Rights and Responsibilities of Civil Society in a Globalised World

7-9 March 2011

Location:
The Danish Institute for Human Rights
Strandgade 71, Ground Floor, 1401 Copenhagen, Denmark

This workshop is a joint initiative of

With the support of:

WELCOME

In a healthy democracy, there must be a balance

between bona fide security and the space for non-
violent protest.

There is a growing recognition among Civil Society

that the rights of association, assembly and free
expression are under threat. There is a blurring of
the lines between prevention of terrorism, prevention
of violent protest and suppression of legitimate
non-violent dissent. This undermines the legal and
social frameworks (where they exist) that allow Civil
Society to engage at all levels in open democratic
disagreement. Without this engagement, society steps
back from a full participatory democracy.

This workshop, taking place in Copenhagen, March

2011, will bring together international officials, civil
rights lawyers, activists, police and others to initiate a
dialogue between these sectors, and encourage debate
and discussion about how to maintain and expand
democratic rights and freedoms.

The workshop will consider possible recommendations

to be made to international and regional human rights
bodies, including the new UN Special Raporteur on
Freedoms of Assembly and Association, expected to
be appointed in March 2011. It will encourage Civil
Society organisations and police to examine their roles
and responsibilities in finding the balance between
security and non-violent dissent at events such as
the South Africa climate meeting in 2011 (COP17).
And it will explore potential interest on further work
to expand Freedoms of Assembly, Association and
Expression around large international meetings as
well as day to day freedoms in the North and South.
Programme - Overview

Monday the 7th of March

19.30 Public Meeting: Democratic Space – A View from Here

Tuesday the 8th of March

09.00 – 09.15 Welcome

09.15 – 10.45 International Legal Framework on Freedom of Assembly, Association and

Expression

11:15 – 13:00 National and Trans-National Threats to Democracy and Civic Space

13:00 – 14:00 LUNCH BREAK

14.00 – 15.30 Expanding the Democratic Space

16.00 – 17.30 Public Participation and Protest at International Meetings

Wednesday the 9th of March

09.00 – 13.00 Protest and Security in a Democracy: Finding the Balance

09.15 – 10.00 Authorities: Decisions and Actions

10.15 – 11.00 Civil Society: Decisions and Actions

11.15 – 13.00 A Better Balance

13.00 – 14.00 LUNCH BREAK

14.00 – 15.45 Action for Democratic Space

14.00 – 15.15 Parallel Working Groups

15.15 – 15.45 Break

15.45 – 16.15 Report Back in Plenary: Conclusions

16.15 – 16.45 Concluding Panel

16.45 – 17.00 Thanks and Farewell

 PROGRAMME

Monday, 7 March

19.30 Public Meeting: Democratic Space – A View from Here

This high-profile, public discussion of several key angles of democratic space and the rights and
responsibilities of Civil Society will set the context for the following two days. The meeting’s
panel will look at several perspectives on the freedom to express dissent, including human
rights, legal aspects, police, security and an activist viewpoint.

Speakers

Maja Daruwala – Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, India

Alok Mukherjee – Chair, Toronto Police Services Board, Canada
Mike Schwarz – Lawyer, UK
Kumi Naidoo – Executive Director, Greenpeace International, South Africa/Netherlands

Moderators

Ingrid Srinath – Ingrid Srinath, Secretary General, CIVICUS, South Africa

Jonas Christoffersen – Director, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark
 Tuesday, 8 March

09.00 – 09.15 Welcome

Moderators
Vibeke Tuxen – Chair, Projektrådgivningen - PATC, Project Advice and Training Centre, Denmark
Mads Christensen – Executive Director, Greenpeace Nordic, Denmark

NOTE: the following programme is conducted under the Chatham House Rule:
“Participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the
affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant may be revealed.”

09.15 – 10.45 International Legal Framework on Freedom of Assembly,

Association and Expression

This session will look at the existing framework for protecting the democratic space. What laws
are in place, and where? How well is the current international framework working? How could
it be changed? Three law experts from Belgium and the UK will discuss the situation with Jasper
Teulings of Greenpeace International.

