Human rights groups should find it simple to become legal entities, uncomplicated to appeal government rejection, easy to raise money, not difficult to take part in a wide range of protest activities, so long as their actions are transparent, a United Nations human rights expert says.
New York, Oct 22 2004 10:00AM
In a <“report´>http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/59/401″>report to
Secretary-General Kofi Annan for transmission to the General Assembly, Mr.
Annan´s Special Representative on human rights defenders, Hina Jilani,
says whereas she “recognizes that States can regulate freedom of
association, she encourages them to adopt regimes of ´declaration´ or
´notification,´ whereby an organization is considered a legal entity as
soon as it has notified its existence to the relevant administration by
providing basic information.”
Access to funds to defend human rights should be facilitated by the law,
even if the sources are foreign, she says.
“No restrictions should be imposed on the types of activities that human
rights defenders carry out in the defence of human rights, provided they
respect the principle of transparency and non-violence,” she says,
including furthering democratic rights, advocating constitutional reforms
and government accountability and publicizing opinions and facts critical
of government policies and actions.
