CIVICUS calls on the government of Bahrain to urgently disclose the whereabouts of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab.

Are NGOs whiners, winners or what? - Fraser Reilly-King What’s ‘Development’ with Rights Abuses Along the Way? Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and CIVICUS organise the workshop: “Holding government to account through direct citizen engagement – what works for Africa?” Johannesburg, South Africa 16-17 May 2013 The situation is becoming dire for civil society in Uzbekistan Update from the Secretariat of the High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Agenda Accreditation procedure threatens to undercut civil society participation at UN meeting New global development agenda must have human rights at its core European Commission - Progress on equality between women and men has just been released  Read this issue online or subscribe to receive all future issues

Are NGOs whiners, winners or what? - Fraser Reilly-King What’s ‘Development’ with Rights Abuses Along the Way? Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and CIVICUS organise the workshop: “Holding government to account through direct citizen engagement – what works for Africa?” Johannesburg, South Africa 16-17 May 2013 The situation is becoming dire for civil society in Uzbekistan Update from the Secretariat of the High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Agenda Accreditation procedure threatens to undercut civil society participation at UN meeting New global development agenda must have human rights at its core European Commission - Progress on equality between women and men has just been released  

Sukhrobjon Ismoilov, the founder and director of the Expert Working Group (EWG), speaks to CIVICUS about ongoing restrictions on civil society in Uzbekistan and the need for greater international support following Uzbekistan's recent examination under the UN Universal Period Review (UPR).

Senior UN and government officials on Monday called on countries to prioritize establishment of innovative policy and legal instruments alongside new funding kitties to eradicate slums and enable urban population have access to low cost and environmental friendly homes.

Since the Millennium Summit in 2000, the United Nations' development goals have succeeded in driving and focusing the world debate on human development.

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, Kaifala Marah, has called for the implementation of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States in the post-2015 development agenda to help Africa fulfil its potential.

Growth in Asia-Pacific remains subdued due to the impact of persistent weaknesses and uncertainties in the developed economies, the United Nations reported today, urging Governments to implement macroeconomic policies that focus more on inclusivity and sustainable development.

Hunger, malnutrition, poverty, climate change, environmental degradation - addressing these injustices is at the forefront of political meetings the world over.

Opened by Her Majesty Queen Rania al-Abdullah of Jordan on April 10th, 2013, the Arab Development Forum kicked off in Jordan, as part of the worldwide UN led consultations on the global development agenda beyond 2015, when the Millennium Developments Goals will expire.

Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Mr Peter Thomson convened the meeting in his capacity as the Chair of G77 and China.

Pakistan’s State Bank Governor Yaseen Anwar said Monday that poverty alleviation and enhancing energy access to people should be at the heart of the post-2015 global development agenda and goals that the U.

The Ministry of Planning and Territory Development has been working together with the UNDP meant to prepare the post-2015 Agenda, the new global development plan, Angop has learnt.

A briefing on the report from the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) will be given by the President of Indonesia and Panel Co-chair, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Around 400 representatives from civil society, academia, indigenous peoples and the private sector from 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean gathered at the conference “Realizing the Future We Want in Latin America and the Caribbean: Towards a post-2015 development agenda,” held in Guadalajara, Mexico on 17-19 April 2013.

The post-2015 development agenda should be reframed around “one-world” goals, according to a new paper issued by The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).

The countdown to the last 1,000 days to the 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has begun.

The post-MDG framework runs the risk of underachieving because “there are too many cooks in the kitchen this time around,” according to Jan Vandemoortele, one of the co-architects of the Millennium Development Goals.

Mustapha Sanah, Executive Chairman of Northern Ghana Aid (NOGAID), a development-oriented organisation, has appealed to developed nations to support poor countries to reduce poverty and disease to facilitate sustainable development and world peace.

First, rather than treating countries as finance-recipients, they need to be viewed as finance-generators.

The Federal Government has announced the release of ‘conditional grants’ to 148 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in order to improve investment at the grassroots level.

Orange Botswana has come up with an initiative concerning the second batch of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Biztech reported.

Sudan confirmed its willingness to work with the international community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), calling for the importance of partnership and cooperation in the development agenda beyond the year 2015.

National leadership and action are crucial and governments have the primary responsibility for assuring the food security of their citizens, Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said.

Millennium Development Goals now drawing near, the international community is looking at the path to follow to support the efforts of developing countries after 2015.

Ahead of the high-level summit on energy in the post 2015 development framework taking place in Oslo on 9-10th April 2013, The World Coal Association (WCA) has called for clear action to improve energy access and address the challenge of energy poverty affecting 1.

