Issue No. 17 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 warn that Brazil anti-terrorism law may threaten fundamental freedoms • Kiai urges European Court to establish “clear and strong standards” on assembly rights • Burundi: Experts urge Security Council to follow resolution with ‘concrete’ steps • Bangladesh NGOs: Kiai warns against proposed funding bill • Special Rapporteur urges Chile to scrap proposed ‘identity check’ bill • High time to protect sexual and reproductive rights defenders in the Americas • Civil society needs ‘new tactics’ to reverse shrinking space, Special Rapporteur tells Asia-Pacific activists in Seoul • Background reports compare laws on businesses and CSOs in 34 states • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special Rapporteur news in brief: November-December 2015 • 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 (4.1MB file) or here (6.8MB full resolution file). To subscribe to our newsletter, please drop us a line at info@freeassembly.net with the subject line... Continue reading →
SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA – Civil society must pursue “new tactics and strategies” if it hopes to reverse the trend of shrinking civic space, Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai told a gathering of activists in Seoul on Nov. 5. “Governments have been clever” at conjuring new ways to restrict the operations of critical organizations, especially those working on human rights, he said. “The old methods aren’t working. Maybe it’s time for us to think of new ways to push this agenda. We need to think outside the box.” The UN expert’s remarks came during a consultation with civil society from the Asia-Pacific region, which was convened as part of a joint project on civic space between Kiai’s mandate and the Community of Democracies. The project focuses particularly on civil society’s right to access resources, and aims to expand the body of knowledge on this subject while hearing about challenges that activists face. Nearly 20 civil society leaders from 14 countries across the region attended in the consultation. Ambassador Maria Leissner, Secretary General of the Community of Democracies, opened the meeting. Participants said that restrictions on civic space in Asia have accelerated in recent years, with governments taking escalating measures to silencing dissenting voices. In... Continue reading →
Issue No. 14 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: • Pull the plug on televised reprisals against rights defenders in Venezuela • ‘Cambodia’s NGO Bill threatens a free and independent civil society’ – UN expert urges Senate to reject it • Burundi: UN experts call for determined Security Council action to prevent mass violence • Bahrain: Freed from jail, all charges against Nabeel Rajab must be dropped • The clamp-down on resourcing: comparing how States regulate business and civil society • ‘Lawyers need to be protected not harassed,’ UN experts urge China to halt detentions • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special Rapporteur news in brief: July-August 2015 • 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 (1.6MB file) or here (2.9MB 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. 2, No. 2 (Issue 11)... Continue reading →
UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has co-authored an essay with Community of Democracies Secretary General Maria Leissner comparing the ability of business and civil society to access resources worldwide. The piece appears in CIVICUS's 2015 "State of Civil Society Report," and previews one of the issues that the Special Rapporteur will explore in his upcoming report to the UN General Assembly in October 2015. "At first glance, the business and civil society sectors may seem strange bedfellows for comparison. Conventional wisdom tells us that these two entities are distinct, warranting separate rules and treatment," Kiai and Leissner write. "But beyond their dissimilar profit motives, just how different are businesses and civil society? And how differently should governments treat them?" The essay cites a number of examples where several governments go to much greater lengths to create a conducive environment for business investment, while virtually shutting off similar funding for civil society. Ethiopia, for example, has actively encouraged foreign investment in its business sector over the past seven years, leading to an economic boom. The country is now creating millionaires faster than any country on earth, while gross domestic product growth has averaged 39% a year, according to one source.... Continue reading →
Issue No. 12 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: • Experts in Chile to shape UN recommendations on managing peaceful assemblies • Vibrant civil society fundamental to Latin America’s successes thus far – and equally important going forward, Kiai says in Chile • UN experts: continued detention of Ethiopian journalists unacceptable • Pre-election violence endangers Burundi’s young democracy • Contribute to the UNSR's next report on "sectoral equity" • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special rapporteur news in brief: March-April 2015 • 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 (2.3MB file) or here (13MB 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, No. 9 (December 2014) The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Issue 10) (January 2015) The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Issue 11)... Continue reading →
