Working Group on Enabling and Protecting Civil Society Convenes in Stockholm

The Working Group discussed a number of operational and administrative issues regarding the group and its functioning including;

•  Consideration of actions in countries considering the adoption of restrictive legislation;

•  Examination of emerging trends in legal threats to civil society and consideration of how to counteract the them;

•  The potential adoption of new Working Group membership criteria and an expansion the active membership;

•  Examination and lessons learned on the “Lifeline – The Embattled NGOs Assistance Fund”;

•  Examination of the Working Group's strategic scope and mandate, including the role of the Working Group; and

•  Discussion of Working Group involvement in the Community of Democracies' upcoming Ministerial Conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, April 27-29, 2013.