Mandeep S Tiwana the Indian lawyer who specialises in legislation affecting the core civil society freedoms of expression, association and assembly, has published an article in Global Issues titled ‘Civil Society Under Attack Around the World’ in which he states “In December 2011, 159 governments and major international organisations recognised the central role of civil society in development and promised to create an "enabling" operating environment for the non-profit sector. Despite the tall talk at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid and Development Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea, today NGOs, trade unions, faith based groups, social movements and community based organisations working to expose rights violations and corruption remain in a state of siege in many parts of the world. …As evidence from CIVICUS' State of Civil Society Report 2013 shows, promises made in Busan about creating an "enabling" environment for CSOs were ignored as soon as the proverbial ink had dried. With discussions on the post 2015 development agenda well underway, influential civil society groups are urging the U.N.'s High Level Panel to explicitly recognise the centrality of an enabling environment for civil society in any new formulation of internationally agreed development goals. While politicians are currently preoccupied with kick-starting or maintaining economic growth, there is a real danger that civil society's right and ability to engage decision makers in various forums will be further limited. If global development goals are to succeed, civil society needs to be able to operate free from fear of reprisals for advancing legitimate if uncomfortable concerns. After all, civil society groups contribute substantially to development strategies and help find innovative solutions to complex developmental challenges. More importantly, they help ensure the representation of a wide range of voices, in particular those of the vulnerable and marginalised in development debates. Perhaps this is why they are being persecuted.”  Inspired by Mandeep S. Tiwana, Global Issues ow.ly/lE1Hc Image source Facebook ow.ly/lE1tY Civil society under attack around the world (June 20 2013)

 

Mandeep S Tiwana the Indian lawyer who specialises in legislation affecting the core civil society freedoms of expression, association and assembly, has published an article in Global Issues titled ‘Civil Society Under Attack Around the World’ in which he states “In December 2011, 159 governments and major international organisations recognised the central role of civil society in development and promised to create an “enabling” operating environment for the non-profit sector. Despite the tall talk at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid and Development Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea, today NGOs, trade unions, faith based groups, social movements and community based organisations working to expose rights violations and corruption remain in a state of siege in many parts of the world. …As evidence from CIVICUS’ State of Civil Society Report 2013 shows, promises made in Busan about creating an “enabling” environment for CSOs were ignored as soon as the proverbial ink had dried. With discussions on the post 2015 development agenda well underway, influential civil society groups are urging the U.N.’s High Level Panel to explicitly recognise the centrality of an enabling environment for civil society in any new formulation of internationally agreed development goals. While politicians are currently preoccupied with kick-starting or maintaining economic growth, there is a real danger that civil society’s right and ability to engage decision makers in various forums will be further limited. If global development goals are to succeed, civil society needs to be able to operate free from fear of reprisals for advancing legitimate if uncomfortable concerns. After all, civil society groups contribute substantially to development strategies and help find innovative solutions to complex developmental challenges. More importantly, they help ensure the representation of a wide range of voices, in particular those of the vulnerable and marginalised in development debates. Perhaps this is why they are being persecuted.”

 

Inspired by Mandeep S. Tiwana, Global Issues ow.ly/lE1Hc Image source Facebook ow.ly/lE1tY