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About the Defending Civil Society ProjectIn various countries around the world, civil society is facing an unprecedented assault on NGOs’ autonomy, ability to operate, and right to receive international assistance, and the recent phenomena of backsliding from democratic progress and the backlash against democracy assistance have been generating increasing international attention. For example, the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has expressed its concern about attacks on human rights defenders, specifically deploring Russia’s legislation limiting NGO activities, and insisting that the European Council and European Commission raise the situation of human rights defenders systematically in all political dialogues and “reach out to local human rights defenders in a more proactive manner.” In addition, the U.S. State Department has formulated ten principles for informing government treatment of NGOs, including the right to function in an environment free from harassment, intimidation, and discrimination; to receive financial support from domestic, foreign, and international entities; and suggesting that laws regulating NGOs be applied apolitically and equitably. It is clear, however, that an effective and sustainable response must also engage civil society actors in developing, promulgating, and securing “ownership” of appropriate norms. It is our hope that this report, and the accompanying process of consultation and promotion, will contribute to such a strategic response. In articulating well-defined principles for governing state-civil society relations, we have sought to distinguish intentionally repressive intrusions from the legitimate right and interest in establishing legal frameworks for NGOs. By launching the Defending Civil Society project, which includes the establishment of the eminent persons group, the drafting of the Defending Civil Society report, the regional consultations on the draft report, and the production and promotion of the final version, the World Movement seeks to accomplish what governments, world bodies, and independent organizations are unlikely to be able to do by themselves—provide the necessary leadership and a compelling plan of action to counter the emerging, increasingly orchestrated, and disturbingly effective campaign to restrict the invaluable work of civil society organizations in so many countries and of so many stripes. Eminent Persons GroupBy endorsing the Defending Civil Society report, the following individulas help raise the issue of the increasingly restrictive environment for civil society around the world, promote the report, and monitor the implementation of its recommendations. The following individuals serve on the group:
Global and Regional DiscussionsThe World Movement Secretariat has helped facilitate discussion of the Defending Civil Society report at various regional and global initiatives, and raise awareness of the issue among civil society activists and to develop concrete “citizen-focused” strategies for building solidarity. Regional Consultation Meetings, May – August 2007Following the initial drafting of the Defending Civil Society report, and the translation of the draft into Arabic, Russian, and Spanish, the World Movement Secretariat organized five regional consultations during May–August 2007. The consultations were held in Casablanca, Morocco (May 2007); Lima, Peru (June 2007); Kyiv, Ukraine (July 2007); Bangkok, Thailand (July 2007); and Johannesburg, South Africa (August 2007). They enabled diverse groups of democracy and human rights activists, independent journalists, democracy assistance practitioners, scholars, and others to review the draft report, provide comments and recommendations for the final version, and suggest strategies for advancing the principles and norms the report articulates. As a result of the regional consultation in Casablanca in May 2007, the World Movement Secretariat and activists from the region took the initiative to develop a region-specific report on the issues of legal challenges facing civil society in the Middle East and North Africa region. The report features 10 country-specific reports on Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabic, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen. Each country report is based on a survey that the country rapporteur conducted among civil society groups in his/her respective country. This is an example of the regional initiative that can emerge from various regional events where the report is discussed. Please click here to see the report (in Arabic). World Forum for Democratization in Asia – Manila, Philippines, September 19-21, 2007At the Second Biennial Conference of this World Movement network, several participants from the Asia regional consultation on the Defending Civil Society report, such as Han Dongfang of China, Vo Van Ai of Vietnam, Swee Seng Yap of Malaysia, and Chee Siok Chin of Singapore, made presentations on national and regional strategies to raise awareness of the issues concerning the assault on civil society work. The discussion also focused on how Asian democracy and human rights activists and other representatives of civil society can use the report in their efforts to advance democratic values in their respective communities and address the issue of backsliding in some countries in the region, such as in Thailand. During the discussion, some participants drew attention to the systematic violations of economic and social rights in addition to political rights. Other participants argued that extra-judicial killings of independent journalists had become one of the major violations of the “Defending Civil Society” principles. Participants also discussed how some Asian governments have been learning from each other how to restrict activities of civil society organizations. The conference brought together nearly 150 democracy and human rights activists from across the region. Community of Democracies Ministerial Meeting in Bamako, Mali, November 14-17, 2007The World Movement Secretariat effectively facilitated the participation of an impressive group of civil society representatives in the Community of Democracies (CD) Ministerial Meeting in Bamako, Mali, in November 2007, to raise the issue of increasingly restrictive legal frameworks for civil society by introducing the Defending Civil Society report. Along with the government delegates who attended, the approximately 70 representatives of civil society groups from various parts of the world took part in the meeting overall, and the Secretariat facilitated the participation of a good number of them as described below. In his opening address, Paul Graham of South Africa, a member of the World Movement Steering Committee, head of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), and chair of the International Steering Committee of the CD Non-Governmental Process, encouraged the CD to acknowledge the increasing threats to civil society and drew their attention to the Defending Civil Society project and the report. Mr. Graham and other nongovernmental participants also actively engaged in a roundtable thematic working group on “Institutional and Political Environments for the Promotion of Democratic Governance,” highlighting specific examples of how legal frameworks in some countries have been narrowing public space for citizens to take part in political processes. Throughout the Bamako meeting, civil society representatives interacted with official delegates from several key countries, such as Canada, France, Morocco, the Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, and the U.S., to discuss the issue and encourage the CD member states to endorse the final Defending Civil Society report. In addition, more than 150 copies of the final proposed draft of the report were distributed to the meeting participants, both governmental and nongovernmental. African Democracy Forum – Kinshasa, DRC, December 10-12, 2007The World Movement Secretariat helped the African Democracy Forum (ADF), a network of African democracy and human rights activists, to facilitate a discussion of the issue of restrictive environments for civil society in Africa, and ways to promote the Defending Civil Society report, at the ADF’s General Assembly in Kinshasa, DRC, on December 10-12, 2007. Nearly 60 democracy and human rights activists participated. The Assembly included intense discussion of the Defending Civil Society report and its relevance to the Africa region, and copies of the report were distributed to the participants. The discussion was facilitated by World Movement Secretariat staff, and a leading human rights activist in DRC presented an overview of the environments in which democracy and human rights groups in the region have been working. The participants noted the importance of the Defending Civil Society project and the report, and the discussion generated a number of ideas on how the ADF can use the report and develop a regional version, which, as a complement to the global report, would reflect the context specific to the Africa region and thus help raise the issue of restrictive environments for civil society on the continent. Meeting with Members of the European Parliament, Brussels, March 5, 2008The World Movement, along with ICNL, organized a meeting in the European Parliament on Wednesday, March 5, 2008, to introduce the Defending Civil Society report to European policy makers and dozens of interested groups, including European foreign policy think tanks and NGOs. The meeting, entitled “Resisting the Backlash, Asserting the Democratic Imperative,” was sponsored by the all-party Democracy Caucus, under the leadership of EP Vice President Edward McMillan-Scott. In attendance were Members of the European Parliament, staff members of the European Commission, and representatives of Brussels-based NGOs. The meeting featured presentations by seven prominent activists who work on behalf of human rights and democracy in countries that are among those where the backlash has been most pronounced:
These democracy advocates made their presentations following an overview of the Defending Civil Society report by NED Vice President for Government and External Relations David Lowe, who chaired the panel, and by ICNL’s David Moore. Through examples gleaned from their personal experiences, the speakers pointed out the striking similarities in the increasingly sophisticated methods used by autocrats to silence politically-oriented NGOs, including efforts to prevent them from forming networks with counterparts in other countries and receiving international assistance. They also noted the relevance of the Defending Civil Society report and the importance of getting it endorsed by international and regional bodies such as the European Parliament. Following concluding remarks on “next steps” presented by Nilda Bullain, Executive Director of the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, MEP Jana Hybaskova of the Czech Republic, who is also a member of the World Movement Steering Committee, took the floor to commend the report and to emphasize that it has created a “single standard” for assessing regimes and their relationships with civil society. WMD Fifth Assembly, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 6-9, 2008
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