During the 25th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, member organizations of the Civic Space Initiative, including CIVICUS, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), Article 19, and World Movement for Democracy, issued an oral statement calling on the international community and national governments to take immediate steps to further articulate and codify the creation of a free and enabling environment for civil society.
Specifically, the organizations call on:
- States to lead by example, to adopt and adhere to meaningful participatory processes in legislating and policymaking, and to repeal laws and abandon practices that restrict civic space.
- The Human Rights Council through its special procedure mechanisms to develop and adopt guiding principles on creating a safe and enabling environment for civil society.
- The Human Rights Committee to prioritize the drafting of General Comments on Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."
Read the full statement here.
