It is fitting to open this report by quoting Douglas Rutzen, President of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law in the United States of America, who said: "CIVICUS is an unparalleled source of new ideas, creative approaches and interesting contacts. In ethos and action, CIVICUS represents the essence of civil society. Through its Civil Society Watch Programme, CIVICUS plays a critical role in safeguarding civic space worldwide."

It is fitting because Civil Society Watch (CSW) aims to mobilise quick, principled and effective responses to events that threaten citizens' fundamental rights to collective expression, association and organisation throughout the world. In essence, CSW works to protect the existence of civil society and to defend it when it is in jeopardy. As such, CSW builds on CIVICUS' long-standing role as a global voice in defence of the existence of civil society and civic rights.

The most detailed intervention led by CSW during 2006 focused on the dire situation faced by civil society in Zimbabwe. Continuing on from the success of the concerts and rallies CSW organised in 2005, as well as the documentary film produced, CIVICUS facilitated a high-level civil society mission to the country, in collaboration with the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. This mission, composed of diverse civil society leaders from seven African nations, met with colleagues in Zimbabwe to offer solidarity and support and to assess the space in which civil society is functioning. During 2007, CSW will continue to collaborate with members of the mission, and other stakeholders, to increase awareness of the difficulties faced by civil society in Zimbabwe.

CSW is increasingly moving toward a more global approach to protecting civil society space. During 2006, the programme highlighted threats to civil society in about 80 countries, and conducted advocacy activities related to Belarus, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Russia, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan and Venezuela. Subscribers to the CSW Monthly Bulletin, an informative electronic newsletter, continued to increase and by December 2006 the bulletin was sent each month to over 7,900 individuals and organisations.

The media continues to be an important partner in highlighting threats to civil society. During 2006, interview subjects included those related to the situations in Belarus, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Mali, Morocco, Tanzania, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

By tracking the situation globally, CSW is aware that - tragically - attacks on civil society and the shrinkage of civic space continue in countries around the world. While pleased with activities implemented during 2006 by a small team on limited funding, the CSW team is very aware that far more action needs to be taken in order to have significant impact on these concerns. Under the guidance of the CIVICUS Board and the CSW Advisory Group (composed of the International Center for Not-for-profit Law, International Council for Human Rights Policy, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Conectas Human Rights and Amnesty International South Africa), the programme is expected to expand during 2007.

In particular, CSW looks forward to launching the Civic Space Barometer, a new initiative that will map the space in which civil society functions and highlight trends and, through an inter-linking early warning system on the enabling environment for civil society, identify areas in need of urgent intervention. It is hoped that this will assist in meeting one of the major challenges of the programme - that, to increase success, interventions are required extremely early. This methodology, combined with greater flexible funding dedicated to the programme, should enable more effective interventions where they are needed most.

Clare Doube
CSW Manager 2006