|
|
Issue No 573 | 23 February 2012
Enabling environment for civil society
holds the key to Busan implementation
There's little possibility of civil society
advancing the outcomes of the December 2011 Fourth High Level Forum on
Aid Effectiveness (HLF4) - unless due attention is paid to guaranteeing
an enabling environment for civil society's operations, say CIVICUS and
Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness.
CSOs, as recognised development actors in their own right, are showing
commitment to improving their effectiveness in development, including
through their constructive engagement in HLF4 in Busan, South Korea,
and the processes that led to it. The International Framework for CSO
Development Effectiveness, authored by thousands of CSOs, provides an
enduring reference point for efforts to improve the effectiveness and
quality of CSO development work.
However, there is a major obstacle that prevents CSOs participating
fully in global partnerships, and in implementing the agreements
hammered out in Busan: the lack of an enabling environment for CSOs in
many countries. Without guarantees for an enabling environment which
respects the fundamental freedoms of civil society, CSOs are unable to
play their full role as development actors. Government restrictions on
CSO operations go in the face of their international commitments.
Further, the principles of alignment, harmonisation and domestic
ownership of development are being used contrary to their intentions to
restrict the work of civil society.
Continue reading Enabling environment for
civil society...
Sections:
|
|
Welcome to
the new e-CIVICUS
Welcome
to the new look e-civicus. In the light of user feedback, we've
redesigned e-civicus to make it easier to read and use. This new look
e-civicus will continue to evolve in future weeks, and we would welcome
your views on our new look and additional features you would like to
see that would be useful to you. Please
contact us with your feedback.
Don't forget that we welcome suggestions of news stories, resources,
event news, opportunities and job listings about or relevant to civil
society from the CIVICUS alliance for future editions of e-civicus. And
look out for a special edition e-civicus on the 2012 CIVICUS World
Assembly, coming very soon.
|
|
Highlights
from CIVICUS
CIVICUS
urges South Africa's parliament to reject 'Secrecy Bill'
Passage of South Africa's 'Secrecy Bill' will
constitute a major setback for South Africa's democracy, weakening
people's ability to tackle corruption and challenge official
wrongdoing. It will not only muzzle media and civil society in the
country but also severely tarnish South Africa's reputation as a role
model for democratic standards around the world.
CIVICUS submission on the South African
Protection of State Information Bill
CIVICUS believes, in its submission to South Africa's
parliament, that the 'Secrecy Bill' falls far short of the freedom of
expression and information standards contained in the South African
Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.
On the road to Rio
Rio+20 NGO Major Group Organising Partners
launch civil society thematic clusters
CIVICUS and the other Organising Partners of the NGO
Major Group for
Rio+20 have set up thematic cluster groups to develop common civil
society policy positions and lobbying strategies for Rio+20. Get in
touch with the thematic facilitators.
Report back from the
Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum
The 13th session of the Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum
(GMGSF-13) was held from 18 to 19 February 2012, in Nairobi, Kenya, to
provide a platform for exchange and consultation with major groups and
stakeholders, including civil society, to contribute to the discussions
on thematic and policy issues on Rio+20.
Dialogue
opportunity: Global Transitional Dialogue on the New Economy, New York,
USA, 17-18 March 2012
CIVICUS is a co-sponsor of this, the second dialogue in
a series, coinciding with the March 'informal' negotiations and the
third intersessional meeting of the Rio+20 conference secretariat. This
is an opportunity for policy makers, international and local NGOs,
academics and practitioners to engage in open discussions to develop
practical, implementable solutions for a global transition to the new
economy.
Source:
Global Transitional Dialogue
Ministers and senior UN officials call for
'Sustainable Energy for All' in Africa by 2030
United Nations Environment Programme and International
Renewable Energy Agency urge commitments to achieve sustainable energy
for all in Africa by 2030.
Source:
Sustainable
Energy for All
 UN
SG acknowledges protests for social justice demand new economic model
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that public
protests against
inequality, corruption, repression and a lack of decent jobs stress the
need for economic development to ensure greater social justice for
everyone. In the light of the mass mobilisations last year and this,
Rio+20 has to see rethinking of development strategies and business
practices.
Source: United
Nations
|
|
Opportunities
Conferences and Trainings
World
Forum on Energy, Economy and Environment - WFE3 - call for papers
This online
forum seeks to mobilise the scientific community, policy makers, energy
inventors and investors, practitioners, the political community and
civil society on issues relevant to Rio+20, such as the green
economy, technology innovations and partnerships. Abstract submission
deadline is 31 March 2012.
Source:
International Research
Foundation for Development
Certificate in Project Cycle Management,
Nigeria
AfriGrowth
Foundation, with
the support of TY Danjuma Foundation, is currently receiving
applications for the second batch of AfriGrowth Youth Mentoring
Academy, which aims to empower young unemployed graduates in Nigeria
with skills in leadership and project cycle management. Application
deadline is 27 February 2012.
