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 →
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 →
Maina Kiai and two other United Nations independent human rights experts today expressed serious concern at the “obstructive, intimidating and stigmatizing effects” brought about by the current implementation in the Russian Federation of the law on ‘non-commercial organizations’ (NCOs), adopted on 21 November 2012 by the Duma. The UN Special Rapporteurs on freedom of association, human rights defenders and freedom of expression urged the Russian authorities to revise the law due to its lack of compliance with international law and standards and its adverse consequences on the important work of hundreds of organizations and human rights defenders. “Unfortunately, our fears seem to have been confirmed,” said the Special Rapporteur on the rights to peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai. In July 2012, the three experts warned that the law could brand as ‘foreign agents’ all foreign-funded NCOs engaging in political activities and impose severe penalties for non-compliance with the established requirements. They also raised alarm about the use of the term ‘foreign agents’, which can be associated with ‘spy’ and lead to increased stigmatization and vulnerability to acts of violence against those targeted. “Since the law was passed, we now witness an unprecedented... Continue reading →
Maina Kiai and two other United Nations experts have urged the State Duma not to adopt legislative amendments that can adversely impact civil society in Russia. The Special Rapporteurs on freedom of association, human rights defenders and freedom of expression warned that the draft law, if approved, would brand as ‘foreign agents’ all foreign-funded non-commercial organizations (NCOs) engaging in political activities, and impose harsh penalties for non-compliance with the new requirements. “These amendments constitute a direct affront to those wishing to freely exercise their right to freedom of association,” stressed the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai. According to the draft legislation to regulate NCOs’ activities, which is currently being discussed in the State Duma, NCOs wishing to engage in ‘political activities’ will have to register as organizations ‘performing the functions of foreign agents’ before receiving foreign funding. The term ‘foreign agent’ has been considered as carrying a negative connotation in Russia, and could be interpreted as a synonym for ‘foreign espionage.’ Moreover, the draft law stipulates that any material published by such organizations will have to be labelled as being... Continue reading →
