News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The UN Human Rights Committee has published the initial draft of the General Comment on the right of peaceful assembly. The draft document was prepared by Christof Heyns, Rapporteur of the Committee and it draws on input received from civil society, academia and international organizations and discussed at the Committee’s first consultation in March. In
Read more →The state authorities and civil society varyingly function for the well-being of people. The state authorities serve people’s interest by making and implementing laws and policies on various socio-economic, political and other aspects, providing different services for people, whereas civil society serves the interest of people by representing public voices, raising concerns, providing intellectual inputs
Read more →In the spring of 2016, the Council for Civil Society Development initiated the process of drafting the National Strategy for the Creation of an Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development 2017-2021. However, due to the refusal of the Ministry of Labour and Pension System to provide comments, the National Strategy has been in the works
Read more →Safe civic spaces remain essential for the meaningful realisation of civil liberties including freedoms of expression, association and assembly. However, civic spaces face serious challenges across the world not only in developing countries but also in some of most advanced democracies and liberal and minimal states in Europe. According to a recent Freedom House Report
Read more →The trend of closing civic space crystallised at the beginning of this decade. In response, concerned international actors- including various bilateral aid agencies, foreign ministries, private foundations and international nongovernmental organisations- are working to address this problem. They have carried out many diagnostic efforts and gained greater knowledge of the issue. They have initiated a
Read more →In response to global challenges, heads of state and government of the United Nations’ members adopted in 2015 the declaration on ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. This chapter explores the human and fundamental rights dimensions of two of the 2030 Agenda’s 17 SDGs in Member States’ and the EU’s internal policies.
Read more →The GlobalFocus Center project has carried out an analysis of risks and vulnerabilities in the six Western Balkans countries, to assess permeability to malign influence (i.e. ethnic divisions, group fears, economic disparities, administrations’ disfunctionality and corruption etc.). Through identifying context-specific interests of state and nonstate propaganda/ pressure and pinpointing the auspicious conditions and dissemination channels, concrete case studies deconstruct the modus operandi
Read more →The report, based on a database complied by OpenDemocracy, found that “countries across Europe have criminalised acts that facilitate illegal immigration”. While some laws are said to be intended to deter human smugglers they are also being used to target “humanitarian actors, including search and rescue boat crews and volunteer lifeguards”. As many as 250 people across
Read more →How do you have to plan and prepare to monitor an assembly? What do you need to observe when you are there? What do you do with the information you gather through first-hand observation? How do you deal with the media? This Briefer on Monitoring Public Assemblies gives a quick rundown of principles and practices human rights
Read more →As previously covered in the CIVICUS Monitor, concerns have been rising over a perceived increase in state affiliated civil society in Serbia. Most worryingly, these groups have been shown to play a role in smearing and harassing independent civil society groups that are critical of the government. On the other hand, other civil society groups close to the security
Read more →Updated on 6 May 2019: On July 18, 2018, the Turkish government lifted the nationwide state of emergency that was imposed after a failed coup attempt on July 20, 2016. The state of relations between civil society and the government deteriorated throughout 2016-2018. In the new system of government, which replaced a parliamentary system, the
Read more →In recent years, combined with existing threats, the rise of right-wing and nationalist populism across the world has led to an increasing number of governments implementing repressive measures against the space for civil society (civic space), particularly affecting women human rights defenders (WHRDs). This policy brief responds to this context and highlights how the participation
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