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.

Development

REPORT

Strategy Meeting Report: IV Conference on Feminicide - No More Killing of Women! Time to Put Words into Action

Feminicide, the most extreme form of violence against women, is generally linked to discrimination, poverty and patriarchal cultures. It takes place within a context of total impunity and particularly affects many Latin American states. The main task of the Strategy Meeting that followed the fourth conference on feminicide in the European Parliament on 3 March 2011 was to define concrete activities to be undertaken in the period before the next EU and Latin American and Caribbean Summit that will take place in Santiago de Chile in June 2012.

DOSSIER

Afghanistan 2011 - 10 Years of International Engagement

- After ten years of international involvement in Afghanistan, a second conference will take place in Bonn this December 2011 to discuss the country’s future. Since 2002, the Heinrich Böll Foundation has actively supported the development of civil society in Afghanistan and has promoted exchanges between the German and Afghan public. The following dossier provides a venue for comments, analysis and debate ahead of the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan. more»

Peaceful protest in front of the steps of the Brussels Stock Exchange

PRESS RELEASE

Action in Solidarity with Victims of Belarus Bombing

- April 20, 2011 - About 15 young Russians and Belarusians unfurled their banners in Brussels calling for a fair and open investigation into the explosion of April 11, 2011 at a central Minsk metro station, which killed 13 and injured more than 200 people. more»

DECLARATION

NO MORE KILLING OF WOMEN! TIME TO PUT WORDS INTO ACTION: Declaration of the IV Conference on Feminicide European Parliament, 3 March 2011

- On 3 March 2011 the fourth Conference on Feminicide took place in the European Parliament (EP) following the EP resolution on the murder of women (feminicide) in Mexico and Central America and the role of the European Union (EU) in fighting the phenomenon (2007/2025(INI)) adopted in October 2007. The conference took the opportunity to assess the current situation in Latin America and the implications of EU policies in this regard, and to formulate demands for concrete measures to be taken by EU institutions that are required to tackle feminicide in an effective and coherent manner. more»

FACTSHEET

Is the Raw Material Initiative in line with the EU Policy Coherence for Development?

- All around the world, mining has led to resettlements of the local population, drinking water contamination by cyanide spillages, large reduction of farmland, inadequate compensation paid by mining companies, and waste dumps near resettled villages result in health problems and the loss of traditional jobs such as agriculture and pastoral activities at the place of extraction. Several paragraphs of the European Parliament resolution of 18 May 2010 on the “EU Policy Coherence for Development and the Official Development Assistance plus” concept are undermined by the European Commission's Raw Material Initiative.

Johanna Sydow more»

Analysis of the EU Raw Materials Initiative

- February 4, 2011 - On 2 February 2011, the European Commission presented an update to its Raw Materials Strategy from 2008. What are the practical implications of this European strategy, especially for resource rich developing countries around the world? Johanna Sydow, Lili Fuhr, Ute Straub more»

European Development Days 2010

- The European Development Days of the year 2010 took place in Brussels from 6 to 7 December. For more information please click more»

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

Comment

WikiLeaks' Promise to Democracy

Having power does something to people. They get full of hubris; they forget who they are supposed to represent; they start exercising their power behind closed doors and they become arrogant in a way that is both unbecoming and potentially dangerous. This is one of the things that WikiLeaks counteracts. A comment by Christian Engström more»

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»

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 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. more»

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»

Contact
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