We are pleased to announce that ICNL and the members of the Civic Space Initiative consortium made a submission on an Enabling Environment for Civil Society to the UN High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Development Agenda. Our submission will be considered in the Panel’s report to the UN Secretary-General in May 2013.

In our submission, we urge the High Level Panel to advance promises already made by the international community and prioritise an enabling environment for civil society in the post 2015 development, particularly focusing on legal frameworks. This proposal is critical given the proliferation of restrictions on civil society in recent years, as more than forty restrictive laws have been passed or considered worldwide since 2011. These restrictions undermine CSOs’ internationally recognized role as key development actors and thereby hindering development goals.

The UN High Level Panel includes leaders from civil society, the private sector, and government and is mandated to guide the global development framework beyond the 2015 Millennium Development Goals. The Panel posted the submission on its website.