World Alliance for Citizen Participation

A Free Weekly Newsletter Promoting Civic Existence, Expression & Engagement Please send contributions, comments and questions to editor@civicus.org

24 July 2009 ISSUE No. 448 PUBLISHER CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Devendra Tak Ingrid Srinath EDITORS Jessica Hume Daniel Gray OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane Carol Baloyi Ciara O'Sullivan Judith Seda Henri Valot Mandeep S. Tiwana Tania Gobena Vicente García-Delgado ABOUT e-CIVICUS  The CIVICUS weekly electronic publication is keeping tens of thousands of people informed of the developments taking place in civil society, the factors that are affecting them and the impact they are having on creating an informed and knowledgeable civil society.  e-CIVICUS WELCOMES CONTRIBUTIONS  e-CIVICUS offers a useful channel through which you and your organisation can share your news, publicise your events and articulate the issues you face. Please send us your contributions by Monday for publication in the coming week to editor@civicus.org. All contributions must focus on civil society issues or have a civil society angle. To read the contribution guidelines, click here.  REPRODUCTION OF e-CIVICUS The content of this newsletter can be translated into another language and reproduced in other publications, as long as due acknowledgment is made to CIVICUS.  e-CIVICUS DISCLAIMER Although CIVICUS makes all reasonable efforts to obtain prima-facie reliable content for  e-CIVICUS, CIVICUS cannot guarantee the accuracy of the reports, views or opinions of third-party content providers, nor does CIVICUS necessarily endorse the views reflected therein.  CONTACT US P.O. Box 933 Southdale, 2135  South Africa  Tel: +27 11 833 5959 Fax:+27 11 833 7997 1112 16th Street NW, Suite 540  Washington D.C.  20036 USA Tel: +202 331-8518 Fax: +202 331-8774 Websites: www.civicus.org www.civicusassembly.org To watch videos and CIVICUS initiatives on Zimbabwe, click here.  To subscribe or unsubscribe: email subscriptions@civicus.org TELL A FRIEND Would you like to share this newsletter with a friend? Please forward their e-mail address to subscriptions@civicus.org Support CIVICUS To make an on-line donation click here. Join CIVICUS Join or renew your CIVICUS Membership on-line now click here.  Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin The CIVICUS e-newsletter Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin  is an action-oriented newsletter distributed to over 7,400 people, featuring insightful interviews, updates on threats to civil society, and analyses of current situations. Read more at http://www.civicus.org/csw. CIVICUS channel on YouTube: ‘Time 2 Act’ Go to YouTube, click here. CIVICUS' 1 for 1 membership campaign Are you one of the missing 86? One CIVICUS member for every UN member state, that’s the goal of CIVICUS’ 1 for 1 Membership campaign, click here.

FROM THE DESK OF CIVICUS' SECRETARY GENERAL A year of transformation On 1 August 2009, Ingrid Srinath will complete her first year as the Secretary General of CIVICUS. In this issue, she talks to e-CIVICUS about what has transpired and what she believes will happen in the coming decade. ”I still wake up every morning in disbelief that I get paid to do this,” she says. And about the future, she comments, ”Finding the resources of knowledge, skills, relationships and money to forge the global connections necessary to respond cohesively and coherently will be our biggest challenge.” To read the full interview, please click here. Press release: CIVICUS condemns suspension of NGOs in Ethiopia CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation condemns a move designed to further restrict civil society activities by the Ethiopian Government - which has suspended the operations of 42 NGOs for “acting out of their mandate”. Authorities in the Southern region of Ethiopia have accused NGOs reporting on human rights abuses as seeking to interrupt peace and development of the region. To read more, click here Pictures from ISTR conference in Mexico Source: CIVICUS: Civil Society Index The Civil Society Index held a workshop at the Regional ISTR Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Mexico City from the 1 to 3 of July 2009. You can check out some pictures from the event on the CSI blog! To view the blog, click here. CIVICUS Poll Question This week’s question: Do you believe like Ingrid Srinath (CIVICUS’ SG) that by the next decade CIVICUS will a. Have a truly global presence b. Lead in fostering voices from civil society c. Bridge linguistic, geographical and power divides d. All of the above To answer the question, click here. Previous question: What do you think of the new CIVICUS World Assembly website? (www.civicusassembly.org) a. It looks great – I can’t wait for Montreal! b. It looks good but I want more details. c. It needs improvement – I can’t find what I am looking for! d. I have a long list of suggestions which I will email to info@civicus.org Results: