Space for Civil Society - How to Protect and Expand an Enabling Environment

"Drawing on the input of their members and partners in the field over the last few years, the faithbased networks, ACT Alliance and CIDSE, have been assessing political and social developments that have had an impact on the space for civil society."

This study is the outcome of a research process, beginning in 2013, through which ACT and CIDSE  brought their networks together to "jointly explore and record the enabling and disabling conditions under which local civil society organisations [CSOs] operate in Colombia, Malawi, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. The aim was to document the perceptions of a wide range of civil society and so better understand the strategies civil society uses to engage and protect their space, even in restrictive environments."

Their research showed that CSOs are increasingly working in an atmosphere of harassment, censorship, and inequitable legislation. "In order to operate effectively, civil society must have the space to speak out, to educate, to mobilise and to ensure that everyone can participate in the democratic processes of their country...It is a matter of great importance to highlight these issues and to call on governments and international institutions to urgently address them."

The research methodology, a survey of CSO leaders and focus groups, describes "the ways in which CSOs perceive the enabling environment to have changed, in relation to these rights, over the past five years". By triangulating results by country from the data sets of the two groups, a  quantitative assessment was produced that "form[s] the basis of new or renewed dialogue with government, new strategies of action, or reform of specific policies or practices to assist with aid effectiveness." The document reports main findings and then gives country specific reports on findings that include: political and economic context, policy and legal environment, CSO views, case studies, conclusions, and actions.

Some highlights and examples:

Main actions related to communication for development include:

• CSO networking to gather data to support their objects.
• Forming of formal and informal coalitions to exchanges learning and information.
• Establishing coalitions of CSOs human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers to work on legal protection and support strategies.
• Inclusion and participation of indigenous and minority groups and building of close links with communities through participatory and popular education.
• Safeguarding rights to assemble and protest  and protecting and advocating for them, along with repeal of restrictive laws.

Zimbabwe:

• A  team of volunteer lawyers was created to provide "rapid response legal assistance to HRDs [Human Rights Defenders] and CSO leaders facing harassment, intimidation or unwarranted arrests by state agents"
• An informal network of CSO leaders came together for more effective co-ordination "on strategy, advocacy and engagement with government to help improve in the operational environment for CSOs"... including lobbying key policy makers. 
• Joint initiatives have provided more funding for projects, such as  voter education campaign to encourage young people to register to vote, and more sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness.

Colombia: 

• CSOs are trying to work on human rights, community rights, land rights, and the environment in relation to the government plans for mining, and gas and oil extraction, using caution due to a history of persecution during the war between the Colombian Army and guerrilla organisations. NGOs (non-governmental organisations) spent years documenting persecution, with United Nations attention to the process, and took a case to the International Criminal Court. 
• A CSO working on mining used a broad slogan "the protection of water" to bring local officials, students, environmental groups and businesses together, showing the importance of networked linkages. They used education, for example carnival floats and flags, to bring the movement to communities without appearing to be protesting. They addressed national and international mechanisms, for example, a World Bank evaluation process of mining projects.

Malawi: 

• Minority and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) persecution and criminalisation have been the subject of: legal challenges; media strategies, including a news column"Sexual Minority"; and dialogues with clergy.
• Dialogue teams on peace building, following violent demonstrations, have generated public interest, developed parameters for engagement, increased political will to compromise, and solicited skill building for peace and conflict reduction.

Rwanda: 

• A popular education organisation, Capacitar Rwanda, gathered 30 widows who had been struggling to work together and presented short exercises to harmonise their energies, then returned to hear their stories, continue the exercises, and watch the women express trauma and begin to heal themselves, which they signaled by inviting the community to a party to celebrate their choice to live.