For the first time in history, the United Nations (UN) are engaging people all around the world in shaping a global agenda: the next development goals.

For Garry Conille, the United Nations high-level panel of eminent persons on the post-2015 development agenda will “go down in history as one of the most consultative processes ever.

The EU’s latest proposal for the post-2015 development framework is on the right track.

At the March 2013 Conference of African ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development that was held in Abidjan, African Ministers requested the Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission to set up a Working Group that would come up with indicators aimed at following up on progress made in reaching the post 2015 development agenda in line with the Africa Common Position.

The United Nations General Assembly is focused on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and fostering a successor development agenda, the President of the UN body said today, highlighting upcoming events to increase momentum as the 2015 deadline for both efforts approaches.

High-level aid officials and close to 100 people from local communities across Africa and Asia will be participating today in a conference in Dublin that aims to drive post-2015 development agenda discussions on the interlinkages among hunger, nutrition and climate change.

The United Nations General Assembly today is holding a thematic debate with the Group of 20 major economies, or G20, to strengthen interaction between the two bodies and to improve global economic governance.

Kenya will continue to support sustainable urbanization as key part of the post-2015 global development agenda.

Southern Voice, a network of 48 Think Tanks based Africa, Latin America and South Asia has recently launched its ‘Occasional Paper Series’.

In collaboration with the Berlin Civil Society Center, CIVICUS, DAWN, IBON and Social Watch, GCAP helped organize a civil society forum in Bonn, March 22 – 23, 2013 that was attended by 260 representatives from over 200 CSOs including EA SusWatch represented by UCSD, to advance the Post 2015 Sustainable Development Agenda (a successor to the Millennium Development Goals framework to end in 2015).

Following the final meeting of the U.

Insights from the 2013 State of Civil Society Report include: Dr Danny Sriskandarajah: People power will prevail – CIVICUS #StateofCivilSociety 2013 Report Cathy Ashton: A vibrant and independent civil society is an essential ingredient of effective and stable democracy Jay Naidoo: Let’s find our inner fire once more Jenny Hodgson: Tracking the Growth of Organised Community Philanathropy: Is it the missing piece in community development? Stefania Milan and Mario Lubetkin: Messages that make an impact: Rethinking civil society communication strategies Pearl Eliadis - Russian civil society is holding out Entretien avec Anas Elhasnaoui, de l’ANND (Arab NGO Network for Development) Case study - Enabling Human Rights Defenders The year in review – An overview of key events since the State of Civil Society was published in April 2012 1.

   French | Spanish It is with great pleasure that we announce the recipients of the 2013 Nelson Mandela – Graça Machel Innovation Awards.

« Ce qui se passe aujourd’hui dans le monde arabe peut être considéré comme un laboratoire ouvert au service non seulement des sociétés arabes mais de l’ensemble des pays en développement.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, in collaboration with the UNDP, on Thursday officially launched the post-MDGs 2015 agenda at the Kairaba Beach Hotel.

The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, ARTICLE 19, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, and the World Movement for Democracy, as consortium members of the Civic Space Initiative,  welcome the opportunity to make a submission on ‘Enabling Environment for Civil Society Organizations’ for inclusion in the post 2015 development agenda.

I write this introduction at the end of my third month at CIVICUS.

Citizens always know better than the government or the market what works for them.

A vibrant and independent civil society is an essential ingredient of effective and stable democracy.

Johannesburg.

English | Portuguese | Spanish     Conectas Human Rights, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, CIVICUS: Worldwide Alliance for Citizen Participation and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development invite scholars and practitioners to submit articles for Sur Journal’s Issue No.

Highlights in this issue include: World Bank: Commit to Rights in 2030 Vision Wrap-up by the Bretton Woods Project of 2013 World Bank-IMF spring meetings now online Joint Civil Society Submission on Sri Lanka to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) Transparency International Letter to the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals Afghanistan: The world’s most dangerous place for aid workers Indonesia: Civil society groups flourish in Indonesia, but threatened by ‘ormas’ bill Ukraine: Civil society needs peaceful assembly law Zambia: CSOs demand referendum on constitution Corporate transparency - time for G20 finance ministers to lead reforms Guide to European Funding for the Non Profit Sector 2013-2014  Read this issue online or subscribe to receive all future issues

Sri Lanka currently faces widespread criticism for shocking human rights abuses, past and ongoing.

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative would like to draw the attention of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Swaziland.