a. - 17.1%, b. - 8.6%, c. - 22.9%, d. - 51.4% Become a CIVICUS Facebook fan and get updates on our activities right in your news feed! Join the CIVICUS Facebook group and engage with other CIVICUS supporters! Watch our videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/civicusworldalliance JOIN e-CIVICUS - BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR e-CIVICUS keeps tens of thousands of people and organisations informed of the many developments taking place in civil society around the world. This e-publication seeks to encourage and amplify the voices of those struggling for a more just world. Why don’t you suggest that your friends register for a free subscription? They can send an email to subscriptions@civicus.org or fill out the subscription form here. Alternatively, please forward their email addresses to us and we’ll contact them on your behalf. Please send your contributions by Monday every week to editor@civicus.org. All contributions must be focused on civil society issues or have a civil society angle. CIVIL SOCIETY NEWS Elections in Kyrgyzstan marred with violence and corruption. By Sonia Zilberman, Programme Officer, Civil Society Watch As the polls for the Presidential Elections in Kyrgyzstan closed on the evening of 23 July, the main opposition leader, Almazbek Atambaev, publicly announced his withdrawal from the elections after casting his ballot. He deemed the elections rigged and called for a rerun. On the morning of 24 July, Kyrgyzstan’s Central Election Commission declared that Kurmanbek Bakiev, the incumbent, had an overwhelming majority of 90 per cent of the votes that have been counted. The opposition also contests the nearly 80 per cent voter turnout officially reported. Civil society in Kyrgyzstan has been monitoring the election processes in lead up the 23rd, and has reported repeated acts of harassment, attacks and threats to the opposition leaders, independent media and activists alike. For details, click here. The alliance of civic organizations observing elections intends to appeal against false accusations of the CEC By Renate Bloem, UN Representative Geneva On July 22, 2009, the Central Election Commission passed a resolution on the issue of allegedly illegal publication of the “Final report on presidential elections” prepared by the “Alliance of civic organizations for voters’ rights”. The CEC calls on the Prosecutor General “to consider the issue on instituting criminal and administrative procedures against the guilty individuals”. For details, click here. Nicaragua: Draft manual on international cooperation threatens civil society Source: Brandon Soloski, CIVICUS: Civil Society Watch (CSW) Civil society in Nicaragua is threatened by the introduction of a draft Manual on International Cooperation by Nicaraguan authorities. The introduction of the draft has been put on a hold, but opposition against the restrictive draft manual continues with protests by civil society. Such manuals have been introduced before in Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. For details, click here. Regional NIS Networks: Is it too early or too late? By Inessa Frants, Civil Society Expert, Institute for Development Cooperation, Netherlands-Kazakhstan Since the collapse of the USSR, the prevalent view among the leaders of civil society was that each of the former USSR countries has (or will have) to choose their own way of development. A number of new paradigms of development have thus emerged. Some people are looking for a way to build a new “steppe democracy”, some align with the EU, while others orient with U.S. foreign policy. Meanwhile, some join in with the Islamisation movement that is active in the region, some support integration with Russia and others prefer to continue with the policy of disintegration with Russia. Some choose a policy of neutrality, and some play a part in the great resource game to align with the highest bidder for the vast natural resources of the region. For details, click here. Maternal death and iIllness now recognised as pressing human rights concerns Source: Association For Women's Rights in Development (AWID) On 17 June 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution recognizing maternal death and illness as pressing human rights concerns. Ximena Andión Ibañez, International Advocacy Director at the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights and one of the key actors in organizing for this resolution, spoke with Masum Momaya about the resolution and its implications. For details, click here. Civil society calls on president Zuma to cooperate with ICC Source: International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) More than two dozen South African civil society organisations and prominent individuals have called upon President Jacob Zuma to honor South Africa's treaty obligations by cooperating with the ICC in relation to the warrant of arrest issued for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. Virtually all of South