Civic space has been shrinking in many countries. From climate activists to human rights defenders and investigative journalists – those who stand up for their convictions and advocate for more participation and representation of civil society increasingly face challenges or even threats to their lives and livelihoods. G7 in their 2022 Communiqué recognised the problem of the closing civic space. It committed to cooperate with civil society and partners beyond the G7 to strengthen the resilience of societies, promote human rights online and offline, address disinformation, and achieve gender equality.
Against this backdrop, ECNL, together with Civil7 (C7) and VENRO co-hosted an online workshop on “Strengthening Protections for Civic Space Worldwide - G7 Role and Opportunities”. We discussed how civic space crosses over with various engagement groups of C7, shared experiences of putting civic space on the G7 agenda, and strategised how we can build on these experiences and prepare advocacy for G7 2023 in Japan.
Restricting civic space affects not just organisations but the communities they serve
The first panel focused on the importance of a civic space across all C7 and G7 priorities. It looked at what happens when civic space is being restricted, for example when counter-terrorism laws are misused, or policies are put in place to limit work of civil society organisations and criminalise (young) activists. The panel highlighted how such measures complicate the work of humanitarian organisations, for example when additional legal administrative barriers and counter-terrorism restrictions limit access to foreign funds. This impacts not just the humanitarian organisations themselves, but also the marginalised and vulnerable communities they serve, often in complex contexts, such as weaponized conflict. It is therefore important that the issue of shrinking space is part of the G7 agenda and adopted as a cross-cutting issue across various C7 working groups.
Civic space on the G7 agenda: we need continuity
The second panel discussed how we can build on experience from previous years to ensure that governments do not only declare support for civic space, but also undertake concrete steps to protect it. Participants gave examples of similar efforts, such as those of Women 7, and highlighted that continuity and cooperation are key elements for successful advocacy. Working groups should not see the G7 summits as separate events but should keep building their agenda throughout the year(s), link it with other events such as G20 and involve organisations who are not directly involved in G7 in the process. Continuity can be challenging however when all G7 presidencies do have their own focus. To ensure continuity, civil society should stress the importance of accountability of G7 members for the commitments which were made during previous presidencies.
Opportunities and challenges for G7 2023 Japan
The third panel consisted of representatives from C7 2021, C7 2022 and C7 2023. They argued that G7 governments need regular civil society engagement to legitimize G7’s existence. Such engagement is currently missing. Civil society does not have access to all meetings and direct opportunities to contribute to the outcome statements are lacking. They also highlighted the need to work with different G7 governments. This can lead to continuity, commitment and coordination and can also help ensure that action is and followed up on throughout different presidencies and priorities.
The next G7 Summit will take place 17 – 21 May 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan. ECNL is working closely with C7 partners to prepare plans for further advocacy and concrete actions that G7 countries can undertake to protect civic space globally.