News and updates from BCSDN and the region
A new CONCORD Europe paper presents the understanding of CONCORD on an enabling environment for civil society and the threats to democratic space globally. It examines civil society at the heart of democracy and sustainable development and looks at the key components of civic space which are necessary to enable an environment where civil society
Read more →The famous Tahrir Square in Egypt looked different at the time of the Arab Spring – up until the new military government ringed its central part with an iron fence. A similar transformation happened with the Pearl roundabout in the capital of Bahrain where demonstrators used to gather – it was turned into a traffic
Read more →Social enterprise and social entrepreneurship (SEE)—a business-inspired approach to solving social problems—has exploded across the United States and the world in the last decade. It has entrenched itself within a broad spectrum of fields, from economic development and urban planning to health and education policy, and turned into an industry, funded by $1.6 billion in
Read more →The government’s approval of the Draft Law on Freedom of Association NGOs in December 2017 is an important step towards empowerment of the civil society and the development of democracy in Kosovo. To be implemented, the draft law has to be adopted by the Kosovo Assembly, a process whose delivery is hard to predict due
Read more →As journalists and activist groups are coming under mounting pressure from governments around the world, evidence sheds new light on the vital importance of CSOs and independent media in anti-corruption efforts. Yet, CSOs working on governance and human rights issues are subject to ever-greater restrictions on their operations, while attacks on journalists are on the
Read more →A recent publication by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) provides an analysis of the main challenges faced by CSOs of the trends and drivers of change and of the future prospects for relations between policy-makers at the national and European level and CSOs. It was developed with the purpose of examining what might
Read more →From smear campaigns to funding restrictions, governments across the EU are increasingly trying to silence human rights defenders. While the situation in Hungary is particularly severe, having in mind the recently launched ‘Stop Soros’ package of draft laws targeting civil society, Hungary is not the only EU country in which civil society groups face enormous difficulties in
Read more →The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law‘s (ICNL) Civic Freedom Monitor provides up-to-date information on legal issues affecting not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations on 51 countries and 8 multilateral organizations around the world. As part of this initiative, TUSEV provides an overview of key legal issues relating to civic freedom, with a focus on legal barriers to civil
Read more →TACSO Turkey Office published the “State of Play on CSOs Data in Turkey” Report which is prepared in cooperation with the TUSEV and Civil Society Development Centre (STGM) with contributions from Ministry for EU Affairs. The report indicates sources of available official civil society data collected, managed and disclosed by relevant public authorities. The report
Read more →The Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) published its latest report, “Challenges facing civil society organisations working on human rights in the EU”, which looks at the different types and patterns of challenges faced by civil society organisations working on human rights in the EU. The report notably recognises CSOs in the EU playing a crucial role
Read more →On January 18, the Hungarian government introduced a package of three draft laws targeting CSOs under the title “Stop Soros”. Following the 2017 law on transparency of foreign-funded organisations, this package of draft laws is yet another restrictive measure Hungarian CSOs have to face. It fits into the EU-wide pattern of threats and pressures targeting
Read more →The European Union is setting a bad example by allowing some of its members to stifle human rights groups, which is encouraging crackdowns elsewhere in the world, a top United Nations official charged with defending rights activists said. Michel Forst said officials in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel and other countries pointed at recent
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