News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The coronavirus tested civic freedoms and democracy after the governments worldwide implemented unprecedented actions, including curfews, restricting people’s movements, and limiting or banning gathering, narrowing the civic space. The latest CIVICUS Monitor shows that while governments were restricting the fundamental freedoms under the guise of fighting the pandemic, civil society, on the other hand, intensified its response
Read more →Albanian Media Institute (AMI) identifies two main trends about hate speech in the Albanian media in their surveys and monitoring. The principal source of hate speech in the media results from politicians’ speech. Second, user-generated content is a rich source of hate speech, producing inflammatory comments against groups, and individuals, particularly in online media. Most
Read more →BCSDN member TUSEV contributed to Philanthropy Advocacy, a joint project by the European Foundation Center (EFC) and Dafne, which provides insights into philanthropy’s legal and fiscal landscape across Europe. The report for Turkey is, prepared and updated within the project, is one of the 40 country profiles which contain information such as requirements for registration,
Read more →Based on an analysis of the COVID-19 Civic Freedom Tracker data, in its latest publication ECNL presents the trends they observed in Europe during 2020. It focuses on three essential points: Legislative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected civic freedoms; Measures implemented in practice and incidents that occurred under the pretext of battling COVID-19;
Read more →The Law on Preventing Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Turkey entered into force on 31 December 2020, after was approved by the Parliament without public debate. It predicts changes in 6 different laws, including the Law on Collection of Aid and Law on Associations, which will increase control over aid collection
Read more →After Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering in Serbia has compiled a list of CSOs, media, and individuals requesting the banks to inspect their transactions in the last year, activating the law’s mechanism to investigate their possible participation in “money laundering” or terrorist financing, ECNL provided assistance to CSO to confront AML/CFT limitations and
Read more →With a team of experts, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) assessed North Macedonia’s crisis management response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The first segment of the assessment overviews the strategic framework in which the crisis management response system operates and analyzes the existing institutional and legal environment governing crisis management. The second segment is focused on
Read more →As a follow up to the ECNL-ICNL briefer on the measures targeting civil society actors working on climate justice, ECNL presents a paper on how government restrictions deter activists and groups from participating in decision-making processes on climate and environmental issues meaningfully. Focusing on Slovenia and Ireland examples illustrates how governments, through legislative efforts, hinder
Read more →Robust civic space is essential for good governance, the rule of law, and overall civil society enabling environment, and citizens’ efforts to shape society. The outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis has additionally impacted the civil society space. The rise of nationalism, populism, and illiberalism negatively influenced civil liberties. The autocratic governments across the world have
Read more →Serbian CSOs and media are demanding a response from the Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing regarding the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) findings. The FATF found that the Directorate investigated 57 organizations, media and individuals without legal grounds, therefore acting contrary to recommendations and standards of this international body. In
Read more →The European Union has allocated 4.2 million EUR to support Montenegrin CSOs to participate in the EU integration process. The aim is to reinforce inclusive civic participation in public policy processes and improve cooperation and dialogue between civil society and the government. BCSDN member Centar za Razvoj NVO (CRNVO), in partnership with two local NGOs,
Read more →In a blog post, Aida Daguda, the Executive Director of BCSDN member Centre for Civil Society Promotion (CPCD), reflects on some relevant facts about CSOs in the FBiH. It indicates that there is no answer to how many associations and foundations operate in the country, considering that the several registers available to the public present
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