Legal Package on Social Enterprises in Albania
In continuation of its efforts to support the development of social entrepreneurship in Albania, Partners Albania has translated in English the legal package on social…
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News and updates from BCSDN and the region
Montenegro: CSOs Urging the Government to Withdraw Proposed Amendments to the Law on Classified Information
In a joint statement, 26 NGOs estimated that the proposed amendments to the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Classified Information are not in accordance with international standards. The NGOs urge the Government of Montenegro to withdraw the Draft Law from the procedure, to organize a public hearing and harmonize this document with
Read more →PA Monitoring the Right to Free Assemblies in Albania 2017-2018
“Monitoring the Right to Free Assemblies – Report Albania 2017-2018”, prepared for the second consecutive year by Partners Albania, presents an analysis of the legal…
Read more →Towards an Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Europe
In Europe, today, we are increasingly witnessing barriers to access fundamental rights. Austerity measures and shrinking social policies, as well as a distorted idea of democracy that does not include social justice hamper civic actors from fully playing their role. Moreover, in some countries, civic actors are being stigmatized, oppressed or even criminalized precisely because
Read more →HRC40: States Should Defend Environmental Human Rights Defenders
Civil society from across the world are calling on all UN Member States to demonstrate their support to environmental human rights defenders. At its current 40th session, the Human Rights Council is discussing a draft resolution on environmental human rights defenders. This is a timely and important initiative as UN agencies, human rights organisations and the media have
Read more →Global Assault on CSOs Reaches Crisis Point as New Laws Curb Vital Human Rights Work
Governments across the world are increasingly attacking CSOs by creating laws that subject them and their staff to surveillance, nightmarish bureaucratic hurdles and the ever-present threat of imprisonment. Amnesty International’s new report: Laws Designed to Silence: The Global Crackdown on Civil Society Organisations reveals the startling number of countries that are using bullying techniques and
Read more →CSO Resilience: What Does It Mean and How Can We Strengthen It?
According to the 2016 EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy, civil society’s contribution is essential for state and societal resilience. However, civil society space is shrinking more and more worldwide. On the second day of the 11th edition of the Black Sea NGO Forum (12 – 14 November 2018, Brussels) two interactive sessions
Read more →The UN’s NGO Committee Defers Rights Groups
The UN’s NGO committee has again deferred a substantial number of applications from national and global organisations seeking to gain UN accreditation. Many of these organisations do vital work supporting the UN’s ambitions, from sustainable development to universal human rights, and are seeking accreditation in order to monitor and influence proceedings at UN headquarters. The
Read more →Preparation for a General Comment on Article 21 (Right of Peaceful Assembly) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
On the occasion of its 125th session, to be held in Geneva from 4 to 29 March 2019, the Human Rights Committee will hold a half day of general discussion in preparation for a General Comment on Article 21 (Right of Peaceful Assembly) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The purpose of
Read more →Compendium of Opinions Adopted by the Expert Council on NGO Law
The compendium provides a compilation of extracts taken from opinions adopted by the Expert Council with respect to various issues of compliance by proposed and adopted legislation with European and international standards relating to NGOs. The extracts are systematised by reference to the different themes addressed in the opinions so as to give an overall
Read more →Journalists Ensnared by National Security Legislation
As security – rather than protecting rights and freedoms – becomes the top priority of governments worldwide, laws have increasingly been used to obstruct the work of media professionals in the 35 countries that are in or affiliated with the European Union. Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project, which monitors violations against media professionals
Read more →The 2019 Nonprofit Employment Report
This report presents new data on employment and wages in private, nonprofit establishments in the United States from 2007 through 2016. Information of the sort can be of enormous importance to sector leaders, government policy-makers, and citizens at large. What these data show, among other things, is that nonprofit organizations are a far more sizable
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