The EU-NGO Forum on Human Rights is an annual conference that provides a venue for direct interaction and in depth discussion between CSOs active in the fields of democracy and human rights in the EU and beyond, representatives from the Member States, the Council of the EU, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the EEAS, the United Nations, academia and think tanks.
In the spotlight of the 17th EU-NGO Forum on Human Rights was the protection and promotion of civil space focusing on legal threats that undermine the work of civil society; on effective response strategies and narratives to counter closing space for civil society; on ways of protection the freedom of peaceful assembly and on effective participation of civil society in decision making.
ECNL’s Executive Director, Katerina Hadzi-Miceva Evans in her speech gave an overview of global trends in legislation explicitly targeting the operating environment of NGOs and on EU’s response. The forum was organized by the European External Action Service and the Human Rights and Democracy Network.