Speakers
Jeremy McBride – Barrister, Monckton Chambers, London, UK
Dirk Voorhoof – Professor in Media Law, Copyright Law and Journalism & Ethics, Ghent
University, BelgiumMichael Bochenek – Director of Policy, International Secretariat, Amnesty
International, UK

Moderator
Jasper Teulings – General Counsel/Advocaat, Greenpeace International, Netherlands

11:15 – 13:00 National and Trans-National Threats to Democracy and Civic Space

Looking at both the north and the south, this session will examine the types of limitations we
are encountering to open discussion and to dissent. How do these limitations affect democracy
in different places? Maja Daruwala of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative will try to get
answers from this session’s diverse panel.

Speakers
Bhekinkosi Moyo – Director of Programs, TrustAfrica, Senegal
Peter Kessing – Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark
David Moore – Vice President of Legal Affairs, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL),
Hungary
Tony Bunyan – Investigative Journalist and Writer, Statewatch Director, UK

Moderator
Maja Daruwala – Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, India
 LUNCH BREAK

14.00 – 15.30 Expanding the Democratic Space

Is it possible to expand the democratic space? What specific mechanisms, measures and
processes could protect and improve freedoms of assembly, association and expression? Ingrid
Srinath of CIVICUS will ask this session’s expert panel to come up with suggestions, and discuss
advantages and disadvantages of different approaches.

Speakers
Agnès Callamard – Executive Director, ARTICLE 19, Global Campaign for Free Expression, UK
Max Boqwana – Human Rights Lawyer, South Africa
Jan Fermon – Lawyer, Belgium

Moderator
Ingrid Srinath – Ingrid Srinath, Secretary General, CIVICUS, South Africa

16.00 – 17.30 Public Participation and Protest at International Meetings

How could the democratic space be improved around - and particularly outside - high-level
international meetings? What is the relationship between Civil Society and the organisers?
Kristin Casper of Greenpeace International discusses these questions with panellists close to the
process.

Speakers
Logie Naidoo – Deputy Mayor of Durban, South Africa
Sebastien Duyck – Focal Point to the UNFCCC Secretariat – Youth, Finland
Rehana Dada – Science and Environmental Journalist, Timberwatch Coalition, South Africa
Jürgen Maier – Director, German NGO Forum Environment and Development, Germany
Pierre-Christian Soccoja - Deputy Secretary General for the French Presidency of G20 and G8,
France

Moderator
Kristin Casper – Legal Counsel, Greenpeace International, Netherlands
 Wednesday, 9 March

09.00 – 13.00 Protest and Security in a Democracy: Finding the Balance

There is a need to balance bona fide protection of the public and political figures with the right to
dissent and protest. This morning’s three-part session asks: How do authorities and Civil Society
exercise their rights AND their responsibilities? Allan Nyring of the Danish National Police and
the UK barrister Richard Harvey chair a high-profile panel of lawyers, police representatives
and activists to find answers.

09.15 – 10.00 Authorities: Decisions and Actions

How do police decisions on strategy and tactics limit or allow democratic space? How are these
decisions influenced? Looking at legal limits and questions of accountability, the panel will
discuss: What is effective; what is counter-effective? What is appropriate; what is inappropriate?

10.15 – 11.00 Civil Society: Decisions and Actions

How do Civil Society? Do decisions on strategy and tactics limit or allow democratic space?
How are these decisions influenced? Looking at legal limits and questions of accountability, the
panel will discuss: What is effective; what is counter-effective? What is appropriate; what is
inappropriate?

11.15 – 13.00 A Better Balance

Drawing on the session’s two preceding parts, this interactive discussion will aim to make
suggestions on what could be done better by both authorities AND Civil Society to protect the
right to dissent while respecting legitimate security concerns.

