National boundaries and national school policies are decreasing in importance as new models of organization, learning, cooperation and production (both knowledge and industrial based), are evolving through community, collaboration and self-organization. Students already access much of the information they use in school from online sources. Even the boundaries between when a student is learning (i.e. at school) and not learning (i.e. at work or home) are blurring thanks to new technology. With today’s existing technology, it is possible for educators and students to collaborate across natural and national boundaries.
Open source curriculum is one step in this direction. One such practical initiative is the Bering Strait School District OpenContent Initiative wiki. Programs are also underway for providing textbook material to schools in the developing world, free of charge. With current technology, the physical location of the teacher is on the way to being meaningless, much like the location of call centers. Fostering cooperation and cross-cultural understanding is sorely needed in today’s world. I believe that cooperation on open source curriculum between educators and students in different parts of the world, can help facilitate such understanding.
The Danish public school system does not live up to the standards defined in articles 28, 29 & 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1), with reference to minority groups. The convention, which has been ratified by every member country of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia, defines the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children around the world. Article 28 deals with equal opportunity, while articles 29 & 30 spell out equal opportunity in practical terms, including the development of respect for his or her own “cultural identity, language and values” (2).
Why are minority rights important? Because the true test of a pluralist, democratic society is the extent to which the society includes minorities, allows them to participate and integrate rather than excludes, vilifies and discriminates against them. Children belonging to ethnic, cultural and/or religious minority groups have been experiencing much of the same exclusion, vilification and discrimination as adult family members, albeit often indirectly through the reactions and discussions of adults, older siblings and through the media. From jokes about immigrants keeping goats on balconies, to abhorrent, racist propaganda that hasn’t been seen in Europe since the 1930’s, comparing Muslims to rats and cancer cells, (3) the current social and political climate has both directly and indirectly been influencing the lives of minority groups – including children. There is nothing in the current climate that encourages the development of minority children’s respect for their own cultural identity, language or values, as they are viewed by many politicians as barriers to integration in the dominant society.
The vilification and discrimination of individuals, based on criteria such as race, ethnicity, nationality or religion, has created an atmosphere that is not conducive to the development of children’s respect for the cultural identity, language and values of the minority group that they and their parents belong to. This can lead to issues of low self-esteem for the children, where the child only identifies and measures him or herself in relationship to the dominant culture. This can express itself in embarrassment at standing out from the dominant society linguistically, culturally or based on religion. In serious cases this can include embarrassment of one’s parents for being “backward”. For the parent this can mean embarrassment and loss of authority over the child. This is part of the reason why articles 28, 29 & 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are so important. If the quest for integration is to be taken seriously, emphasis must be placed on teaching respect for the cultural identity, language and values of children belonging to a minority group, both to the children belonging to a minority group, but also to children of the dominant culture. Respect should not be mistaken for cultural relativism. Respect comes from understanding. It should be pointed out that the schools first and foremost neglect the rights of minority children due to the legislation governing public schools, not through any ill will of the teachers.
The current legislation governing the Danish public school system needs to be changed so that it lives up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly in reference to children with a minority background. This can best be done through agitation and lobbying at the national, EU and international levels, but will be difficult in the current social and political climate. The alternative is a more divided society, where mainly economically disadvantaged minority children remain in the Danish public school system. The majority of minority children will be found in private schools, that better develop capabilities and qualities that the children already have, but that are underrated or ignored by public schools.
Creating a democratic constitution that reflects the needs of an organization can prove to be a challenge for someone that has never tried it before. Below is a generic text that will help avoid many problems in the future, for the organization that you want to create:
NAME OF ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION
1. Name and date of commencement
1.1 The association shall be called NAME and shall be constituted from DATE (hereinafter referred to as the
Association).
1.2 The hometown of the association is ………
2. Aims and Objectives
2.1 The Association is a non-profit making organization whose overall aim is to………
2.2 The Association’s main objectives shall be to:………
3. Membership
3.1 Ordinary Membership shall be open to anyone interested in furthering the aims and objectives of the
Association. Subject to the payment of annual subscriptions, as determined by the Management Committee
and approved at each Annual General Meeting,
3.2 Associate membership shall be open to local businesses. Associate membership entitles the bearer to
participate in all activities and general assemblies of the Association, but excludes voting rights.
4. Management
4.1 The Management Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall comprise of a Chairman,
Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary, plus two further committee members. If the post of any officer or
other committee member should fall vacant after such an election, the Management Committee will have the
power to appoint up to two members. The Management Committee shall be comprised of only Ordinary Members of the Association.
