What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

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CfP: Support Media Organisations to Strengthen Professional and Labour Standards of Journalists in Albania (Deadline: 10.11.2017)

The specific objectives of this Call are: 1) to support media organizations and journalist’s professional association’s capacities to strengthen professional standards, ethics and promote and protect the right to freedom of expression; and 2) to support CSOs initiatives to advocate for improved labour standards and promote laws, international standards, practices that protect freedom of opinion

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CfP: Criminal Justice Civil Society Program – Montenegro (Deadline: 05.11.2017)

Embassy of the USA to Montenegro published the third funding opportunity for NGOs in Montenegro through Criminal Justice Civil Society Program. The main goal of the program is to help Montenegro transition to a more effective and transparent criminal justice system by engaging citizens in the process through watchdog and monitoring activities, advocacy and policy-making,

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Council of Europe Adopts Guidelines for Civil Participation in Political Decision-Making

The Council of Europe’s new Guidelines for civil participation in political decision-making were adopted by the body’s Committee of Ministers on 27 September 2017. The guidelines – which are based on practices and standards in Council of Europe member states, international standards and input received during public consultations – outline key principles for promoting dialogue,

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New Version of OSCE/ODIHR Legislative Database

A test version of the new Legislationline.org, OSCE/ODIHR legislative database, has been launched and is available under the link http://beta.legislationline.org/. The online legislative database is free-of-charge and was created to assist OSCE participating States in bringing their legislation into line with relevant international human-rights standards. It is designed as a drafting tool for lawmakers, where

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RCC Balkan Opinion Barometer 2017

In 2014, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) first commissioned a comprehensive perception survey, the Balkan Barometer, targeting the region’s population and its business community. The primary purpose of the survey was to assess the perceptions of regional trends and processes as part of the monitoring and reporting mechanism for the SEE 2020 Strategy, an ambitious

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Global Standard: Start Improving Your Accountability Now!

The Global Standard includes 12 Commitments with associated Key Actions that can help your organisation to strengthen your accountability. The Global Standard promotes a dynamic understanding of accountability, based on interactive stakeholder dialogue. This means that feedback from our stakeholders informs our decisions so that we can both continuously improve our performance and build trusted

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Turkey’s Crackdown on International NGOs

Over the past year, Turkish authorities have grown increasingly suspicious of foreign nongovernmental organizations operating on their soil and have begun enforcing long-ignored regulations. A series of detentions and the expulsion of Mercy Corps earlier this year have rattled the aid community in Turkey. At the same time, mounting bureaucratic obstacles are threatening NGOs’ ability

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How Should States Manage Assemblies in the New Age of Protest?

With a sharp increase in protest around the world over the past decade, international and domestic standards for state protection and management of assemblies must be pursued. The acceptance that the state should facilitate demonstrations, instead of using restraint, is far from universal. In many cases excessive force is still used: organisers are targeted before

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Unlocking the Right Investment in the Social Sector

Last year, the Social Sector Accelerator and CIVICUS reviewed 50 different donors and platforms undertaking ‘partner qualification’ – the process by which they determine whether a nonprofit makes a sound partner. Every platform or donor reviewed relied on one of three things to aid them in basic qualification – an external database or registry, an

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The AidWatch Report 2017 Is Coming

The 2017 CONCORD AidWatch Report will be launched on 16 October in Brussels and the paper will be available on 17 October. Since 2005, CONCORD AidWatch monitors and makes recommendations on the quality and quantity of aid provided by the EU Member States and the European Commission. What did aid spendings look like in 2016?

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Responding to the Global Crackdown on Civil Society

CSOs have emerged as active participants in local, national, and global governance processes, often mobilising across borders to promote and protect human rights and hold governments accountable for repressive actions. However, in many countries, CSOs are under significant pressure as states deploy a range of formal and informal strategies to undermine their credibility, financial security,

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