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Democracy Dialogues: The U.S. Department of State's "NGO Principles"
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Date: Thursday, 2 August 2007
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT)
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President Bush has said that the freedom agenda is not meant to impose US-style government on the unwilling. Rather, our strategy is to stand with others, to help them find their own way. Civil society – from human rights organizations to the media -- are often the leading voices for change around the world. And they often bear the brunt of the pushback we are seeing by those in power who feel threatened by reform.
There have been multiple efforts around the world to respond to the pushback – to defend the defenders of human rights and democracy. Secretary Rice issued 10 Guiding Principles on NGOs on Human Rights Day last December. The principles draw on, and are complimentary to, lengthier UN and other international documents regarding NGOs. The principles guide the US government’s treatment of NGOs, and we believe that they can also serve as a guide by other governments, journalists and civil society. It is imperative that democracies speak out when NGOs are under siege. When NGOs are under siege, democracy is undermined. Join Erica Barks-Ruggles, a deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor, for an online discussion on the role NGOs play in democracies and the importance of defending NGOs under siege.
Guest Biography: Erica Barks-Ruggles is a deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor. A career foreign service officer, her particular interests include the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and multilateral human rights efforts. She previously has served as a member of the Secretary of State's policy planning staff, focusing on reform and democratization efforts in the Middle East and outreach efforts to the Muslim world, and as director for African affairs at the National Security Council at the White House.
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