4.2 The Management Committee shall meet as often as required to make and execute such decisions as are
necessary in implementing the aims and objectives of the Association. The Management Committee shall
report all its activities to the Annual General Meeting and shall account to the Annual General Meeting in
accordance with article 6.4
5. Rules of Procedure at Meetings
5.1 Annual General Meeting
5.1.1 General meetings of the Association shall be held annually no later than 1. of April.
5.1.2 Approve the minutes of the previous year’s AGM
5.1.3 Receive reports from the Chairman and the Secretary
5.1.4 Receive a report from the Treasurer and approve the annual accounts
5.1.5 Elect the Management Committee
5.1.6 Elect the auditor
5.1.7 Consider changes to the Constitution
5.1.8 Deal with relevant business
5.2 Extraordinary General Meetings: An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called by applying in writing
to the Secretary supported by at least two-thirds of the Association membership. The Management
Committee shall also have the power to call an Extraordinary General Meeting by decision of a simple
majority of its members.
5.3 Notices: At least fifteen days notice shall be given to all members of any General Meeting.
5.4 Voting
5.4.1 Excluding Associate Members, each member shall have one vote, which may be given in person or by
proxy appointed in writing.
5.4.2 With the exception of changes to the Constitution, decisions put to the vote shall be resolved by a
simple majority of the Ordinary Members at General Meetings.
5.4.3 The Chairman as well as his/her vote shall have a casting vote in cases of equality.
5.5 Quora: The quorum at General Meetings shall be the presence, or presentation by proxy, of at least one fifth of
all Ordinary Members of the Association. For Committee Meetings the quorum shall be four.
5.6 Changes to the Constitution
5.6.1 Any change to the Constitution shall require a two-thirds majority of all those present and eligible to
vote at a General Meeting.
5.6.2 Notice shall be given to all voting members of any General Meeting as specified in section 5.3 and
then any proposal to change the constitution shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least
seven days prior to the meeting.
5.6.3 All proposals for changes to the Constitution shall be signed by two members eligible to vote at a
General Meeting.
6. Finance
6.1 Members shall pay an annual subscription to the Association by the 15th April each year. The amount will be
decided by majority vote at the Annual General Meeting.
6.2 All money raised on behalf of the Association shall be paid into a deposit account or current account
at….BANK…., or such other bank as shall from time to time be substituted by the Management Committee.
6.3 All checks shall be signed by two of the four nominated Committee Members.
6.4 The Treasurer will be responsible for the preparation of the annual accounts of the Association which shall be
presented by the Management Committee, after audit, at the Annual General Meeting.
6.5 The accounts shall be audited by an independent person elected by the members at the Annual General
Meeting.
6.6 The financial year follows the calendar year (1. Jan – 31. Dec)
7. By-laws
7.1 The Management Committee shall have the power to publish and enforce such bye-laws as the Ordinary
Membership feels necessary to govern the activities of the Association.
8. Dissolution
8.1 The Association may be dissolved if two-thirds or more of the Ordinary Members so desire, by their giving
three months notice in writing to the Chairman of the Association. In this event the liabilities of the
Association shall be discharged and the residuary assets distributed to a recognized charitable body.
Signed (Chairperson) ___________________________________________
Signed (Committee Member) ___________________________________________
There has been a lot of debate in recent days in Denmark about statements from vicars and members of parliament that they would hide illegal refugees to prevent them from being sent back to their countries of origin, such as Iraq.
Politicians, priests, the media, all seem to be missing a fundamental point. These refugees are not “illegal”. The majority of refugees that are grouped into the category “illegal” are in fact what the UN calls de facto refugees. There is no doubt that these people are fleeing from areas plagued by violence and armed conflict. The problem is that they are unable to document that they have themselves been personally persecuted. Without such documentation, an individual may not be recognized as a refugee.
Increased demands for documentation of persecution have been part of revised refugee and immigration legislation – to keep foreigners out of Denmark. That has been the stated political goal of the extremist Danish People’s Party, which supplies a parliamentary majority for the current government. The purpose of such legislation, in relation to de facto refugees, should be protecting the defenseless and persecuted, rather than promoting political goals of a specific political party. Unfortunately, there have been a number of cases where people, including families, have been returned to their countries of origin, to be re-arrested, tortured and some family members killed before the survivors managed to escape, and again tried to be acknowledged as refugees by Denmark.
