarkable progress in developing infrastructure, building institutions and ensuring stability and security over the past 20 years,” Mr Kiai said* at the end… Continue reading →
