All over the world, civic space is under pressure, not only limiting people’s activism but also leading to grave violations of individuals’ human rights and safety. This is why the Civil 20 Civic Space Sub-Working Group of which ECNL is a member, published a policy brief on 22 July 2022 calling G20 leaders to act to protect and expand civic space. The policy brief points out how civic space is challenged globally by restrictive policies that limit the freedom of association, assembly, expression, and other civil and political rights. This not only happens in the physical domain, but also in the digital domain by internet shutdowns and privacy violations. The sub-working group concludes that “due to inadequate legal protection that most countries are having, human rights defenders are now at a greater risk of getting hostile retaliation from state and non-state actors when exercising rights to defend public interest.”
Eliminating these challenges is possible and will have not only have benefits for human rights organisations and activists, but also for governments, businesses and individuals globally. In the policy brief, the sub-working group points out how the expansion and protection of civic space has a positive impact on the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, especially Goals 16 and 17.
The C20 Civic Space Sub-Working Group therefore calls on the G20 governments to take concrete action and to:
1. Protect and expand civic space
- ensure the fair use of digital technologies to reach a maximum degree of citizen participation in a non-discriminatory manner;
- strengthen CSOs by facilitating access to resources (e.g. crowdfunding).
2. Put an end to attacks, criminalisation, stigmatisation of civil society actors
- enact laws covering legal protection for human rights defenders against threats, attacks, or violence of any kind;
- monitor and report on cases of human rights violations against civil society actors by independent commissions.
3. Build and strengthen partnership with civil society actors in public policy development and decision making
- create and sustain partnerships with civil society actors and build full participation in public policy development;
- conduct meaningful engagement with CSOs in national or global decision making processes, starting at the G20 level.
In addition, the sub-working group also calls for the establishment of a permanent civic space working group in the G20 and C20 as one way to institutionalise protections and provide for a necessary push on global level to adopt commitments on civic space.
Download the full policy brief here.