Why are minority rights important? Because the true test of a pluralist, democratic society is the extent to which the society includes minorities, allows them to participate and integrate rather than excludes, vilifies and discriminates against them.
The term “minority rights” refers to the rights of individuals and groups that define themselves or are defined by others based on race, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc. These rights can be individual or collective in nature.
Mechanisms put in place to protect the rights of minorities, in a political process that is determined by the will of the majority, do not appear to be functioning adequately. Liberal democracy and human rights mechanisms in Europe appear to be failing minorities, particularly the Muslim minority. As I have mentioned in an earlier posting, according to a recent report from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights:
“1 in 3 Muslim respondents were discriminated against in the past 12 months and 11% experienced a racist crime. The highest levels of discrimination occurred in employment (when looking for work 18%; at work 13%), and in private services (at a bar restaurant, shop, by a landlord; total 14%). In comparison, of all ethnic groups surveyed within EU-MIDIS, 37% experienced discrimination, and 12% had been a victim of a racist crime.”
In Denmark, 42% of those people surveyed of Turkish origin, replied that they had experienced discrimination within the 12 month period the study covered. 62% of the people, who participated in the study, with a Sub-Saharan African, between 16-24 years of age, reported discrimination during the same 12 month period.
The report goes on to state:
“1 in 4 Muslims experienced discrimination and did not report their experiences anywhere. If this was extended to the entire Muslim population in the 14 Member States where Muslim respondents were surveyed, the level of non-reporting would translate into thousands of cases that do not reach any complaints bodies – including State bodies and NGOs.”
You can download the full report by saving the document at this link to your computer desktop. A summary with statistical analysis can be found here.
Of particular concern for the Muslim minority in Denmark, is that Danish political parties as a policy, have been demanding Muslims renounce Sharī‘ah (الشريعة) before they are allowed to stand as candidates. There have been at least three documented cases of this taking place. Such demands constitute a violation of religious freedom.
Other minorities have also been searching for protection from hate crime, discrimination and racism. In Denmark, where I have the most complete information on the issue, there are no national hate crime, discrimination and racism statistics. In connection with the recent World Outgames, which were held in Copenhagen, a police spokesman stated that the police would start taking hate crime more seriously. What have they done before? No one knows, the entire area is opaque. It is unclear how many reports of hate crimes and racism are received by the police in relation to how many are rejected as unfounded, year for year. The police do not at this time receive any diversity training. Nor do there appear to be any functioning outreach programs to minority communities. Current Danish legislation lacks cohesion. There are changes needed that will effectively treat discrimination complaint procedures on an equal footing, regardless of whether the discrimination is because of gender, race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, political opinion, origin, etc. It is also unclear how many court cases end with a conviction for racism. Furthermore, it is unclear if any resources are committed to combatting hate crime, discrimination and racism.
These are glaring failures for liberal democracies in Europe, particularly Denmark. Admittedly, I don’t have a full picture, but the picture I do have is not a pretty sight. None of the information in the above is actually new. The same tendencies have been obvious since the 1980’s. Desultory reforms have been passed over the years, but in recent years European politics have more often emphasized the majority will. Minority rights and majority responsibilities have taken a back seat. This is a problem that strikes at the heart of the post World War II, European democratic process – civil rights and human rights, which has largely been left to the shifting sands of political rhetoric.
The Danish Minister of Defense has decided that women in the military may not use Muslim headscarves or hijab. The decision has come in response to a recent debate about a Muslim woman in the Danish Home Guard, that was first promoted as a role model and then told that her headscarf was not allowed, when the extremist Danish People’s Party (DF), which is the parliamentary support for the current government, complained.
Various European countries have taken steps to ban the hijab in certain public venues, such as in French schools and in Danish courts, but what is the broader context behind the issue? The fundamental question is whether the hijab is a religious symbol or an integrated part of religious practice in Islam. If the hijab is interpreted to be a religious symbol, it is possible for parliamentarians to legislate when and where the hijab may or may not be used, in exactly the same way that speed limits for cars can be set in residential areas or a decision to finance the construction of a new bridge is passed by law. If on the other hand, the hijab were interpreted to be an integrated part of religious practice in Islam, any attempts to legislate on the issue would be a violation of religious freedom. Religious freedom is a fundamental right that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.
