Defending Civil Society Report (Second Edition)
PUBLISHED: JUNE 2012
This report, published by the World Movement for Democracy and ICNL, lists legal barriers constraining civil society organizations (CSOs) around the world; addresses state justifications rationalizing these legal barriers; and identifies a set of international principles that defends civil society. The Report calls for the promotion and implementation of those international principles.
Originally published in 2008, this second edition of the report includes additional legal barriers and legal principles of fundamental relevance to civil society, including, for example, constraints and principles relating to the freedom of assembly. In drafting the Report, ICNL and the World Movement conducted global and regional consultations with grassroots activists, independent journalists, democracy assistance practitioners, scholars, and others.