Speakers
Johan Reimann – Commissioner, Copenhagen Police, Denmark
David Mead – Senior Lecturer, UEA Law School, UK
Mike Schwarz – Lawyer, UK
Jasper Teulings – General Counsel/Advocaat, Greenpeace International, Netherlands
Kelly Rigg – Executive Director, Global Campaign for Climate Action (tck tck tck), Netherlands
Christofer Badse – Special Adviser, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark
Alok Mukherjee – Chair, Toronto Police Services Board, Canada

Moderators
Allan Nyring – Chief Superintendent, Danish National Police, Denmark
Richard Harvey – Barrister, Garden Court Chambers, London, UK
 LUNCH BREAK

14.00 – 15.45 Action for Democratic Space

The workshop’s final session will try to map a way forward. How can we identify the challenges
and address them in a coordinated way? How can we pool knowledge, resources and energies
towards common goals.

Erik Vithner of Projektrådgivningen and Jo Dufay of Greenpeace International will parallel

working groups to find good examples of best practices that can serve as general inspiration and
map the legal and political tactics that could be employed to expand the democratic space.

14.00 – 15.15 Parallel Working Groups

1) Focussed on recommendations to be made to international and regional human rights bodies,

including the new UN Special Rapporteur on Freedoms of Assembly and Association 

Facilitator
Erik Vithner – Manager of the Secretariate, Projektrådgivningen - PATC, Project Advise and
Training Centre, Denmark

2) Focussed on future work with Civil Society organisations and police to expand the democratic
space, particularly around international meetings, such as the 2011 climate change meeting in
South Africa (COP17)

Facilitator
Jo Dufay – Workshop Convenor, Greenpeace International, Netherlands

15.15 – 15.45 Break

15.45 – 16.15 Report Back in Plenary: Conclusions

Moderators
Jo Dufay and Erik Victhner

16.15 – 16.45 Concluding Panel

Ingrid Srinath, Allan Nyring, Richard Harvey and Kristin Kasper will give their impressions and
‘take away’ points from the workshop.

Moderators
Michael Bochenek and Kelly Rigg

16.45 – 17.00 Thanks and Farewell

SPEAKERS & BIOS

Christofer Badse

Deputy Department Director, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark

Christofer Badse has been with the Danish Institute for Human Rights since 2003. His present
position is Deputy Department Director and Monitoring Co-ordinator. Specialising in Danish
legislation, jurisprudence and the politics of human rights, Badse has also taught as a legal
expert in international human rights law and has led human rights courses and workshops in
Denmark and abroad.

Michael Garcia Bochenek

Director of Policy, International Secretariat, Amnesty International, UK

Michael Garcia Bochenek is Director of Law and Policy for the International Secretariat of
Amnesty International. Prior to joining Amnesty, he spent ten years with Human Rights Watch.
Bochenek has researched and reported on criminal and juvenile justice systems, the death
penalty, the exploitation of migrant workers and other labour rights issues, prison conditions,
the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, and the use of children as soldiers. 

Max Boqwana

Human Rights Lawyer, South Africa

Max Boqwana is an Attorney of the High Court in South Africa and the Chairman of the
Boqwana Loon & Connellan, a law firm practising in the area of Administrative and
Constitutional Law. Previously, Boqwana was the Chairperson of Attorneys Fidelity Fund in
South Africa and the Co-Chairperson of the South Africa Law Society.

Tony Bunyan

Investigative Journalist and Writer, Statewatch Director, UK

Tony Bunyan is an Investigative Journalist and Writer specialising in justice and home affairs,
civil liberties, the state and freedom of information in the EU. He has been the Director of
Statewatch since 1990. Bunyan is the author of “The Political Police in Britain” (1977), “Secrecy
and openness in the EU” (1999) and “The Shape of Things to Come” (2009). He edited “The War on
Freedom and Democracy” (2005) and is a Visiting Fellow at London Metropolitan University and
the University of Bristol.
Agnès Callamard

Executive Director, ARTICLE 19 – Global Campaign for Free Expression, UK

Dr. Agnès Callamard took up the post of ARTICLE 19 Executive Director in October 2004. She is
a former Chef de Cabinet for the Secretary General of Amnesty International and, as Research
Policy Coordinator, led Amnesty’s work on women’s human rights. Callamard has conducted
human rights investigations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and has published widely on
human rights, women’s rights, refugee movements and accountability.

