News and updates from BCSDN and the region
In response to the Ministry of Justice’s unsatisfactory answer to the CSOs’ appeal to withdraw the proposed Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure, the Serbian CSOs, among which BCSDN member Civic Initiatives have once again sent a letter to the Ministry, highlighting the numerous gaps, requesting for the restart of the
Read more →The report prepared by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BiRN) provides findings on governmental transparency and accountability in the Western Balkans. It lists institutions from the region from best to worst practices to grant access to freedom of information, focusing on response to journalists’ requests. It presents that faced with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the
Read more →Guided by ECNL, more than 55 organizations from South-East Europe requested the FATF regional body Moneyval to establish formal access and engagement mechanism with the non-profit sector. The initiative commenced after two regional meetings among ECNL and the civil society from the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. In the letter, CSOs demand a more formalized and
Read more →At the plenary session held in April 2021, the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism, MONEYVAL, has once again emphasized that financial intelligence bodies, among which the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering, do not have the authority to request
Read more →Slovenian CSOs have accused the right-wing prime minister and the government’s ministers of continuing a “crusade” against the NGO sector by introducing “discriminatory conditions” which could deter them from acquiring funding. BCSDN’s member from Slovenia, CNVOS, in a press release reflects that before announcing the calls under the Norway Grants and European Economic Area (EEA) Grants
Read more →In a letter, Serbian CSOs, among which BCSDN member Civic Initiatives, once again emphasized their decision not to participate in the consultation process with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue for drafting the National Strategy for an Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development. As reasons behind they indicate: the attacks on civil
Read more →On 29 June 2021, at the 2nd UN Counter-Terrorism Week, the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) delivered a brief statement on the urgency of centering human rights in counter-terrorism (CT) policy and strategy implications for the use of biometrics and other emerging technologies. In the statement, they emphasized that: Emerging technologies have severe human rights impacts,
Read more →In response to the new draft law “On the registration of non-profit organizations”, voted during the Parliament’s plenary session on 24 June 2021, the Albanian CSOs, in a public appeal, expressed their view on the issue, emphasizing the continuous engagement and collaborative CSOs’ efforts in the process. Since the draft law was made public by
Read more →The Serbian organizations targeted by the Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the “List” case, and part of the “Three Freedoms” platform, among which BCSDN’s member Civic Initiatives, point out that Serbian authorities are simulating consultation with the civil society in the preparation of National assessments of the vulnerability of the
Read more →Amnesty International’s publication provides a historical overview of how Turkish authorities targeted civil society using unconventional measures such as harassment, investigation, prosecution, and conviction on trumped-up terrorism charges, particularly the misuse of the 2019 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessment report as counterterrorism act. Among the number of similar laws enacted, Law No. 7262 is
Read more →In the new CIVICUS Monitor watchlist, an online platform that tracks the latest developments to civic freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, across 196 countries, Slovenia has been narrowed and added to the group of countries with a recent and rapid decline in fundamental civic freedoms. In the country, the Government undermined the
Read more →In its latest analysis, BiH Journalists as a part of the Safe Journalists Network reflect that the new Law on Freedom of Access to Information in BiH must not be an obsticle for media workers in the country. In contrast, the law must enable more transparent work of institutions on access to information and provide
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