The Global Standard CSO Accountability Local Stakeholder Meetings took place on the 19th of July in the Human Rights House in Belgrade, Serbia. It was organized by BCSDN and the INGO Accountability Charter in the scope of the Global Standard for CSO Accountability project and was hosted by Civic Initiatives. The Global Standard for CSO Accountability steering group meeting was held the following days (20-22 June). On the meeting, the project partners agreed the final structure of the standard, the content and the terminology of the content. The first draft of the Global Standard for CSO Accountability will be available for wide consultation in September 2016. More…
Author: anja
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is a monumental task. There is no country in the world where all people have equal opportunities to fulfill their aspirations. Every country has poverty and inequalities to address. Every country has environmental problems to remedy,” the Deputy Secretary-General said at the opening of a three-day ministerial meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development at UN Headquarters in New York. The forum – convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – is part of a 2016 high-level segment being held from 18 to 22 July. Bringing together representatives from…
Activities of civil society organizations are increasingly restricted in the name of security and counter-terrorism. ICNL/ECNL have tracked at least 25 legal initiatives over the past 2 years that affect civic space using the counter-terrorism financing and anti-money laundering pretext. These impose burdens on civil society operations by diverting resources to administrative tasks, instead of to activities that meet people needs; limit individual and cross-border philanthropy; create barriers for humanitarian aid; and deter assembly and advocacy. Some of these restrictions flow from the regime of the far-reaching and influential Financial Action Task Force (FATF). As an inter-governmental body, FATF adopted…
On July 20th, 2016, the Office for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations in Macedonia published the List of candidates according to the number of votes for members of the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Civil Society. During the voting procedure, a total of 192 CSOs submitted their votes, of which 128 were valid, 54 were invalid, while 10 votes were submitted after the deadline for voting. More information is available here. Source: BCSDN
CONCORD has shared a new survey on EU delegations’ engagement with civil society, which aims to assess the quality of the relationship between civil society organizations and EU Delegations. More specifically, it looks at how EU Delegations are supporting an enabling environment for civil society at field level (for example by fostering CSOs’ participation in development programmes, political dialogue and decision making processes). The survey will serve as a basis for developing CONCORD EU Delegations Report, which is used as an advocacy tool that is used to give feedbacks and make recommendations to the EU (delegations and headquarters), to EU…
UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai calls upon international financial institutions to counter the global trend of closing civil society space by promoting more community participation in their activities.His call comes roughly one year since the United Nations set the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an ambitious blueprint for governments and financiers to use their political power and resources to end poverty, hunger, and disease. Kiai notes in the op-ed that while development banks play a key role in ensuring the success of the SDGs, they cannot do it alone. More information is available here. Source: UN Special Rapporteur
The face of development has changed, with diverse stakeholders involved – and implicated – in what are more and more seen as global and interlinked concerns. At the same time, there is an urgent need to mobilize unprecedented resources to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The private sector can be a powerful promotor of sustainable development. Companies provide jobs, infrastructure, innovation and social services, among others. Increasingly, investments in developing countries – even in the least developed countries – are seen as business opportunities, despite the risks involved. The public sector can leverage the private sector contribution, helping…
Why bother with aid agencies? To “do good” all you need is a phone and Google Maps. Users choose a borrower and say how much they want to lend. A network of local field partners, such as microfinance institutions (MFIs) or non-profits, deal with making the loans. When the borrowers repay, the money lands back in the lender’s Kiva account to lend again, either donate or withdraw. So far nearly 1.5 million people have lent $12.2 million through Kiva. It’s not just microfinance platforms like Kiva, Zidisha or Deki that offer this “direct” approach to helping people in need. Others,…
The Global Standard for CSO Accountability steering group meeting was held in Belgrade, Serbia between the 20 – 22 July. On the meeting, the project partners agreed the final structure of the standard, the content and the terminology of the content. A decision on the structure of the guidance document was also made and an outreach strategy and communication for the Standard. A clear timeline was also set and the next meeting was scheduled for December in Kampala, Uganda. The project delivery team also presented the outcome of the consultation for the standard with communication and outreach experts and a…
The Global Standard CSO Accountability Local Stakeholder Meetings took place on the 19th of July in the Human Rights House in Belgrade, Serbia. It was organized by BCSDN and the INGO Accountability Charter in the scope of the Global Standard for CSO Accountability project and was hosted by Civic Initiatives. CSO representatives from the Global Standard initiative coming from Australia, Cambodia, Germany, India, Uganda, Uruguay, and USA presented the Standard along with some of their experience in their countries giving various examples of shrinking space for civil society around the world. BCSDN presented the CSO’s environment in the Balkan region…