Freedoms and Participation

1. Freedoms and Participation

2. Aim? Nationally and internationally to promote the realisation and protection of fundamental freedoms and popular participation. • Freedom rights are fundamental for strengthening and promoting participation in the affairs of government and the society in general. Without the guarantee of fundamental human rights and freedoms, such as freedom of belief, speech, assembly and association, the ability of people to effectively participate in governance is non-existent and the democratic systems of government will collapse. • Participation aims to empower and enable individuals and groups to claim their rights and engage actively in public affairs through increased mobilization and representation.

3. Ambition Freedom • To target the development of projects, programmes, studies and analysis which will influence policies, legislative, institutional, societal framework for the realisation of freedom rights.

4. Theodore Roosevelt/How do we understand freedom? • Fundametal rights? • Freedom from want • Freedom from fear • Freedom to live in dignity or freedom rights • Freedom of speech, assembly association, and part take in government

5. UDHR • Article 18. • Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. • Article 19. • Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. • Article 20. • (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. • (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association. • Article 21. • (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

6. Or to include? • Article 3. • Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. • Article 4. • No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. • Article 5. • No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. • Article 12. • No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. • Article 13. • (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. • (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. • Article 14. • (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. • (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. • Article 15. • (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. • (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

7. Ambition participation • To take an active role in the development and implementation of concepts, methodologies, studies, and programmes furthering popular participation /active individuals in societal affairs/empowerment

8. How? Promotion of fundamental freedoms • Through studies and research • Harmonisation of legislation • Teaching and manual development • Advocacy campaigns • Active use of Media and Internet tools • Yemen, Turkey, Afghanistan, West Africa Denmark, research department • Cooperation with strategic partners for the area

9. Participation • Important goal in promotion of participation is the development of democratic governance. However, democratisation requires a vibrant civil society, a private marked, independent research and media and is thus not something you can simply transition to, rather it is a way of governance that requires a constant and plural process of dilemmas and debate based on credible information on societal development. • As noted above Civil society plays a crucial role in providing this information through different avenues; bridging individual identities, concerns and vulnerabilities with that of the state and the corporate sector.

10. Therefore targeting civil society organisations and association as strategic partners in ensuring democratic governance and popular participation is essential – for creation of societies where citizens are “informed, empowered and engaged”.

11. Participation is thus both and end goal and – a right in itself that needs to be protected - a methodology or means to secure democratic control.

12. How? • HR networks • HR resource centres • Media cooperation • HR education methodology (participatory approaches) • Studies and analysis • Advocacy model • Monitoring • Treaty body reporting

13. Areas of development Nationally: • Increased cooperation with danish NGOs, media, education system, ombudsman, • monitoring the development of policy in relation to freedom of association, freedom of speech, access to information, freedom of religion. • Providing commentaries to law and policy; • Development of education programmes with the purpose of promoting active participation in society.

14. Areas of development Internationally • Development of concept for HR- networking and advocacy • Out-reach tools • Civic education programmes • HR documentation and resource centres • Media components cooperation • The post totalitarian countries former soviet space / middle east– (freedom rights ) • Culture religion and Human rights • Cooperation with International organisations, ICLN, CIVICUS, Article 19, transparency int. UN and EU agency for human rights

15. Thematic areas • HR networks and dialogue - part of methodology of work with the purpose to obtain HR culture and state- civil society cooperation • Partnership - esential for ownership and the implementation of participatory processes • HR and Non state Actors – target groups for potential partnerships as well as research of their role and responsibility in relation to HR • culture, religion and tradition –freedom of belief, as well as important in relation to promotion of freedom rights • Freedom and security - Defining the balance – defining security in broader terms • Rule of law/flow of justice/access to justice cooperation with the two departments on provision of CS input to Rule of law issues • Human rights and poverty – poor people are often deprived of most fundamental rights - the correlation between participation and representation and reduction of poverty • Migration – migrants are often deprived of their most fundamental rights and freedoms • Conflict prevention – dialogue, communication, participation and open discussion are very important elements in conflict prevention

16. Participation and governance • And Article 21. • (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. • (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. • (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.