(<-- Tuomas Tuure is speaking on the left) KEPA, the Service Center for Development Cooperation in Finland, held its
Development Policy Day. 170 people, most of them from the Finnish NGO Sector
but also from the Foreign Ministry and academic community, participated in this
seminar. Speakers were:
- - Maina Kiak,
the UN Special Rapportuer on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of
Association,
- - Mirjam van
Reisen, Professor of International Social Responsibility at Tilburg University,
- - Erkki
Tuomioja, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland,
- Anabela Lemos and Tuomas Tuure as the Finnish NGO
reprensetatives.
All were concerned about the shrinking space for civil society ironically
after the Arab Spring. Many challenges were also presented including the
division between service delivery-oriented and watchdog-oriented NGOs; between
Northern and Southern NGOs; between domestic and international policies of
Northern states (double-standard), and so forth.
Ethiopia was much focused due to the restrictive state environment against
civil society. On the one hand, Kiak and Reisen, are of the view that
development aid should not go to such undemocratic governments and prefer
democratic ones by highlighting values. On the other hand, NGOs are finding
ways to deal with such difficulties in creative solutions. Tuomas Tuure of the
Threshold Association introduced how creatively it deals with human rights when
governments are not tolerant to human rights. As disabilities are often
considered as social issues, this was used as a tool to cut into such contexts.
Disabilities are not threatening political issues in many countries. This is
one characteristic of disabilities.
