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Welcome to Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin, an e-newsletter of updates and analyses concerning civil society's rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression around the world. The Bulletin is compiled by the staff at Civil Society Watch, a programme of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. Please feel free to forward the Bulletin to friends and colleagues. We welcome your comments and contributions!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
FRONT PAGE Report by Conectas Human Rights
BELARUS & RUSSIA: Restrictions on freedom of association in Europe ERITREA: Waging non-violent struggle under fear and repression ZIMBABWE: Strengthening civil society engagement in the current crisis Civil Society Law: Trends, challenges and lessons learned
CIVICUS World Assembly appeals for 14 civil society activists
Time for a charter on civil society rights? World Assembly delegates debate
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VENEZUELA: New law threatens civil society
On 14 June 2006, the government of Venezuela pre-approved a law that, if enacted as written, will seriously curtail the functioning of many independent NGOs. Touted as a law to promote international cooperation and assistance by the Venezuelan government to the disadvantaged in Latin America, the legislation is actually a tool to repress, control and silence the activities of independent civil society. Conectas Human Rights explains the proposed law in the following report.
To read the full report, visit: http://www.civicus.org/csw/Conectas_Venezuela_English.doc or http://www.civicus.org/csw/Conectas_Venezuela_Spanish.doc | ||
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BELARUS & RUSSIA: Restrictions on freedom of association in Europe Civil society organisations in Belarus are severely and systematically restricted, while those in Russia are under growing pressure from the state, reports a workshop presented by two organisations from Belarus (Innovative Foundation for Legal Technologies and Human Rights Centre Viasna) and two others from Russia (Russian-Chechen Friendship Society and the Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights). Read the report: http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-BelRus_workshop_report.doc
ERITREA: Waging non-violent struggle under fear and repression Non-violent struggle from both outside and inside Eritrea can help expand the space for civic opposition in the country, which lacks both a free media and civil society, said workshop presenters, Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights, Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies and the International Centre for Nonviolent Conflict. Read the report: http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Eritrea_workshop_report.doc
ZIMBABWE: Strengthening civil society engagement in the current crisis High level advocacy on Zimbabwe must continue, in order to break the political stagnation in the country, agreed the participants of a workshop presented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Amnesty International South Africa and CIVICUS, during the World Assembly. Read the report: http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Zim_workshop_report.doc
Civil Society Law: Trends, challenges and lessons learned Rather than reacting impulsively, civil society must develop constructive and practical arguments against laws designed to restrict their operation and often their very existence, agreed participants in a workshop by the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law and Third Sector Foundation of Turkey. Read the report: http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-ICNL_workshop_report.doc
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CIVICUS ALERTS! | ||
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CIVICUS World Assembly appeals for 14 civil society activists
25 June 2006 - The delegates of the 6th CIVICUS World Assembly appealed for 14 civil society activists who have either been charged or imprisoned because of their work. They raised their voices in defence of courageous peaceful activists from Uzbekistan to Honduras, who have risked their freedom, and even lives, to advocate for justice in their countries.
Belarus: Pavel Severints http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Severints.doc Burma: Aye Myint http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Myint.doc China: Kong Youping http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Youping.doc Cuba: René Gómez Manzano http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Gomez-Manzano.doc Eritrea: Fesshaye Joshua Yohannes http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Youping.doc Ethiopia: Daniel Bekele & Netsanet Demissie http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Ethiopia.doc Honduras: Marcelino & Leonardo Miranda http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Miranda.doc Russia: Russian Chechen Friendship Society http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_RCFS.doc Syria: Kamal al Labwani http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_allabwani.doc Tunisia: Mohammed Abbou http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Abbou.doc Turkey: Eren Keskin http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Appeal_Keskin.doc Uzbekistan: Mutabar Tojiboyeva http://www.civicus.org/csw/Tojiboyeva_Appeal.doc | ||
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Time for a charter on civil society rights? World Assembly delegates debate
During the CIVICUS World Assembly, delegates debated the benefits and drawbacks of a potential charter on civil society rights. The workshop asked whether there was a need for a charter to protect civil society rights, or whether something else would be more effective and appropriate. The discussion was vibrant and engaging, with the main concerns resting on issues of timing, impact, substance and approach.
To read the full report, visit: http://www.civicus.org/csw/WA-Charter_Workshop.doc | ||
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CIVICUS: What do you think? Have your say on the CIVICUS Blog Civil society must regularly confront controversial issues which affect both what we do and how we do it. Here is an opportunity to share your thoughts on these topics, to speak out and to make a difference! Help CIVICUS develop its vision of a global community of active, engaged citizens committed to the creation of a more just and equitable world.
Have your say, visit http://civicus.civiblog.org | ||
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CONTACT US | ||
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We hope you enjoyed the Bulletin! If you would like to send an appeal or share information with us regarding issues affecting civil society in your region, please contact the Civil Society Watch (CSW) team at , cswatch@civicus.org. To subscribe or unsubscribe please e-mail , cswcommunity@civicus.org. CIVICUS House, 24 Gwigwi Mrwebi Street (formerly Pim), Newtown, Johannesburg, 2001, PO Box 933, Southdale, Johannesburg, 2135, South Africa, tel +27 11 833 5959 / fax +27 11 833 7997, info@civicus.org. | ||
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CIVICUS is an alliance of approximately 1000 members in 105 countries, dedicated to strengthening civil society and citizen action around the world. Civil Society Watch is a programme of CIVICUS, which seeks to expose, address and prevent threats to civil society's rights to freedom of association, expression and assembly. For more information, visit www.civicus.org and www.civilsocietywatch.org | ||
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DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this bulletin are a reflection of those contained in the original reports to which they are linked here, and are not necessarily those of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. |
