The Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies is proud to present the publication: ”Best Practice in Community of Democracies’ member states engagement with and protection of civil society”.

The launch of the publication will take place on November 23, 2018 from 9:00-10:30 on the margins of the Warsaw Dialogue for Democracy in Warsaw, Poland.

The Community of Democracies recognizes the important role that civil society plays in democratic societies. An active, pluralistic, independent and vibrant civil society is essential to having strong democracies. Civil society is the primary vehicle through which people can organize themselves, convey their interests, raise concern about any abuse of power, exercise their rights, and take part in national decision-making processes that aim at social and economic development, thus ensuring more stable and strengthened democracies.

In an effort to lead by example, and in support of the principles outlined in the Civil Society Standards, the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies (PSCD) developed a publication on “Best practice in Community of Democracies’ member states engagement with and protection of civil society”.

The publication was funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, within the framework of the project: “Designing new guidelines by which citizens, civil society organizations and governments can work better together”.

The event will consist of a presentation of the publication and a panel discussion on best practice and challenges for the protection of and engagement with civil society.

 The side-event will serve as an opportunity to discuss the findings of the publication including: 

• General trends in civil society space in CoD Governing Council member states.
• Specific steps that have been taken by states to create a safe and enabling environment for civil society.
• Particular challenges faced by civil society organizations, and steps that states can take to protect civil society organizations.

Ms. Patricia Galdamez, CoD’s Senior Advisor will present the publication, following with the discussion between Mr. Pawel Wierdak, Director of the Council of Europe Office in Warsaw and Mr. Thomas Garrett, Secretary General of the Community of Democracies about the important role that civil society plays in democracy strengthening.