Source:
AfriGrowth
 Eighth Annual International Leadership
Training Programme: a Global Intergenerational Forum, 3-12 August
2012, Storrs, USA
In appreciation of the dynamics of an interdependent
world, the UNESCO Chair and Institute of Comparative Human Rights hosts
an annual intergenerational forum that brings together young leaders in
the field of human rights. Application deadline is 2 March 2012.
Source:
UN Educational Scientific
and Cultural Organisation
Events
Call for papers: Social Innovation, Social
Enterprise, Social Change, Civil Society, State and Markets in the New
Paradigm, Berlin, Germany, 9-10 July 2012
Around the world, assumptions about state and society,
enterprise and business, personal and social responsibility need to be
reconfigured and a new public philosophy needs to be built around the
strengthening of civil society to displace the twentieth century's
exhausted traditions. The deadline to submit expressions of interest to
this conference is 31 March 2012.
Source:
Centre for Civil Society,
Australia
From Fear to Freedom: stopping Gender-based
violence in a transitioning world, New York, USA, 29 February 2012
Global leaders working at national and international
levels will discuss the relationship between advancing women's rights,
combating gender-based violence and forming stable democratic societies
during this crucial time of transition in the MENA region and
beyond.
Source:
Women's
Learning Partnership
World Congress against Sex Exploitation,
Human Trafficking, Madrid, Spain and New York, USA, 16-25 April 2012
Aims of the
congress, hosted by the Campaign against Sex Trafficking, include
increasing awareness about the many types and ramifications of human
trafficking and encouraging policy at local and national levels that
contribute to reducing human trafficking and abuse.
Source:
SANAC Women's Sector
|
News
in
brief
 Don't
stitch up the World Bank presidency
It seems incredible then that the World Bank's clients - the countries
who have to live with its policies and programmes - have no say in who
leads this institution, says Oxfam GB head.
Source:
Financial Times
 More NGO bannings feared in Zimbabwe
29 CSOs providing basic services in Zimbabwe's Masvingo
Province have been banned, sparking fears that this could be the start
of a new wave of restrictions ahead of the next election.
Source:
IRIN News
 Political
fraud fuels civil
action in Russia
Allegations of electoral fraud during December's
Russian parliamentary elections have led to a rise in projects hoping
to monitor the March presidential election. The increase in activism,
including online activism, suggests new potential for Russian civil
society.
Source:
Russia and India Report
 Humanitarian needs grow as violence
escalates in northern Yemen
Conflict in northern Yemen is increasing the number of
internally displaced persons and stretching the capacity of
humanitarian workers operating in dangerous conditions.
Source:
IRIN News
 Is doughnut economics too
western? A Latin American critique
Contemporary
discussion about sustainability requires the idea of development to be
questioned, especially Western conceptions of development. The solution
lies, among other things, in recognising the rights of nature, says
Latin American environmentalist Eduardo Gudynas.
Source:
From Poverty to
Power
Lessons from the Maldives coup for the Arab
Spring
The recent coup in the Maldives holds wider lessons,
including for Arab Spring countries: the process of detoxifying a
nation after three decades of dictatorship is fraught with challenges,
compromises and dangers - and there is no guarantee of international
support for this process.
Source:
Open Democracy
Failure of the social contract helped spark
the Arab Spring
The failure of repressive governments in the Middle
East and North
Africa to maintain even basic social welfare provisions was a key
factor in sparking people's uprisings. New leaders will have to address
their countries' dysfunctional and expired social contracts.
Source:
SOAS
UN experts raise alarm over arbitrary
detentions and likely use of torture in Syria
United Nations independent experts have condemned the
arrest of at
least 16 people, including prominent Syrian human rights figures. It
appears their arrests and detention are directly linked to the
activities of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression in
the defence of human rights.
Source:
UN-OHCHR
|
Take
action
 Avaaz calls on Arab League to save Syrian
lives - sign the petition
Syria's crackdown on democracy protesters
continues. The Arab League have called other key powers to an
emergency meeting in Tunisia, and Avaaz will be sitting at the table
with the Syrian democracy movement to deliver a clear mandate for
strong action. A one million strong petition will show that people
across the world are watching and expect urgent action to end this
humanitarian catastrophe.
Source:
Avaaz
Prize for women's creativity in rural life
The Prize, awarded since 1994, honours women and
women's groups exhibiting exceptional creativity, courage and
commitment for the improvement of the quality of life in rural
communities. Make nominations up to the deadline of 30 April 2012.
Source:
Women's World Summit
Foundation
|
|
Share your
news with us
CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen
Participation
P.O.Box 933 Southdale,
Johannesburg 2135
South Africa
Tel: +27 (11) 833 5959
Fax: +27 (11)833 7997
|
1425 K Street NW
Suite 350
Washington DC 20005
United States
Tel: +1 202 331 8518
Fax: 1 202 331 87 |
©
2012
CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation
|
|
|
|
|