Rehana Dada

Science and Environmental Journalist, Board Member,Timberwatch Coalition, South Africa

Rehana Dada is a science and environment t journalist. A founding member of the Africa Earth
Observatory Network, a scientific research and advocacy institute, she is also a board member
of Timberwatch, a timber industry watchdog that campaigns to prevent innapropriate forest
market mechanisms. Rehana has participated in climate justice actions, helping to establish the
Climate Justice Now! South African network. In January 2011 she was nominated onto the South
African civil society committee that is planning for the UNFCCC COP17 in Durban, South Africa.

Sebastien Duyck

Focal Point to the UNFCCC Secretariat – Youth, Finland

Sébastien Duyck is a doctoral candidate at the University of Lapland in Finland, where he is
writing his dissertation on procedural rights in international environmental governance. For
several years, he has been active in NGOs, particularly in relation to the facilitation and support
of youth participation in inter-governmental forums.

Jan Fermon

Lawyer, Belgium
Jan Fermon is a Brussels-based lawyer specialising in European and international criminal law,
international humanitarian law and immigration law. He is a member of the Progress Layers
Network and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) and has recently
co-authored the book “Political Defense,” which also discusses the work of defense lawyers in
criminal cases against social and political activists.

Peter Kessing

Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark

Peter Vedel Kessing (LLM, Ph.D.) is a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights,
doing research in security, counter-terrorism, human rights and humanitarian law. He has been
working with international projects on human rights and humanitarian law for several years
and is external lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Copenhagen University. Some of his papers are
available here: http://www.humanrights.dk/research/staff
Jürgen Maier

Director, German NGO Forum Environment and Development, Germany

Jürgen Maier is the Director of the German NGO Forum on Environment & Development. The
Forum’s main focus is to prepare joint NGO position papers and strategies, especially around G8
and G20 summits, and to coordinate the input of German NGOs into the international negotiation
processes. It was founded 1992, following the UN Conference on Environment and Development.

Jeremy McBride

Barrister, Monckton Chambers, London, UK

Jeremy McBride is a barrister at Monckton Chambers, London, and a co-coordinator at the Expert
Council on NGO Law of the Council of Europe. McBride is the Chair of the Scientific Committee of
the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency and the Chair and co-founder of INTERIGHTS, which works
to promote respect for human rights through the use of law. He is a Visiting Professor at Central
European and Oxford universities.

David Mead

Senior Lecturer, UEA Law School, UK

David Mead is a senior lecturer in the UEA Law School at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.
He specialises in protest, policing and human rights. His book “The New Law of Peaceful
Protest: Rights and Regulation in the Human Rights Act Era” was published in 2010. He has
provided advice to the Home Office and to Chief Constables and has submitted evidence to the
UK Parliament’s Human Rights Committee. Mead is a regular contributor to The Guardian’s
Comment Is Free/Liberty Central website.

David Moore

Vice President of Legal Affairs, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), Hungary
David Moore is Vice President of Legal Affairs with the International Center for Not-for-Profit
Law (ICNL), where he has worked since 2001, supporting legal reform affecting Civil Society in a
diverse range of contexts around the world. Moore has trained Civil Society representatives and
UN Civil Society staff on legal issues. He teaches Civil Society Law at Budapest’s Central European
University.

Bhekinkosi Moyo

Director of Programs, TrustAfrica, Senegal

Dr. Bhekinkosi Moyo is a Director of Programs at TrustAfrica, a pan-African Foundation based in
Dakar, Senegal, which is dedicated to securing the conditions for democracy. He recently edited
the volume “DisEnabling the Public Sphere: Civil Society Regulation in Africa”.
wAlok Mukherjee

Chair, Toronto Police Services Board, Canada

Dr. Alok Mukherjee, Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board since 2005, is a writer,
speaker, trainer and consultant in human rights, equity, diversity and organisation change.
Mukherjee has also held several public appointments, including Member of the Ontario Civilian
Commission on Police Services and Acting Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights
Commission.

