News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The UN Human Rights Council has adopted by consensus a resolution on equal participation in political and public affairs. The resolution puts an important focus on elections and on the impact of COVID-19 on participation. It underscores the importance of protecting civil society participation at every level as part of effective response to the pandemic,
Read more →New research commissioned by Dafne and EFC and published in a new report, maps the regulatory environment for fundraising across Europe, underlining the need for a single market for philanthropy and modernization of the legal framework around foundations. The report – a Philanthropy Advocacy initiative – recognizes that some countries have become more flexible when
Read more →Civil society organizations play a vital role in promoting fundamental rights, but they face diverse challenges across the European Union. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published a new report titled “Protecting Civic Space in the EU” that presents a range of such challenges. The report looks at recent developments in the EU regarding
Read more →The growing trends of numerous attacks on civil liberties in the past decade all over Europe, even countries outside of the “usual suspects“, have reached their peak during the restrictive COVID-19 measures. With the collapse of the public trust towards the institutions and the democratic practices, civil dissatisfaction channelized, once again, through its constructive form
Read more →Dissatisfaction with the officials’ response to the COVID-19 crisis culminated with mass violent protests in the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. Two hours into the protest, during which the protestors were demanding resignation from the government, fire torches were thrown in the direction of the parliament. The police used tear gas and water cannons to break
Read more →“The 2020 Civil Society Sustainability Index for Bulgaria” report was published by the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL). The report marks the year 2020 as a “turbulent” one for the civil society, noting the impact of the state of emergency declared by the Parliament due to the COVID-19 spread. The report grades the Legal
Read more →The key for achieving the desired accountability during the implementation of the EU Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) might lay in the prospect of giving the right space and opportunity to specialized CSOs to concretely contribute to EIP’s good governance mechanism. The recommendation for inclusion of the civil sector in this process is stated in the
Read more →The new CIVICUS Monitor update on Slovenia alerts the worrisome circumstances and disabling environment in the country. The latest concerns include attempts to decrease access to funding for NGOs and the continuing obstruction of funds to Slovenia’s public press agency, STA, endangering its survival. Media and CSOs are found in a difficult situation after the
Read more →In addition to the pressures on the opposition, media, and civil activists after the 2016 coup in Turkey, the trend of targeting lawyers – defending the activists – increased. Since this period, the attacks on lawyers have become institutionalized and systematic. Lawyers are investigated, detained, and they no longer feel safe and free when defending
Read more →The new Twitter feature marks the profiles of the Serbian media houses that are connected and perform their activity in line with the politics of the Serbian government. The feature labels several Serbian media outlets, among which: Srpski Telegraf, Kurir, Informer, Politika, and three free-to-air channels – Happy, Prva TV and B92, RTV Pink’s online
Read more →The enthronement of the new Patriarch in Cetinje has led to interethnic tensions in Montenegro, resulting in days of mass, violent protests. On several occasions, fierce clashes broke out between protesters and police, followed by excessive use of force by police officers. Following the weekend filled with tensions and violent protests, multiple international community representatives
Read more →Monitoring and advocating against the global trend of increasing restriction of CSO activities in response to security and counter-terrorism and its burdens on civil society operations, ECNL and its partners have convened a global Expert Hub of different countries and activists on Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). The Hub members build their coalitions,
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