News and updates from BCSDN and the region
More than 25 participants attended the online conference, organised by BCSDN and ECNL, on 13 July 2020 to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public participation in the Balkans and ways to promote participatory and multi-stakeholder approaches in the relief of the crisis. The two keynote speakers: Anna Rurka, President of the Conference
Read more →Transforming civic space is a key determinant to the sustainability of democratic reforms in the Western Balkans. Open Government Partnership (OGP) suggests frameworks to address key issues on transparency, civic participation, and public accountability, together with a process to establish greater engagement with civil society. The six WB countries have adopted over 350 commitments of
Read more →Bosnia and Herzegovina has a complex, decentralised political system that inhibits reform. The Advisory Council experienced political deadlock that delayed formal decision-making and at the same time, there was a lack of engagement amongst some lower levels of government. However, five years after joining the OPG, the state has initiated its first open government action
Read more →Under EU rules, a member state targets CSOs with a heavy level of transparency reporting due to worries that CSOs can easily be used to disguise money laundering activities. However, these EU laws can become a facilitator for negatively impacting the civic space and work of CSOs, as seen in cases such as the debate
Read more →The COVID-19 has had a chilling effect on people’s right to information in Central and Southeast Europe. A number of countries adopted legal measures that temporarily altered or suspended obligations about the right to information. Yet, with the COVID-19 measures eased, BIRN journalists presented that many countries are suspending or delaying freedom of information requests,
Read more →Five Romanian NGOs in an open letter have condemned legislation that would limit the state’s requirement to supply public information. They argue that the legislative change would make access to information a more financially costly process, restricting the exercise of a fundamental right, thus undermining the state’s transparency. While the Romanian Government installed temporary restrictions
Read more →Around 20 Slovenian NGOs have been obliged to relocate from their offices in a building owned by the Slovenian Culture Ministry. Over 200 NGOs have responded in a protest letter, suspecting this move as the Slovenian government attacking civil society and democracy. An online petition to stop their eviction was also launched and had collected
Read more →PACE’s Monitoring Committee has strongly condemned new crackdowns on political opposition and civil dissent, the Turkish authorities to improve the conditions for democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. In a draft resolution, PACE observed various concerns over Turkey’s external activities, including military operations, and urged the authorities to take action to better these
Read more →The South East European Network for Professionalization of Media report looks at the patterns of disinformation, propaganda, and hate speech in North Macedonia. The research finds that the connection between the media with the political and business centers of power often is the reason for these three phenomena. Hate speech and disinformation on social media
Read more →The Human Rights Council passed its first resolution on human rights online in 2012. Since then, there have been various resolutions administering the promotion and protection of human rights online. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) addresses the human rights records of UN Member States, and OpenGlobalRights suggests that the review can be a way for
Read more →The report is part of the latest edition of the Civil Society Organization (CSOSI) Sustainability Index for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. It present that the overall CSO sustainability did not change in 2019, with the scores for all dimensions remaining stable. Advocacy continued to be the strongest dimension of CSO sustainability. In 2019,
Read more →CIVICUS Monitor published its latest research on civic freedoms during COVID-19. The report implies that despite states imposed restrictions on large public gatherings amid the pandemic, the citizens have continued to mobilize through different protest methods. Nevertheless, many violations have been recorded during protests, including demonstrators’ detainment, protest disturbances, and excessive use of force by
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