Arab Laws Reform

Conferences

Foundation Affirms Support for Freedom of Association on National, Regional Level

Thursday, 11 February 2010 00:00

Once more, Cairo came to the fore of the civil society in the Arab world: More than one hundred delegates representing NGOs, political parties, labour unions, international human rights organizations and the European Union joined the Conference on “Freedom of Association. A Roadmap for the Future” organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) from February 10 to 12, 2010.The three-day event marked the formal ending of a three-year regional project aimed at promoting the right to freedom of association in the Arab world.

Freedom of association : opportunities, challenges and a future roadmap from an international perspective

Thursday, 11 February 2010 00:00

Conference Friedrich Naumann, Cairo, Feb 11, 2010

Presentation FIDH

Freedom of Association : Opportunities, challenges and a future roadmap from an international perspective

It is a great pleasure for the International Federation for Human Rights to be invited and to participate in this important conference tackling one of the most pregnant issues not only in the Arab region but all over the world.

As shown in the last annual report of the Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders (joint programme FIDH/OMCT), repression of demonstrations, trade union members arrested, NGOs under surveillance: for years these facts have been related to situations of economic and social imbalance and inequity. The rise in social discontent linked to the world economic crisis has increased the repression recorded in recent years.

The inflation of freedom-killing practices and laws relating to the control of the social body was one of the significant characteristics of the problems encountered by human rights defenders last year.

Press Release: Freedom of Association, A Roadmap for the Future

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 00:00

League of Arab States Premises, Cairo – Egypt, 10-12 February 2010

[Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunis, Yemen]

More than 100 representatives of Arab civil society organizations, government representatives and representatives of EU and international organizations, gathered in Cairo, Egypt, under the umbrella of HE Mr. Amr Musa, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, in an attempt to draw a roadmap for the freedom of association in the Arab World.

Earlier, in October 2009, a number of Arab activists, with the support of the FNF-EU cofinanced project on Freedom of Association, gathered in Broumana, Lebanon and initiated the creation of the “Arab Council for Freedom of Association.” Preparations are on-going to register the Council in Beirut with clear objectives and work plan to influence Arab legislations, to lobby for better laws governing political parties, trade unions and NGOs and to enhance the image and performance of CSOs to better serve the democratic processes in their countries. A number of national coalitions have been already initiated in a number of countries but, restrictive laws, delayed their registration in many countries.

A Roadmap for the Future

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 00:00

Freedom of Association
A Roadmap for the Future
Cairo
10-12 February 2010

Oral Presentation
Mervat Rishmawi
Legal Advisor, Amnesty International

The work of Amnesty International in relation to freedom of association starts from the premise that this is an essential human right that is enshrined in international human rights and ILO law. It represents a universal "value" relating to the need for human brings to associate with one another in society when they share beliefs or opinions or a common purpose – for example trade unionists to secure good work conditions, people sharing a particular religious faith, people pursuing a shared political agenda or ideas, etc. Therefore, we do see this as much wider than just protection of human rights NGOs (though they too should benefit from freedom of association on the same basis as others).

Cairo Conference Programme