SANTIAGO, Chile – UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai met with regional government and civil society leaders here this week, telling them that civil society is “necessary in any society” – and that access to resources is equally essential for the sector’s very existence. “Not a single country in Latin America that can say it accomplished what it has without the help of civil society,” said Kiai, who is the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. “And it is equally important going forward.” “Civil society is critical in combatting extremism, and in channeling dissent and frustrations in a legitimate way through the system. Civil society gives States a legitimate and open partner that it can work with, and it channels people’s views in an open and transparent way.” The UN expert’s remarks came during meetings with government officials and civil society members from the Latin America and Caribbean regions, which were convened as part of a joint project with the Community of Democracies designed to strengthen civil society’s ability to access to resources. Roughly a dozen representatives from across the region participated in the government consultation on April 27, while more than 25 civil society representatives attended a separate... Continue reading →
In an effort to strengthen global understanding of civil society’s right to access resources, UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai and the Community of Democracies have issued a set of “general principles” summarizing key aspects of the right, along with their legal bases. The document summarizes three general principles under international human rights norms and standards regarding the ability of civil society to seek, receive and use resources. It also provides arguments and legal backing to support specific aspects of each principle, with hyperlinks to source documents where relevant. The principles are extracted from the Special Rapporteur’s 2013 report to the Human Rights Council, which focused on associations’ ability to seek, receive and utilize resources. The report is available here in all six UN languages. General Principle 1 states that the ability to seek, receive and use resources is inherent to the right to freedom of association – not a separate right – because it is essential to the existence and effective operations of any association. General Principle 2 underlines that states must allow associations to seek, receive and use foreign funding as a part of their obligation under international human rights law to mobilize resources available within the society as a whole... Continue reading →
Issue No. 11 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: • Special Rapporteur in Geneva to launch ‘landmark’ freedom of association guidelines on sidelines of HRC session • ‘Two legal reform projects undermine the rights of assembly and expression in Spain’ – UN experts • Mass death sentences in Egypt a profound disgrace, UN human rights experts say • UN rights experts urge release of Bahrain opposition politician • Australia: Special Rapporteur welcomes moves to repeal restrictive laws on protest • Steering the final two years of Kiai’s UNSR mandate • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special rapporteur news in brief: February-March 2015 • A call to submit cases in the UNSR’s litigation project • 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 (1.4MB file) or here (5MB 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,... Continue reading →
GENEVA – United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai will be in Geneva this week to participate in several events on the margins of the 28th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, including the launch of landmark joint guidelines on the right to freedom of association. The guidelines – which were developed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE-ODIHR) and the Venice Commission – are the first of their kind in the field on association rights. They were adopted and released last December, and are being officially launched on March 5. The guidelines are currently available via the OSCE-ODIHR website via this link: http://www.osce.org/odihr/132371 The guidelines offer advice and expertise on how to legislate on freedom of association-related matters in a manner consistent with international human rights standards and OSCE commitments. They also reflect evolving good state practices, and are intended to enhance awareness of the right to freedom of association in general. The Special Rapporteur and his team participated in the development of the guidelines, most notably at a consultation in Warsaw, Poland, last year that brought together experts from around the world. “International treaties merely set out broad... Continue reading →
Issue No. 9 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: • Special Rapporteur: Surmounting civil society restrictions “the great challenge of our time" • A step forward for LGBT rights in Botswana, with a step backward looming in Kyrgyzstan • Your rights on one page: UNSR releases fact sheets on assembly and association rights • Experts: "Legitimate concerns" over outcome of Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases • Sound off for the UNSR’s next report: Tell us your views on FOAA rights in the context of natural resource exploitation • Video: Strategic litigation for assembly & association rights • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special rapporteur news in brief: November-December 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 (1.3MB file) or here (6.8MB 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 6 (July-August... Continue reading →