Africa's leading human rights organisations, including the South African Human Rights Commission, have united around the call for South Africa's government to respect its own law and Constitution and to disassociate itself from the African Union to refuse cooperation with the ICC. For details, click here. AGNA annual meeting: 20 - 22 September, 2009, Johannesburg Source: CIVICUS: AGNA AGNA is delighted to announce that the annual AGNA meeting and workshop will take place on the 20 - 22 September 2009, in Johannesburg, South Africa. We now look forward to receiving AGNA members in Johannesburg. A packed programme over 3 days will have something for everyone amongst AGNA members, and is a vital opportunity for national associations to share experience, learn together and plan how best to work together over the coming year. For details, click here. Strategic issues, not abuses, are U.S. focus in Kyrgyzstan Source: New York Times “You know what this is for,” Emilbek Kaptagaev recalled being told by the police officers who snatched him off the street. No other words, just blows to the head, then all went black. Mr. Kaptagaev, an opponent of Kyrgyzstan’s president, who is a vital American ally in the war in nearby Afghanistan, was found later in a field with a concussion, broken ribs and a face swollen into a mosaic of bruises. For details, click here. GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS UPDATE ECOSOC: Delegates call for coherence of response to catastrophes Renate Bloem, UN Representative Geneva Delegates at the substantive session of ECOSOC in Geneva from 6-31 July 2009 have expressed concern on the deficiency of coherence in response to the pressing issues affecting humanity and development globally, notably, climate change and the economic crisis. The high-profile speakers present argued that it was clear that if the problems were global and interconnected, then so were the solutions, and without recognising this, there was no way to exit from the crisis. To read more, click here Ban urges China to serve as model for combating impact of climate change Source: UN News Centre China can act as a model for developing countries and the wider world by investing in environmentally friendly growth and prioritizing the creation of cleaner energy, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says, urging the leaders of the planet's most populous nation to “serve as the vanguard of tomorrow's economy.” For details, click here. IMF Plans to inject $250 billion into global economy Source: International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is planning to inject $250 billion into the global economy to bolster countries’ reserves as part of measures to combat the world economic crisis. The IMF’s Executive Board on 20 July backed an allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), an IMF reserve asset, equivalent to $250 billion to provide liquidity to the global economic system by supplementing the Fund’s 186 member countries’ foreign exchange reserves. For details, click here. Show us the money for social investment bank, say charities Source: Guardian Charity bosses today voiced concerns that government plans for a social investment bank for voluntary organisations make no mention of how much funding will be involved. The voluntary sector has been calling on the government to create the bank with a minimum £250m funded by unclaimed assets lying in dormant bank accounts. And yesterday the government's Office of the Third Sector announced a three-month consultation on the shape of the bank. For details, click here. PROFILES MEMBER: The Council on Foundations The Council on Foundations, founded in 1949, is a nonprofit membership association of nearly 2,000 grantmaking foundations and corporations. Members include community, family, independent, operating, public, and corporate foundations and giving programs as well as non-U.S. based foundations. The Council’s mission is to provide the opportunity, leadership and tools needed by philanthropic organizations to expand, enhance, and sustain their ability to advance the common good. The Council seeks to become a voice and vision for philanthropy on the national level and a partner with others on the local and global stage. The Council maintains its commitment to member services while expanding efforts to provide leadership in areas such as global philanthropy, workforce investment, and diversity and inclusiveness. As public policy reaches further into the philanthropic arena, the Council continues to increase its role as advocate, communicator, and educator on behalf of its members and the field. For details, click here. BOOKS, REPORTS & RESOURCES POVERTY Source: Christian Aid The economic meltdown that has hit countries both rich and poor presents the world with a unique opprotunity. The financial orthodoxies that led to mayhem in the marketplace have been firmly discredited. Once again, the pursuit of wealth with scant regard for the social cost stands revealed as a