Kumi Naidoo

Executive Director, Greenpeace International, South Africa/The Netherlands

Dr. Kumi Naidoo is Executive Director of Greenpeace International. Born in South Africa, Naidoo
became actively involved in the country’s liberation struggle at the age of 15. Naidoo has held
leadership positions with CIVICUS, GCAP and the GCCA. In 2003 he was appointed to the Eminent
Persons Panel on UN Civil Society Relations.

Logie Naidoo

Deputy Mayor of Durban, South Africa

Logie Naidoo is the Deputy Mayor of Durban, South Africa. Following a corporate career with
stops at Mercedes Benz and La Mercy Beach Hotel, he served as Executive Chair of the North
Local Council until 2000. After the killing of Soweto students in 1976, Naidoo took the painful
decision to join the underground military wing of the African National Congress (ANC).

Johan Reimann

Commissioner, Copenhagen Police, Denmark

John Martini Reimann became the Copenhagen Police Commissioner in July 2009. Prior to that,
he was the director of the North Zealand Police. A law graduate, Reiman has in the past worked
for the Danish government’s justice department and has served as the Danish representative
to the European Union’s Eurojust Unit in The Hague. Reimann is a lecturer at Copenhagen
University and the Danish police school.

Kelly Rigg

Executive Director, Global Campaign for Climate Action (tck tck tck), Netherlands
Kelly Rigg is the Executive Director of the GCCA (tcktcktck), a global alliance of 270 organisations.
She has led international campaigns for nearly 30 years on climate, energy, oceans, Antarctica
and other issues. She is the co-founder of the Varda Group, a consultancy that provides campaign
and strategic advice to a wide range of NGOs.
Mike Schwarz

Lawyer, UK
Mike Schwarz is a London-based defence lawyer who has acted for political activists and
campaigners on issues such as the environment, animal rights, peace/disarmament, race
and social justice. He is the joint author of “The Law of Public Order and Protest” (OUP, 2010).
Schwarz is particularly concerned with citizens’ freedom of expression and freedom of
assembly. He advises and trains campaign groups and NGOs on criminal and public order law.

Pierre-Christian Soccoja

Deputy Secretary General for the French Presidency of G20 and G8, France
Pierre-Christian Soccoja is a Medical Doctor, Senior Civil Servant and Diplomat and former
Secretary General of the Central Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, He joined the Ministry
of Justice in 2000, when he left the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, as Deputy Head of Office of
Human Rights at the European and International Affairs Service.

Dirk Voorhoof

Professor in Media Law, Copyright Law and Journalism & Ethics, Ghent University, Belgium
Dirk Voorhoof is a Professor for courses in Media Law, Copyright Law and Journalism & Ethics at
Ghent University, Belgium, and a Lecturer at Copenhagen University, Denmark. He is a founding
member of Legal Human Academy. Recent articles include “Freedom of Expression under the
European Human Rights System” (Inter-American and European Human Rights Journal, 2009/1-
2, 3-49, September 2010).
His website can be viewed at http://www.psw.ugent.be/dv
MODERATORS & BIOS
Kristin Casper

Legal Counsel, Greenpeace International, Netherlands

Kristin Casper is legal counsel for Greenpeace International. She advises on international
environmental law and legal aspects of campaigning in the areas of climate change, energy,
toxics, and water and on Arctic-related issues. She is a registered attorney with the State of
Colorado Bar.

Mads Flarup Christensen

Executive Director, Greenpeace Nordic, Denmark

Mads Flarup Christensen is the Executive Director of Greenpeace Nordic, a position he took up in
2008. Christensen has been with Greenpeace for more than 15 years and has been responsible for
a wide range of campaigns and actions. He graduated in Political Science from the University of
Copenhagen and lives with his wife and two children in Copenhagen.

