Civil society taking risks in promoting human rights

Abstract

The political space of civil society organisations is shrinking in many countries across the world as a result of government policies and actions. Intimidation, control, and regulation of the work of civil society organisations have become more frequent. These measures are often labelled as counter-terrorism, measures against external influence or harmonisation of national development priorities. Civil society organisations (CSOs) find themselves being drawn into the domains of powerful economic and political frameworks. Global surveys of political rights and freedoms have shown that 2009 was the fourth consecutive year in which global freedom suffered a decline, which is the longest period in the last 40 years. In addition, there is a concern that some of the principles of development effectiveness, such as domestic ownership or alignment to national development policy priorities are used to justify harsh limitations to the space of civil society. Witnessing these trends, some have even claimed that we are in the midst of a global contest over civic space.