Johannesburg. 25 November 2011. As talks on development effectiveness begin in Busan, South Korea next week, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation warns that shrinking space for civil society and restrictions on the freedoms of expression, association and assembly are seriously marring the effectiveness of aid policies.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a key role in the representation of a wide range of voices - including of those living on the margins of society - in the development of policies surrounding the disbursement and utilisation of aid. They monitor the effectiveness of aid and contribute to inclusive development, often-times supporting governments in the actual delivery of services.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, Maina Kiai will be meeting with government ministers, parliamentarians and representatives of developed and developing countries along with civil society and private sector representatives in critical discussions on civil society enabling environment at the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4) at Busan, South Korea from 29 November to 1 December 2011. Mr. Kiai is also expected to participate in an event being organised by CIVICUS, International Center for Not for Profit Law, Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness and others on ‘Civil Society Enabling Environment Agenda’ parallel to the Busan High Level Forum.
CIVICUS has urged that multiple instances of persecution of activists, including assassinations and physical attacks as reprisals for demanding democratic freedoms or exposing corruption, necessitate that delegates at Busan go beyond the commitments made at the 2008, 3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in Accra, Ghana. In Accra, civil society organisations (CSOs) were recognised as independent development actors in their own right and a resolve was made to assist CSOs in reaching their full potential.
“Despite, the commitments made in Accra, civil society’s ability to influence the public discourse has been relentlessly eroded through draconian laws and anti-people policies,” said Netsanet Belay, Director of Policy and Research. “It is vital that the final outcomes from Busan go beyond restating past commitments by clearly outlining the standards that governments must adhere to in guaranteeing a civil society enabling environment. Current drafts of the outcome document fail to mention these standards.”
Evidence generated by the Multi-Stakeholder Task Team on Enabling Environment of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as well as reports emanating from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reveal that the agreements made at Accra are being disregarded as civil society is increasingly finding itself marginalised in the face of state power.
A number of governments across the world have placed restrictive barriers on international funding in breach of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders to prevent aid from being utilised by CSOs while others have introduced policies to ensure that there is complete governmental control over the coordination of aid funds. In some instances, the independence of CSOs is being eroded by forcing them to operate with the framework of officially dictated development plans.
CIVICUS urges delegates at Busan to recognise pervasive threats to civil society globally and to make concrete commitments to guarantee an enabling environment based on international law. At a minimum the following principles should be included in outcome documents: freedom of association; freedom of expression, the right to operate free from unwarranted state interference, the right to communicate and cooperate, the right to seek and secure funding and the state’s duty to protect.