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

2. 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.

3. The panelists
Marianna Belalba
Analia Bettoni
Ines Pousadela
Discussant
Anabel Cruz

4. Source: http://monitor.civicus.org

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

8. Our formulation of civic space

9. 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

10. How does the Monitor work?

11. 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

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

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

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

15. Research Partners Input

16. Global findings

23. The Americas
35 countries
996 millon people
4 research partners

24. 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.

25. 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

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

27. 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

28. Numbers

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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.

32. 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).

33. But also positive developments…

34. THANKS!