Report from the 17th EU-NGO Human Rights Forum (2015)

PUBLISHED: MARCH 2016

This report aims to capture the discussions, analysis and recommendations from the 2015 Human Rights Forum on ‘Promoting and Protecting Civil Society Space’, co-organised by the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Brussels-based Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN). The Forum took place at a critical moment: it was clear that civil society and the EU are grappling with a potent and rapidly evolving threat to civic space and that there is a pressing need for decisive and re-calibrated action.

This report provides anecdotal, ground-level evidence of a worsening civil society space situation across the globe and offers recommendations to the EU, its member states, and civil society actors on how to address the problem of closing space.