Leading members of the declared “anti-Muslim leaning” Danish People’s Party have in the past been quoted comparing Muslims to rats and cancer cells. Such a vilification hasn’t occurred since the time leading up to the extermination of Jews in Europe during World War II. The party’s current criticism of Islam as a religion, it’s theology, and of Muslims that actively practice Islam, suggests that the party will continue a political strategy that appears to be designed to provoke and isolate a religious community that expects the same promises of religious freedom to be fulfilled, that are extended to the state Lutheran church. This includes the right to practice their religion without insults, ridicule and vilification.
Albania, a Balkan nation that endured more than forty years of self imposed isolation enforced by it’s stalinist leader, Enver Hoxha, held parliamentary elections last week. The OSCE stated that there were improvements in the election process, compared with earlier elections, but that violations persisted. The final result will probably first be determined in a month or two when legal challenges to the election results will be sorted out.
Despite clear messages from the EU that Albanian membership will only be considered when Albania fulfills the necessary political and economic criteria, there are some Albanians that are apparently confused and frustrated about the connection between the criteria and eventual European Union membership. However, if Albania can keep up the momentum, it will be able to place itself in a pole position for EU membership – before neighboring countries. While Albania is a transition economy with little civil society, it still has a competitive advantage over it’s neighbors. Albania does not have the same issues of nationalism and religious animosity that plague many of it’s Balkan neighbors.
Mjaft! (Albanian for enough) was one of the first civil society initiatives in Albania. It aimed to raise awareness about Albanian political and social problems. Much of Albanian civil society was decimated after the decision by leading activists of Mjaft! to form the political party G99. Targeting more technical support to specific areas of civil society, will hopefully counteract this setback. Targeting technical support to specific areas, will help Albania more quickly fulfill EU criteria in such areas as the environment.
The Albanian business community has a lot to contribute in facilitating EU membership, as well. The business community is interested in promoting tourism, exporting local products, and an expanding market for consumer goods at home. All sectors of Albanian society regret the more than forty years of self imposed isolation and are rushing to integrate with the rest of the world.
The legitimacy of any organization, institution or government is based first and foremost on real or perceived transparency and accountability. Equally important is whether there is a consistency between what is said and what is done. An organization that is predicated on combating the discrimination and vilification of ethnic and/or religious minorities, yet has no prominent representatives of ethnic or religious minorities in the executive committee, has a problem with it’s legitimacy.
So how can an organization ensure that it is “representative” of the society at large? This is not always an easy task and is not solved by simply adding a number of “token” or nominal representatives of a minority or underrepresented group. It requires a combination of intercultural and interfaith sensitivity, as well as the will to reach out to minority groups. There have been a number of books written on this subject, but in my experience, developing personal relationships is the most important factor in developing intercultural and interfaith sensitivity and understanding. A dialog often starts when the other person is treated as an equal. On the other hand, adding a number of token representatives, can in some cases be empowering, if the alternative is no representation at all. This depends on whether the representatives have real influence or are only being used to create a favorable impression.
Legitimacy is a complex issue and is continually being weighed by observers. In my experience, an organization needs to take a long term perspective. There may be some issues with which an organization can lose legitimacy with one group, while it gains legitimacy with another. Consistency between stated goals and the actual work that the organization does, needs to be maintained. Legitimacy usually sorts itself out in the end.
There are a number of things that you should do before you start a human rights organization. The first step is to write a few lines to help focus your thoughts. Try and formulate what goals you want the organization to achieve. Check the Internet to see if a similar organization already exists. A good way to do this is to find out if there are organizations with similar goals, that are represented at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Do they have a local branch office in your country? Try to arrange a meeting with a representative from the organization. Don’t make any hasty decisions, just try and find out how similar your goals and the goals of the organization are.
Still want to start your own organization? Starting an organization is like starting a business. You need to formulate a viable business plan. This is as important for an organization as it is in starting a business. It is crucial for the success or failure of your initiative, in exactly the same way. The first step towards developing a business plan, is to decide if you want your organization to be secular or religious based. Both have advantages and disadvantages. The next step is to formulate the organization’s goals in more detail. Develop a focus for your organization, as well as a basic strategy. Identify potential partners.
The Dutch politician Geert Wilders, presented a shocking political program for Europe, yesterday at a meeting in Copenhagen:
1) Boycott the UN Human Rights Council.
2) Revoke all laws against hate speech in Europe.
3) All Islamic schools must be closed.
4) Close all mosques.
Can one assume that this is the program his party will be working for at the European Parliament?
I am reminded of the following quote:
“First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Social Democrats, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Social Democrat. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew, Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.” – Pastor Martin Neimoller – Nazi concentration camp survivor.
