This handbook aims to provide guidance for the police in facilitating the right to assemble peacefully. The handbook has been written primarily for police officers working in the OSCE area who have command responsibilities, at any level, for the policing of public assemblies. The handbook outlines key steps and principles for careful police work with assemblies through considered and proportionate policing, having at its core the aim of facilitating the right to peaceful assembly. It provides guidance for the successful policing of assemblies based on the requirements of international human rights law and established good practice from across the OSCE…
Author: anja
A common conceptualization is an important milestone towards measuring the third sector in Europe as there remains a kind of conceptual ambiguity about the manifold types of entities that co-exist in the third sector. The achievement of conceptual clarification is a key objective of the TSI project and the second TSI working paper reports on TSI’s progress toward this objective. It presents a consensus definition of the third sector that builds upon a bottom-up investigation of European experiences with various third sector concepts and a vigorous set of discussions among project partners and outside stakeholders. The resulting conceptualization takes account…
A vast gap exists between the rights guaranteed by the EU in the key EU treaties and the exercise of these rights. Unclear laws, disempowerment or fear of reprisal can prevent people from knowing and enjoying their rights. The EU’s main response to ensure that these values are upheld are through Article 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and its mechanisms to encourage citizen participation in its policy development processes, and Article 7 TEU, allowing the Union to react to systematic threats to fundamental values by Member States. In the new Citizen Rights toolkit, European Civic Forum and…
Since the launch of the Participatory Governance (PG) Project in 2006, CIVICUS seeks to contribute to inclusive governance processes with a combined focus on capacity-building, networking and knowledge sharing involving not only participatory governance practitioners but also civil society, governments and other sectors. The Participatory Governance (PG) toolkit contains tools and resources relating to 9 different categories of participatory governance practices, namely: Public information; Education and deliberation; Advocacy and citizen voice; Public dialogue; Electoral transparency and accountability; Policy and planning; Public budgets and expenditures; Monitoring and evaluating public services; and Public oversight. The comprehensive Toolkit is available for download here.…
Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo (SCO-K) and Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) have opened the possibility for submitting nominations for the DSP Award For Democracy within Democratic Society Promotion (DSP) project. DSP invites all interested parties to nominate individuals or organizations which they consider have made a distinguished contribution to the democratization of the country. The nominees will be awarded based on one or the several of the following criteria: design and implementation of the initiative in one of DSP’s program areas during the period 2011- 2015; innovative nature of the initiative; impact of the initiative, including the potential for…
The Croatian United Nations Association (CUNA) is opening a call for applications for participants of the educational programme ‘UN Academy 2016’. The aim of the program is to familiarize its participants with the structure and work of the United Nations, with a particular emphasis on the international financial system and international financial institutions as well as specialised UN agencies. At the end of the programme, participants will have basic knowledge about the UN system and its decision-making processes, the role of the United Nations in coping with the main global challenges as well as the relations between the UN, other…
The EU Delegation in Macedonia is seeking project proposals for strengthening the impact of CSOs in public and EU Acquis-related policies and decision making, including strengthening the civil and political dialogue and thus influencing key sector reforms for further support to the EU integration processes. This Call includes three Priority areas: 1) Support to civil society horizontal measures; 2) Support to civil society in watchdog & monitoring to public institutions; 3) Supporting fundamental rights. The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 5.000.000, while any grant requested must fall between EUR 150.000 and EUR 300.000,…
The 1st Call for Proposals within Interreg IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro 2014-2020 has been launched, covering the years 2015 to 2017. The programme consists of following 4 priority axes: 1) Improving the quality of the services in public health and social care sector; 2) Protecting the environment and nature, improving risk prevention and promoting sustainable energy and energy efficiency; 3) Contributing to the development of tourism and preserving cultural and natural heritage; and 4) Enhancing competitiveness and developing business environment in the programme area. The total available funds within the 1st Call is EUR 25.016.349. The EU will…
The main objective of the Euro-Mediterranean development cooperation through the Thematic Fund “Democratization and Civil Society Development 2.0” is to support joint action to find a systematic model supporting social development and civil society development in different programming areas: youth; human rights and migration; women; sustainable socio-economic development (culture, tourism, ecology, social entrepreneurship). The maximum amount of support that may be approved for a joint project is HRK 100.000 (approx. EUR 13.200). The approved amount for is intended to support the implementation of 12 months. The deadline for applications is 1st April, 2016. More information is available here. Source: National…
In 2015, for the first time, BCSDN and its members collected and studied data on the non-profit sector in seven countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey, giving an overview of the current situation with the data collection, analysis and presentation. The study exposes the lack of availability of these data and challenges for its collection throughout the region, while giving recommendations for more systematic and standardized data collection and availability. The infographic in two parts visually and briefly presents the main findings from the regional comparative analysis and challenges encountered in the countries, as well…