Human rights and "popular participation".There is a close relationshio between popular participation and human rights, says a study prepared by the Secretary-General (E/CN.4/1985/10) that was reviewed by the Commission on Human Rights at its 1985 annual session. The study stated that respect for certain rights is indispensable if genuine participation is to develop; reciprocally, the more participation is organized, the more the awareness of fundamental rights is accentuated and the stronger the demand for institutional safeguards to protect them. The study was prepared pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 1983/31, which was adopted on the Commission's recommendation in its resolution 1983/14. The resolution requested the Secretary-General to undertake a comprehensive analytical study on the right to popular participation in its various forms as an important factor in the full realization of all human rights. Referring to the relationshio between popular participation and the right to self-determination, the study said that effective contribution of the people to the exercise of their self-determination through democratic processes involving popular participation made is possible avoid "obstructionism ob·struc·tion·ist n. One who systematically blocks or interrupts a process, especially one who attempts to impede passage of legislation by the use of delaying tactics, such as a filibuster. and political difficulties". There is a close underlying relationship between freedom of expression and information, and popular participation. The very motivation to participate in public affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. can develop only through exposure to "seminal seminal /sem·i·nal/ (sem´i-n'l) pertaining to semen or to a seed. sem·i·nal adj. Of, relating to, containing, or conveying semen or seed. information and ideas concerning the dignity of the human person within his community and his fundamental human rights". Such awakening is rarely, if ever, totally spontaneous. It requires some stimulation from outside the community, especially in the case of small isolated rural communities in the developing world. Popular participation requires, as a major prerequisite, a satisfactory degree or openness of government and access to administrative information at the local, national and regional levels. Information on national affairs National Affairs, Inc. is a U.S. organization which published both The National Interest and The Public Interest. The organization was run by Irving Kristol, and featured board members such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former U. should be disseminated disseminated /dis·sem·i·nat·ed/ (-sem´i-nat?ed) scattered; distributed over a considerable area. dis·sem·i·nat·ed adj. Spread over a large area of a body, a tissue, or an organ. through all levels of society and in all communities, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the study. Information of local concern must flow between communities and inside each community. Minority groups should have the possibility of making known their diverging di·verge v. di·verged, di·verg·ing, di·verg·es v.intr. 1. To go or extend in different directions from a common point; branch out. 2. To differ, as in opinion or manner. 3. opinions. Freedom of expression and information implies that the various media, through which opinions may be communicated, should be available and accessible, and that citizens should be free to make their choice. That right may further be interpreted as preventing the State from imposing prior restraints Government prohibition of speech in advance of publication. One of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the freedom from prior restraint. upon news and opinions. The "participatory movement" itself--through its various groupings and associations--plays a significant part in stimulating the flow of information between the government and the governed and between all communities, the report said. As people become more conscious of their rights and want to construct their own future, they demand more information on public affairs and a higher level of accuracy of such information. A similar trend might be observed, to some extent, as regards information disclosed by industrial and commercial enterprises to their shareholders, their workers and the public at large. The participating movements make a significant contribution to increasing and improving the flow of information from the grass roots grass roots pl.n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) 1. People or society at a local level rather than at the center of major political activity. Often used with the. 2. The groundwork or source of something. to the decision-making levels in all political, economic and cultural activities. The study said that "participatory aspirations aspirations npl → aspiraciones fpl (= ambition); ambición f aspirations npl (= hopes, ambition) → aspirations fpl express themselves, at first, in assemblies, large or small, which lead normally to more permanent grouping and associations". The right to freedom of assembly appeared to be increasingly exercised in today's world. It would appear that organized demonstrations were used more often than in the past as a means of gathering support for various causes and making public feelings known. In recent years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time range and role of voluntary associations had tended to expand and diversify. In addition to traditional groupings, such as political parties, labour unions and religious communities, there were new, often dynamic, forms of participation centred on specific conditions or sets of problems. The Commission, in resolution 1985/44, requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission in 1986 a report containing comments on the study from Governments, United Nations organs, specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations “NGO” redirects here. For other uses, see NGO (disambiguation). A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by private persons or organizations with no participation or representation of any government. . |
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