Report on the “State of Civil Society” released by Civicus
Civicus, a global network of civil society organizations, recently published a report on the “State of Civil Society”.
The report covers 30 countries and analyses five key themes across civil society in 2011: civil society response to emergency and crisis; protest, activism and participation; the space for civil society; the resourcing of civil society; and civil society’s role in multilateral arena.According to the report, 2011 has been a critical year for civil society. Authoritarian regimes faced opposition form people power movements in a wave of protests that reached many countries. Nevertheless, civil society continued to experience limited access to multilateral forums. In addition, many governments, such as Middle Eastern countries, Belarus, Malaysia and Uganda, created measures to restrict people from exercising their right of assembly, association and expression.
Civicus is an international alliance of civil society working to enhance active citizenship throughout the world. Civicus was founded in 1993 and has its headquarters in Johannesburg (South Africa).
Francesca ghersenti. International Democracy Watch. 20 July 2012.