Democracy & Development - Heinrich Böll Stiftung

Democracy & Development

Introduction

The work of the Heinrich Böll Foundation (hbf) on democracy is based on the understanding that democracy is a socio-political process driven by citizens.

The adoption by the EU of subsequent constitutive treaties has created sufficient provision for the respect of Human Rights within EU internal and external policies including Common Foreign and Security Policy, trade, cooperation and development. Thus EU External Relations activities must not only respect but also promote Human Rights and democratic development. Legal provision on gender equality is unfortunately less consistent.

The Brussels office promotes the integration and implementation of existing EU legal provision on democracy, Human Rights, gender equality, sustainable development and civil society participation in the contractual relations with developing countries. This is put into practice with active participation from hbf socio-political partners in Brussels and abroad.

Human Rights

COMMENTARY

Khodorkovsky Dangling between Conviction and Release: Is there a Solution?

The second trial against the former Yukos owners, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, is coming to an end. The trial and its outcome are extremely political. I will try to explain why this is so, and why it could be worthwhile making some efforts to influence the outcome.

By Jens Siegert, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Russia office more»

ARTICLE

Human Rights Policy of the EU after Lisbon –

With the Lisbon Treaty coming into force, the European Parliament's role is key. But is the EP well prepared for the new task? Barbara Lochbihler, MEP for the Greens/EFA group, takes a closer look at the stronger and weaker spots of the EP's policy.

Publication

“Campo Algodonero” – “Cotton Field” –

Proposals for analysis and monitoring of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' "Cotton Field" Case sentence, regarding human rights violations committed by the Mexican State.

On December 10, 2009, the day that commemorates the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued the judgment on the "Cotton Field" Case

Resource Curse in Latinamerica – Natural resources form a huge part of the wealth of developing countries. However, that is only a potential wealth for the people. more»

Democracy

Publication

The Class of 2009: Green Visions for Europe

To the surprise of many opinion pollsters and political commentators it became clear late in the evening of 7 June 2009 that the real winners in the European elections were the Greens. They were the only political group in the European Parliament that had managed to increase their number of seats. Few would have forecast this even a few days before. The European Union office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung has invited eleven new Green Members of the European Parliament from five different countries to write about their ambitions for Europe. What are the goals of the new Greens and how do they want to achieve them? more»

Short films

Short films 1989 – 2009: Europe on the Move – In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the revolutionary events of 1989, the Prague office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung has prepared a web dossier entitled “1989-2009: Europe on the Move”, where in addition to articles and studies on this topic you can also find four short films. more»

Publication

Twenty years after - post-communist countries and European integration – In the words of the Polish journalist and dissident, Adam Michnik, 1989 was Europe's annus mirabilis. The peaceful revolution of that year was a miracle effected by the people in central and eastern Europe. more»

Green Identity in a Changing Europe – Published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation EU Regional Office Brussels, November 2008
Final editing by Marianne Ebertowski see pdf (126 pages, 1.58 MB)

Publication Series Democracy

1968 revisited. 40 Years of Protest Movements – Protagonists of 1968 from Brazil, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Germany, South Africa, Serbia, and Belgium share their memories and assess the events. more»

Gender

Publication

Feminicido: Un Fenomeno Global - De Lima a Madrid

Feminicides refer to cases in which the victims women, after experiencing continuous discrimination throughout their lives, are killed because they are. Going beyond the emblematic cases in Mexico and Guatemala, this publication offers a regional perspective on feminicide in Latin America. It gives voice to prominent women activists, academics, human rights defenders and civil society.

Conference Report

2nd Conference on Feminicide and Strategy Meeting – In November 2009, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung organized the 2nd conference on Feminicide and a Strategy Meeting. The Conference Report in English and in Spanish (en Español) can be accessed here»

Publication

Gender Politics Makes a Difference - Experiences of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Across the World – Politics can only succeed when it is inclusive of all genders. Gender justice is an ambitious goal, one that the Heinrich Böll Foundation is pursuing together with many different allies worldwide. This publication gives an overview of their work. more»

Feminicides – Feminicide is on the extreme end of a continuum of anti female terror that includes a wide variety of verbal and physical abuse. more»