On 15 March 2011 a public hearing will be held on supporting Iranian civil society at the European Parliament, in Brussels (Room ASP A3H1). The hearing will focus on civil society in Iran and how the international community, particularly the European Union, can support it. The event is organised by No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) in cooperation with MEP Niccolo’ Rinaldi (ALDE). Speakers will include Michael Gibb (Oxford University, UK), Nasser Boladai (spokesperson of BPP (Balochistan Peoples Party) and a member of the International Committee of the CNFI (Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran), Marino Busdachin (UNPO General Secretary) and Niccolo’ Figa-Talamanca (Secretary General of No Peace Without Justice).
The peoples of the Middle East and Iran are struggling to secure their civil and political rights and advocate for greater public participation in the political process, as well as the respect of human rights, freedoms and the rule of law. The international community, the European Union in particular, needs to increase and reinforce its vows for the defense of democratic principles and values. While the promotion and protection of human rights and democratic values largely depends on domestic political actors, the international community has an important role to play in the democracy transition processes.
Over the course of the last years, No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) has worked and cooperated with many democracy activists both in the Arab countries and Iran. In the hopes of strengthening and reinforcing the commitment of European public and private institutions toward the support of Iranian civil society, NPWJ produced the booklet “Supporting Iranian civil Society: A toolkit for democratic colleagues in the international community”, which will be presented during the hearing. The main policy objective of this publication is to encourage Europeans to provide appropriate support for the cause of Iranian democracy.
In the course of the meeting NPWJ will also launch a new website, aimed at gathering, systematising and classifying public source information relating to the political events within Iran since June 2009 and fostering information awareness about post-election developments.
Download the flyer of the event.
Download the Speakers’ bios
Contact:
Gianluca Eramo, +32 2 548 39 25, geramo@npwj.org or Kelly Robinson, +32 494 533 927, krobinson@npwj.org. Check also our website: www.npwj.org
About NPWJ:
No Peace Without Justice is an international non‑profit organisation founded by Emma Bonino that works for the protection and promotion of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and international justice. It undertakes its work within three main thematic programs: International Criminal Justice, Female Genital Mutilation, and Middle East and North Africa Democracy (including specific work on Iran and Iraq).
