The new report issued by the office of the UN High Commissioner provides examples of how countries can create and maintain a robust civil society.

 

Recommendations from the report include examples of effective legislation that protects human rights, investments in strong judiciary institutions, open access to information, international human rights institutions and mechanisms, as well as inclusive policy development processes. Laws that specify the right to assembly without a permit, or allow civil society organizations to seek and access resources, were noted in the report as crucial components of protecting civic space.

 

Findings by Maina Kiai, member of the World Movement for Democracy Steering Committee Member, and UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, are also cited in the report. Kiai’s research emphasizes how civil society organizations need to be able to seek and access resources in order to promote, and protect, civic space.