30 Oct Civil society concerned about the abolition of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society
Belgrade, October 30, 2020
PRESS RELEASE
Civil society concerned about the abolition of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society
Civil society organizations (CSOs) demand that the Government of the Republic of Serbia provide sufficient resources and formal competencies for mechanisms aimed at involving citizens in decision-making processes. We also request that the Government explain why the decision to abolish the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, as well as reduce the existing competencies within the new Ministry, was made through a completely non-transparent process, without adequate consultations with civil society.
One decade after its founding, with the adoption of the Law on Ministries and the establishment of the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society was disbanded as a government service with a coordinating role in ensuring cooperation between the civil sector and all parts of the public sector. Civic Initiatives, together with our civil society colleagues, worked for years to establish the institution of the Office, which was a mechanism for improving cooperation between all ministries and civil society organizations.
Although part of the Office’s responsibilities have been transferred to the new Ministry, it has not been sufficiently clearly explained to the public why relations with civil society are placed under the auspices of one ministry. This significantly narrows the space for constructive cooperation between all public authorities and the civil sector, which, according to the standards of the European Union, should involve much more than a dialogue. It remains to be seen how the policy of citizens’ participation in the preparation of regulations will be implemented in the future practice of the Ministry, with respect to the basic principles outlined in the Guidelines on the Inclusion of CSOs in the Regulation Adoption Process. The Office has established standards in this area, and the lowering of these standards will reduce the actual impact of CSOs on the quality and content of legal regulations. Also, within the scope of the new Ministry, there are no competencies related to the collection and publication of information on the public financing of civil society organizations. In this way, an important mechanism for controlling the transparency of how these budget allocations are spent has been abolished. At the same time, the very important role the Office plays in ensuring citizens’ participation in the preparation of legal regulations by ministries and local governments has been abolished.
Even though this was not stipulated in the Law on Ministries, we also expect that the Government will ensure that the Ministry of Human Rights and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue takes on every employee from the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, as is the case with employees from the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, as well as the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government. Otherwise, the processes the Office is currently participating in or implementing will inevitably be interrupted or slowed down.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, which has, since its establishment, despite the constant reduction of its resources and its limited competencies, achieved results in opening state institutions to civil society.
Signatories:
- ADRA Serbia
- AS – Center for the Empowerment Youth of people who are living with HIV and AIDS
- Association Rainbow
- ASTRA- Anti trafficking action
- Belgrade Pride
- Belgrade Open School
- Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP)
- Belgrade Centre for Human Rights
- Bureau for Social Research (BIRODI)
- CANVAS
- Catalyst Balkans
- European Policy Centre (CEP)
- Center for Monitoring & Activism (CEMA)
- Centre for Peace Kragujevac
- Policy Center
- Child Rights Centre
- Center for Democratic Development “Europolis”
- Center for Rule of Law (CVP)
- CINS
- Đorđe Popović, program coordinator of BFPE and former employee of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society.
- Educational Center Kruševac
- Ecological Movement of Odžaci
- EKONEC portal
- European Movement in Serbia
- Humanitarian Law Center
- Civic Initiatives
- Group COME OUT
- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
- Youth Initiative for Human Rights
- SPARK initiative for additional support
- DamaD Cultural Center
- Labris – lesbian human rights organization
- Libero
- Link plus
- Media and Reform Center Nis
- Drug Policy Network South East Europe
- National Coalition for Decentralization
- Non-Smoking Educational Center
- Independent Journalist Association of Serbia
- Novi Sad School of Journalism
- Novi Sad Humanitarian Center
- Youth Center CK13
- Partners Serbia
- Podrinje Anti-Corruption Team Pact
- Portal Dijalog Net
- Praxis
- Proaktiv
- Radio Zlatousti
- Res Publica
- Sandzak Committee for Human Rights
- Sanitary Ecological Society
- Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation
- Serbia On the Move
- Timok Youth Center
- Trag Foundation
- Association Dialogue
- Association Fenomena
- Citizens’ Association RIME Zaječar
- Lilith Association
- Association People’s Parliament
- Citizens’ Association Balkan Urban Movement
- Citizens’ Association Ecological Society “Bujanovac”
- Citizens’ Association “Eurocontact”
- Citizens’ Association Go-Change
- Citizens’ Association VIDO Kragujevac
- Board of Directors of the Association “Independent Cultural Scene in Serbia”
- Urban-in
- Association of Women Sandglass
- Vojvodina Civic Centre
- Women for Peace Leskovac
- YUCOM
- WEBIN
- National Youth Council (KOMS)