Jonas Christoffersen

Director, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark

Dr. Jonas Christoffersen was appointed Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights in
January 2009. He is a lawyer with entitlement to plead before the High Court and previously held
the position of acting High Court Judge at the Danish Eastern High Court. Christoffersen has
written extensively on national and international human rights. He was awarded a Doctor of
Laws degree for his dissertation on the European Court of Human Rights.

Maja Daruwala

Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, India

Maja Daruwala is Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, a non-partisan
international NGO focused on human rights education and advocacy. Daruwala is the founder
and Chair of the People’s Watch Tamil Nadu, a human rights advocacy organisation based in
South India, and sits on several governing boards and advisory councils, including the New
Delhi-based Voluntary Action Network, an umbrella organisation aimed at strengthening Civil
Society in India.
Jo Dufay

Special Projects Coordinator, Greenpeace International, Netherlands

Jo Dufay has thirty years of campaign leadership, working on disarmament, environment,
international trade agreements, corporate control and reproductive rights issues.  A freelance
consultant, Dufay has worked with NGOs in Fiji, Korea, Iran, Israel, Europe and North America.
She provides campaign training and direction, strategy development, project management and
meeting facilitation. Jo Dufay is the convenor for this conference.

Richard Harvey

Barrister, Garden Court Chambers, London, UK

Richard Harvey is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers, London, and lead defence counsel at
the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, The Hague. He has conducted
numerous cases involving excessive use of force, most notably the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in
Derry, Northern Ireland.  Harvey advised Greenpeace International in the Tokyo Two case,
which saw two anti-whaling activists face trial in Japan.

Allan Nyring

Chief Superintendent, Danish National Police, Denmark

Allan Nyring, Chief Superintendent of the Danish National Police, has been in police service
since 1980. Nyring served in the police of Copenhagen before moving to a smaller police district
and, in 2007, to the police for North Zealand. He has been with the National Danish Police since
November 2009. He is married and has three daughters.

Ingrid Srinath

Secretary General, CIVICUS, South Africa

Ingrid Srinath is the Secretary General of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation.
Its members and partners make up an influential network of organisations dedicated to
strengthening Civil Society throughout the world. Srinath also serves on the board of the IANGO
Accountability Charter and on the World Economic Forum NGO Advisory Group. Prior to joining
CIVICUS in May 2008, she served as Chief Executive of India’s leading child rights advocacy
organisation, Child Rights and You.

Jasper Teulings

General Counsel/Advocaat, Greenpeace International, Netherlands

Jasper Teulings is General Counsel/Advocaat at Greenpeace International’s legal unit, which
develops pro-active litigation strategies to support Greenpeace campaigns and provides pre-
publication reviews of potentially contentious publications, such as campaign reports on
environmental crimes. Jasper sits on the Board of the INGO Accountability Charter and regularly
speaks on a wide range of topics, including free speech and peaceful protest.
Vibeke Tuxen

Chair, Projektrådgivningen - PATC, Project Advise and Training Centre, Denmark

Vibeke Tuxen is Chair of Projektrådgivningen - PATC, Project Advise and Training Centre. With
a background in anthropology, she has worked with indigenous peoples’ rights and promoted
social and environmentally sustainable development in developing countries for twenty years.
Tuxen is engaged in improving the political and economic conditions for the development of
Civil Society organisations, as well as in their rights and responsibilities. She represents the
Danish environmental NGO Nepenthes.

Erik Vithner

Manager of the Secretariate, Projektrådgivningen - PATC, Project Advise and Training Centre,
Denmark
Erik Vithner is the Manager of the Secretariate at Projektrådgivningen - PATC, Project Advise and
Training Centre, an independent association of more than 250 Danish Civil Society Organisations
engaged in development work in Asia, Africa or Latin America. Prior to that Vithner was
Manager at the Secretariate of Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (ActionAid Denmark). His particular
focus is on management, strategies and external cooperation.