corrosive and corruptive passion.As governments search for ways to end the crisis, there is now a real chance to confront, and even finally overcome, the challenge that has dogged humankind since time immemorial - the scandal poverty. Christain Aid's one goal is for poverty to be over. Who does not wish for that? We believe poverty can be over - and soon. This report explains the basic for our thinking, and invites you to join us in making it happen. For details, click here. Special South Bulletin (Issue 38) - The significance of the UN conference on the financial crisis Source: South Centre The new South Bulletin is a special edition focusing on the outcome of the UN Conference on the Financial Crisis held on 24-26 June. It was an important conference. The UN members adopted a consensus document with a lot of significant substance in it, on a range of complex issues relating to the economic crisis and the international financial system, and with many points pointing to the direction and content of actions, was an accomplishment in itself. The Bulletin contains many important articles and documents that we hope will provide our readers with a good idea of what happened at the Conference, and the significance of its outcome. To read the bulletin, click here. UNCAC: Effective review mechanism key on coalition agenda Source: Transparency International Motivated by a need to have a more inclusive approach in the fight against corruption, the UNCAC coalition, a global network that was formed in 2006 targets the adoption of an effective, transparent and inclusive review mechanism for the UN Convention against Corruption. And, that will be top on the agenda of a critical pre-conference negotiating session in Vienna running from August 25 –September, 2009 preceding the November State Parties Conference in Doha. To download the report, click here.  CONFERENCES, COURSES & EVENTS 62nd Annual DPI/NGO Conference “For Peace and Development: Disarm Now!” 5 - 9 September 2009, Mexico City Participants from around the world will gather from 9 to 11 September, 2009, to discuss how they can contribute to reducing arms while advancing peace. The current global economic and food crises have necessitated a realignment of the world’s financial resources. This can only be enhanced by effect comprehensive disarmament. For details, click here.  CALL FOR PAPERS, SUBMISSIONS, SURVEYS & NOMINATIONS Alliance essay prize Deadline: 30 September 2009 The winning essay will be published in the December issue of Alliance magazine and on the Alliance website. Other good essays will be published online, with the aim of promoting debate on this crucial issue: As a philanthropist, how would you spend $10 million to combat global warming? For more details, click here. Humanising Development - Global photography campaign Source: United Nations Development Programme How do you see development? How can you portrait the human face of the development processes? How do you show that development initiatives and programmes improve the lives of people? This Global Photography Campaign, of which CIVICUS is a partner, aims to show examples of people winning the battle against poverty, social exclusion and marginalization. It is intended to raise awareness of the successes in the development process. The campaign is intended to counterbalance the frequently shown images of desolation and despair. A photo gallery will to be permanently located at IPC-IG office and open for public visitation. A series of photo exhibitions will also be organised in several cities around the world. Let’s promote and share successful development initiatives! For more details, click here. APPOINTMENTS This week, new civil society job openings have been added to the CIVICUS website. Please click here. Should you wish to publish a New Vacancy, please click on Add job. Please add an expiry date for applications. JOBS OF THE WEEK Every Human Has Rights (EHHR) Campaign Officer Application Deadline: 14 August 2009 CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation Johannesburg, South Africa For details, click here. Policy adviser, mdgs, social policy and civil society empowerment Application Deadline: 03 August 2009 United Nations Development Programme Regional Centre Cairo (RBAS RCC), Egypt For details, click here. Communications Officer Application Deadline: 10 August 2009 European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) Location: Brussels, Belgium For details, click here. CONTACT e-CIVICUS e-CIVICUS is a free weekly online publication keeping tens of thousands of people, organisations and programmes informed of the many developments and factors that affect civil society and their impact on creating a more just world. We value your comments and suggestions. Please send these to the Editorial Team at editor@civicus.org. Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe from e-CIVICUS, get a password reminder, or change your subscription options by entering your subscription email address: Click here.