News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The “Berlin process” aims to promote the rapprochement of the Western Balkans countries with the EU. Its goal is to improve the economic situation in the region and improve good-neighborly relations. The meeting of foreign ministers in the “Berlin process” format will focus primarily on efforts to create a common regional market. The current German
Read more →ECNL and PILnet have teamed up with law firms to provide guidance for CSOs on bank practices in European countries. The tool helps the practitioners compare the conditions of how nonprofits can open and manage an organizational bank account in different countries. The tool covers 25 countries, and new profiles are uploaded on a rolling
Read more →A report by a group of CSOs working on gender equality issues in the Western Balkans aims to present an independent assessment of achieved results and recommendations to inform the future planning of the Coalition toward addressing Gender-based Discrimination (GBD) and furthering women’s labor rights. Regional cooperation is assessed as a successful model for further
Read more →In an open letter, BiH CSOs have expressed concern to the officials regarding the Belgian company Green Invest activities. The company is the sole owner of the BUK d.o.o. with headquarters in East Sarajevo, which manages a small hydroelectric plant on the Kasindol river and plans to build two more. BUK d.o.o. recently filed three
Read more →Throughout September, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse in the Western Balkans. A significant rise in homophobia has been noted in Serbia across both traditional and social media, as Belgrade hosted this year’s EuroPride. Islamophobia has been noted in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, following the interview of
Read more →The European Parliament adopted a legislative initiative resolution (2020/2026(INL), that calls on the European Commission to harmonize the status of non-profits throughout the EU and establish a statute for the European association. Specifically, the EP calls for the Commission to prepare two regulative: A regulation for the new legal form of the ‘European Association, and
Read more →The Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance has published a document that focuses on mapping cybersecurity-related human rights opportunities and challenges an under-explored area in the Western Balkans. The publication contains essential conceptual background information regarding each economy’s cybersecurity and human rights contexts. Its chapters explore four core thematic issues: cybersecurity and the right to
Read more →On 8 October, several hundred people joined the LGBTQ pride march in Montenegro, despite the strong opposition from the influential Serbian Orthodox Church. The 10th pride event was dubbed “No more buts,” demanding more be done to stem hate speech and harassment of the LGBTQ community despite huge steps that have been made in the past
Read more →A Declaration developed with inputs from over 30 national and regional people’s assemblies was adopted at the three-day Global People’s Assembly on 22 September, organized by Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and allies, during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. “The time to act is now,” the group calls for a
Read more →For all the challenges linked to digitalization, here is a new resource that examines the occurring challenges and maps the opportunities from using digital tools. The idea of the internet as a medium for freedom has suffered. Authoritarian regimes use digital technologies as a tool for control. However, the internet does still hold significant emancipatory
Read more →DLA Piper, ECNL, and PILnet have published a comprehensive document guiding CSOs in navigating worldwide laws that enable their work. The Global Nonprofits Guide aims to help CSO workers to unpack the laws around different forms of nonprofits, the registration process, internal governance structures, and compliance with employment and tax regulations. It provides information on
Read more →The right of peaceful assembly is essential to democracy and a central mean for people collectively to express their views and needs; to associate or affirm group identity or solidarity; to contribute to social, cultural, and political discourse; and to hold authorities to account. In line with the creation of enabling environment for practicing civic
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