AMMAN — The
Civil Society Coalition HIMAM organized the forum “Freedom of peaceful assembly
and association” on Monday, to shed the light on the “reality of the right to
peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of work,” according to HIMAM
coordinator Abeer Madanat.
اضافة اعلان
Taking part in
the forum were
UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful
Assembly and of Association Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, representatives of civil
society organizations, diplomatic missions, international institutions, media
workers, jurists and activists.
Madanat said that
the right to peaceful assembly and association intersects with many other
rights, “the most important of which is the ability of individuals to exercise
the right of expression and defend their rights guaranteed by the Jordanian
Constitution”.
She also said
that the UN has a legal mandate to monitor the ability of people to exercise
this right, that it receives complaints about violation and issues state-level
recommendations and reports regarding countries’ commitment to protecting it.
Madanat indicated
that the countries that top the international indicators share an environment
that supports peaceful assembly, the independence of civil society, freedom of
expression, social justice, and gender equality, have honest, transparent and
socially accountable governments, freedom of the press, an independent
judiciary, and secure the right to access information and quality services,
which should be available to all.
President of the
Arab Institute for Human Rights Abdel Basset bin Hassan said that it was the
Arab civil society organizations that introduced the concepts of human rights
and democracy to Arab societies, and linked media and technology with human
rights, “which are originally rights, duties, and concepts that are
historically rooted in these concepts.”
He stressed the
importance of civil society in developing policies and securing the enjoyment
of human rights to advance popular participation in various political, economic
and social sectors, “based on the participation and inclusion of various groups
of society”.
According to
Voule, there is a confidence gap between civil society institutions and the
government, which makes it important for different sectors of society to hold a
dialogue and reach solutions that satisfy everyone.
The forum was moderated
by
Nidal Mansour, member of the Board of Directors of the Center for the
Protection and Freedom of Journalists. It also discussed issues like “the
freedom of association between law and practice”, and Jordan’s standing by
international standards regarding the right to peaceful assembly and
associations, and the application of international best practices.
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