ISTR International Conference Beyond Civic Space Restrictions: Civil Society Engagement and Democratic Innovation Panel discussion ISTR International Conference Amsterdam July 2018

About CIVICUS Founded in 1993 to strengthen citizen action & civil society around the world Membership alliance of CSOs and citizens, members in c.180 countries HQ in Johannesburg (+ Geneva, London, New York & Washington DC) Key activities include generating knowledge, campaigning against restrictions & influencing international processes.

The panelists Marianna Belalba Analia Bettoni Ines Pousadela Discussant Anabel Cruz

Source: http://monitor.civicus.org

Contact us for more information – and join us! civicus.org info@civicus.org /CIVICUS @CIVICUSalliance

Our formulation of civic space

Background *Escalation of attacks on civil society & calls to “show us what is happening” *Tool jointly developed through consultation with our members and partners *Balance between global comparability and ensuring we describe complex local conditions

How does the Monitor work?

Key Analysis *Reports produced by Civil Society *Coded by members of the CIVICUS Monitor team *Up to three reports *Weighted: local, regional and international *Can include A rated national human rights institutions

CIVICUS Analysis 8 Reports produced by CIVICUS: UPR submissions, policy briefs-specific country reports, Enabling Environment National Assessments and other occasional country-specific analysis

Key Scores *International reports Produced by: Reporters Without Borders, Freedom House and the Political Terror Scale *Rebased out of 100 *Then averaged

Live adjustment score: Our means of keeping the ratings dynamic and accurate during the year. Two components: *Research partner scores *Country consultations

Research Partners Input

Global findings

The Americas 35 countries 996 millon people 4 research partners

Our research methodology Research partners (RP) are responsible for reporting on a number of countries Develop updates for countries based on a calendar and schedule Updates are based on various primary and secondary sources. (members, local organisations, experts, journalists, media, country reports, etc.) RP selects the most relevant information and composes the update - approximately 200 words per section.

Expectations for country updates Local voices are heard (as much as possible) Timeliness and relevance of updates Verified, reliable sources Multiple sources Reader-friendly for a wide audience

Civic space in 35 countries 10 open 11 narrowed 10 obstructed 4 repressed 1 closed

Most common type of violations disruption of protests through excessive force violence against journalists and censorship of the media the detention and criminalisation of activists legislative restrictions

Numbers

1. Disruption of protests through excessive force environmental and land rights protests carried out by local communities calling for action on human rights abuses (committed by state or non-state actors) protests around state service provision actions criticising government decisions and policies or exposing corruption within the government teachers’ and student protests protests surrounding elections

2. Violence against journalists and media censorship while reporting on protests local journalists and media covering social conflicts reporting on political affairs when exposing government corruption or mismanagement silence journalists through the courts for libel and defamation charges

3. Detention and criminalisation of Human Rights Defenders reasons for detention not always clear or given at all criminalisation of activists working on indigenous, land rights and environmental issues. surveillance of activists and their organisations various forms of censorship (use of anti-defamation, antiterrorism and cybercrime laws) publicly vilifying activists and their organisations as irresponsible, undemocratic, politically motivated, anti- patriotic, terrorists, liars, conspirators, etc.

4. Legislative restrictions laws to increase authorisation requirements to demonstrate tightened defamation laws, cybercrime or cyber-security laws legal or administrative barriers to the creation, functioning, and resourcing of CSOs restrictions presented as part of the fight against terrorism (anti-terrorism laws).

But also positive developments…

THANKS!