More than 40 CSOs and activists from the 6 Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) gathered for 3 days in Tbilisi, Georgia in October 2023 to reconnect and discuss forward-looking responses to the growing civic space restrictions they are facing. This was the first time since the pandemic that partners from the CSO Meter Hub could meet in person and exchange experiences with colleagues from Georgian civil society, European Commission and the Open Government Partnership.
As the 2022 CSO Meter Regional Report has noted, the environment in which CSOs work has deteriorated in the whole region. That is why bringing together partners to take stock of all the important achievements to this day, and plan together for a better future was of particular relevance. Between October 10-12, ECNL hosted two events together with Hub members, please see key takeaways from each below.
Key takeaways
“Opening Civic Spaces in the EaP region” - Public event co-hosted with Civil Society Institute on October 10, 2023
Georgian civil society has a key role in the EU integration process and should be supported.
Georgian civil society is facing a rise in restrictions, such as the foreign agents draft law, restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly and expression, etc. In order to be able to effectively counter these challenges, it should act in unity and provide a strategic response to safeguard civic space. Some of the other needs of civil society in Georgia include:
- Clear communication by the EU to the Government of Georgia that civil society participation is a core principle of the EU, and that stigmatisation and vilification of critical civil society contradicts EU values.
- Flexible donor support for CSOs and their strategic work in ensuring an enabling civil society environment and preventing further shrinking space.
- Continued communication by donors and the international community that restrictions to civic space should be immediately stopped, any further restrictions should be avoided, and dialogue restored.
As shared lessons from the region show, responding to and preventing shrinking civic space is possible with strategic engagement.
ECNL facilitated a session with 5 civil society experts from the region, who shared how they responded to threats and what strategies worked to strengthen their resilience in the face of challenges.
- Civil society can still exist and operate in restricted civic space, and even advocate against restrictions. Civil society in Azerbaijan and Belarus continues its fight even in severely restricted civil society environments. CSOs use international advocacy with the UN Special Rapporteurs or with donors or identify non-politicised topics to engage with.
- Civil society persistency and long-term engagement with the state yield positive results.
The first example is the co-operation of Ukrainian civil society and the state during the war. As a result of long-standing efforts and dedicated time in the past to form a dialogue between civil society and the state, the state continued to support civil society. Ukraine adopted an action plan for the civil society strategy, provided civil society with tax benefits, enacted supportive volunteering legislation, etc.
The second example comes from the long-standing fight of Moldovan civil society to ensure a progressive CSO law. Despite all the attempts to introduce limitations on CSO activities during the drafting and adoption process, the Law was adopted in 2020 and is in line with international freedom of association standards. Over 5 years, CSOs had repeatedly prevented proposed restrictive measures on their right to access to funding, advocacy, and freedom of expression to be integrated in the law. Persistency, unity of the sector, evidence-based advocacy, consultations, public appeals, and referring to the conditionality for EU accession all proved to be important factors in this effort.
Finally, Armenian civil society managed to ensure positive developments related to civic space during a time of political turbulence. First, the extensive CSO engagement in the process of adoption of the Law on Volunteering Work transformed a restrictive draft into a positive development. Second, CSO Meter partner in Armenia, TIAC initiated the development of a Roadmap on improvement of the CSO enabling environment, and successfully obtained the commitment of the Prime Minister's Office to implement specific aspects of the roadmap (participation, favourable tax treatment for CSOs, etc.).
Future Search Conference
The CSO Meter Hub shares a vision for the development of a strong, sustainable, and independent civil society supported by people in the EaP countries by 2028.
Considering, the challenging socio-political landscape and deteriorating environment in which CSOs operate in the EaP region, it was of utmost importance that CSO Meter Hub members take stock of all the important achievements to this day, and plan together for a better future. Using the future search conference format, the CSO Meter Hub looked at what has already happened (the past), the current developments (the present) before looking ahead (the future). At the event, participants identified several priorities such as:
- access to funding and ensuring sustainability;
- increased public awareness and recognition of the role of CSOs, public support and involvement;
- safety and security of CSO staff and activists;
- citizen participation;
- respected fundamental freedoms; and
- increased female leadership and uplifted role of women in decision-making.
ECNL and the CSO Meter Hub members1 remain dedicated to striving to reach this vision, follow these priorities, and continue monitoring and taking action to improve the CSO environment in the third phase of the EU-funded CSO Meter program that will run from 2024-2027. Stay tuned for more information about the third phase of the program.
- 1The CSO Meter Hub was established in 2021 by the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) and the core CSO Meter partners from the region: Transparency International Anticorruption Center in Armenia; MG Consulting LLC in Azerbaijan; Civil Society Institute in Georgia; Promo-LEX Association in Moldova; the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR); and two partner organisations from Belarus.
The CSO Meter Hub currently consists of 23 CSOs members from all 6 EaP countries, including the 7 core partners. The CSO Meter Hub aims to reach out to and empower a broader group of CSOs and activists to exchange strategies, use the CSO Meter for monitoring and apply its evidence for advocacy in their countries.