In a statement released this August, a group of experts from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) implored states to support and protect civil society at the upcoming UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). With decreased funding for civil society organizations (CSOs) and the rise of authoritarianism, protecting civil society is more important than ever.
The experts, also known as Special Procedures, are a group of independent human rights experts who report and advise on human rights worldwide. This is the first time that Special Procedures have jointly and directly called upon the States Parties of UNCAC.
Their statement was dire: “Many governments are failing to uphold their commitments under Article 13 of the UNCAC to promote active civil society participation in the fight against corruption. Instead, shrinking civic space and reprisals against anti-corruption activists have become increasingly normalized, both at the national level and within international fora.”
Corruption is an insidious threat to good governance and stable societies. According to the experts, “[corruption is] a direct and structural threat to the realization of a wide range of human rights” such as “climate and environmental justice, development, education, health, water and sanitation, [and] judicial independence.”
“Too often,” the experts warned, “anticorruption spaces, both nationally and internationally, exclude or constrain the voices and actions of civil society, despite the critical role that they play in promoting transparency, integrity, and accountability.”
CSOs are being hit hard by funding cuts and the global rise of authoritarianism. Civil actors are being persecuted. Activists, journalists, and anti-corruption organizations are being harassed, threatened, over-surveilled, and defunded.
The abrupt cessation of funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has functionally devastated civil society. According to a survey by the Global Aid Freeze Tracker, 32.5% of CSOs responded “yes” when asked if their organization was at imminent risk of closure. 54.3% admitted to having had to lay off or furlough staff. 62.1% reported having 6 months or less of financial resources remaining.
The consequences of these cuts are rapidly becoming catastrophic. The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy at People in Need reported that the “budget cuts of 40-100% [of aid] are an existential crisis for civil societies in repressive environments.” The report cites the following examples:
- In Egypt, massive losses in funding have impacted “legal aid provided to human rights defenders, journalists, and those unjustly imprisoned for freedom of assembly.”
- Further still: “Of the 95 programmes supporting opposition organisations and political prisoners in countries such as Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, 92 have been cancelled.”
- And in Belarus and Russia, “The cessation of US financial support is expected to force about seven out of ten CSOs to close.”
It is more important than ever that CSOs are well-represented on the international stage. Unfortunately, the decreased funding makes that problematic. The upcoming 11th Conference of States Parties (CoSP 11) to UNCAC may see an abrupt reduction in non-governmental organization (NGO) and CSO participation, especially if the predicted shutdowns occur. Organizations located in repressive or corrupt countries—the countries that are most in need of a strong civil society—may be unrepresented altogether. And the organizations that do survive may not have the funding to attend the conference, which will be held in Doha, Qatar.
Other international conferences, such as the International Anti-Corruption Conference or the OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum, are expected to see a similar drop in attendance. And even if these conferences manage to pass reforms, without CSO participation, there is little way of knowing if any of the proposed changes will have a genuine impact. The time to act is now.
The Special Procedures report is not optimistic, but it does offer a way to support civil societies. The UNHRC statement recommends that reforms be made to the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism, that CSO engagement be promoted and normalized, that NGOs be granted observer status, that a global monitoring mechanism be established, and that the Special Procedures be consulted during the CoSP. The UNHRC statement will hopefully encourage states to take concrete action to protect and revitalize civil society.
