Dear Sir/Madam:
It is with great pleasure that the organizers of the Conference on Democracy, Self-Determination and Liberation of Peoples would like to invite you to join us on Monday, 23 September 2013, from 0900-1800hours at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.
Background
More than 60 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaimed that the “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
In 1976 in Algiers, the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples was adopted. It stressed that individual rights cannot be realized unless collective rights are respected; and that all peoples of the world have the legitimate right to fight for their liberation if they are under foreign or local oppression.
In 1986, the United Nations General Assembly approved the UN Declaration on the Right to Development that recognizes the collective right of peoples and countries to development.
Today, these rights are in danger. There is a need to reaffirm these rights in the face of challenges generated by the war on terror and foreign intervention that tend to negate the national sovereignty of countries and the right of peoples’ to self-determination.
There is an upsurge of democratic peoples’ movements in many countries of the world, from the underdeveloped peripheries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, all the way to the industrial heartlands of North America, Europe and Japan.
The peoples of the world are rising up from the stupor engendered by limited democracy and are more actively participating in the fight for a just world where freedom, prosperity and peace can be enjoyed by all of humanity.
The Conference
The conference aims to reaffirm the fundamental principles enshrined in the above-cited conventions and declarations and gather support for the people’s struggles for genuine democracy, liberation and development.
The conference will engage politicians and policy-makers to highlight the issues of – political and economic democracy and the right of peoples to self-determination and liberation – within the European Parliament (EP) and related agencies. It will present concrete demands for responses directed to policy makers.
This initiative is being supported by MEP Jürgen Klute, European United Left – Nordic Green Left Group (GUE/NGL) and MEP Iñaki Irazabalbeitia, The Greens/European Free Alliance.
Fees
There is no conference fee but due to limited funding, participants are expected to shoulder all the costs of their participation and make their own travel and accommodations arrangements. However, we would be very happy to extend any other logistics assistance and support you might need e.g. list of affordable accommodations in Brussels.
Security Note
In order to access the European Parliament building, you will need to be issued a security and access badge/pass. For this, you are required to submit your full name, date of birth, address of residence and the number of a valid identity document e.g. passport.
Registration
Due to the limited capacity of the conference room, please confirm your participation by filling up and submitting the Logistics Advisory and Confirmation of Participation Form to the conference secretariat at [email protected] – on or before 17 September 2013.
Language
English will be the working language of the conference. There will be no interpretation facilities provided for any other language.
We hope you can join us in the conference and look forward to hearing from you at your soonest convenience.
Respectfully yours,
Maitet Ledesma
Coordinator
Conference Secretariat
Main Sponsors
• Jürgen Klute, Member European Parliament
European United Left – Nordic Green Left Group (GUE/NGL)
• Iñaki Irazabalbeitia, Member European Parliament,
The Greens/European Free Alliance (The Greens/EFA)
• IBON International
• KONKURD (Confederation of Kurdish Associations In Europe)
Supporting Organizations
ABERTZALE LEFT
CENI (Kurdish Women’s Office for Peace)
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ MOVEMENT FOR SELF-DETERMINATION AND LIBERATION (IPMSDL)
INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S ALLIANCE
MONDIAL POUR LES DROITS DES PEUPLES COLLECTIFS
(Federation of Collective People’s Rights)
PEOPLE’S FORUM ON PEACE FOR LIFE
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
9:00 REGISTRATION & COFFEE
? Welcome Remarks
9:30h Iñaki Irazabalbeitia, Member European Parliament
The Greens/European Free Alliance
? Introduction to the conference
9:40h Amy Padilla, Deputy International Director, IBON International
? Opening speeches
9:45h Cynthia McKinney, Former member, House of Representatives, USA
10:00h Dr. Hans Koechler, University of Innsbruck, Austria
10:15h Luis Jalandoni, National Democratic Front, Philippines
? Panel 1: With Jürgen Klute, MEP
European United Left/ Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL)
• On Collective Rights, Self-Determination and Liberation of Peoples
10:30h Savaratnam Navalan, Tamil Center for Human Rights, United Kingdom
10:45h Salih Müslim, PYD, Kurdish High Council in Syria
11:00h Hamdan AL DAMIRI, CRIPEL, Palestine
11:15h Igor Zulaika, Abertzale Left, The Basque Country
• On Economic Democracy and System Change
11:30h Member of Parliament, Syriza, Greece (Invited)
11:45h Ann-Kristin Kowarsch, CENI (Kurdish Women’s Office for Peace), Germany
? 12:00h Open Forum
? 12:30-14:30h LUNCH
? Panel 2: MEP, GUE/NGL (Invited Moderator)
• Right to Development and Resistance to an Oppressive State: The Philippine Case
14:30h Saturnino Ocampo, Makabayan, Philippines
• Challenges in Promoting Collective Rights in Multi-ethnic Contexts: The Kurdish Case
14:45h Ertugrul Kürkcü, PM of BDP, Turkey
• Areas for the Promotion of Peoples’ Collective Rights: The Basque People
15:00h Senator Urko Aiartza, The Basque Country
• Promoting and Defending Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to Self Determination
15:15h Beverly L. Longid
Indigenous Peoples’ Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation
? 15:30h Open Forum
? Panel 3: MEP, GUE/NGL (Invited Moderator)
• On the Role of the State in Promoting, Fulfilling and Defending Collective Rights of Peoples and the Criminalization of Peoples’ Resistance
16:00 Jan Fermon, PROGRESS Lawyers Network, Belgium
• On the Responsibility of International and Multilateral Organizations (EU and EP) in Promoting and Defending Collective Rights
16:15h Member, European Parliament, GUE/NGL (Invited)
16:30h Iñaki Irazabalbeitia, Member European Parliament (EFA/The Greens)
• Collective Rights in Situations of Conflict and Fragility and Issues Surrounding External Forces in Counterinsurgency and Peace-keeping
16:45h Richard Harvey, Garden Court International, United Kingdom
? 17:00h Open Forum
? 17:30h Presentation and Approval of Outcome Declaration
? 17:50h Final Remarks
KonKurd/CENI
? 18:00h End of Conference
LOGISTICS ADVISORY / CONFIRMATION OF PARTICIPATION FORM
ACCESS AND ENTRY TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
The Conference will take place inside the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium. Please use the Altiero Spinelli entrance situated at Place de Luxembourg, just facing the open courtyard of the so-called Espace Simone Weil.
An official and personal European Parliament badge/pass will be provided to all participants in order for them to access the conference venue.
As confirmation of your participation, all participants MUST email the following information to this address: [email protected]:
1) Name and surname
2) Date of birth
3) Place and country of residence (if possible, the full address of residence)
4) Number of a valid document (e.g. passport, national ID, etc.)
Please send your information on or before the 17th of September 2013. In compliance with the rules established by the Security Department of the European Parliament, NO ACCREDITATION will be accepted after this deadline.
Your badge/pass will be ready for pick up before the start of the conference on the 23rd of September 2013. You can get it at the accreditation desk inside the Altiero Spinelli entrance of the European Parliament building at Place de Luxembourg.
WORKING LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
INTERPRETATION: NONE
Thank you for your cooperation!
The Conference Secretariat
