Građanske Inicijative | THE THREE FREEDOMS PLATFORM TO PROTECT THE CIVIC SPACE IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA SIGNED AT ICSW 2019

11 Apr THE THREE FREEDOMS PLATFORM TO PROTECT THE CIVIC SPACE IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA SIGNED AT ICSW 2019

THE THREE FREEDOMS PLATFORM

Belgrade, April 10th, 2019. – Representatives of 20 civil society organisations signed in Belgrade the Three Freedoms Platform for the Protection of Civic Space in the Republic of Serbia, in order to protect and promote the freedom of association, assembly and information. The platform is signed during the International Civil Society Week organized by Civic Initiatives and CIVICUS and cooperation with Balkan Civil Society Development Network.

The Three Freedoms Platform states that its signatories will act as a joint front of civil society to protect vulnerable freedoms and create conditions for the smooth participation of citizens in public affairs through the development of civil society.

Organizations launched the Three Freedoms Platform, as the European Commission noted that there are elements of captured state throughout the Western Balkans – a state in which the government misuses public resources for private purposes, and as the international institutions and organizations point to the worrying trends of shrinking civic space in Serbia .

The launch of the Platform has also been influenced by the fact that CSOs are exposed to more frequent attacks in pro-regime media and attacks on the physical integrity, reputation and honor of their activists, but also since the Serbian Government has not adopted the Strategy for creating an enabling environment for the development of civil society and because the EU accession process is not being used for substantive reforms.

The main goal of the Platform, read out by Executive Director of Civic Initiatives Maja Stojanović within the framework of the International Civil Society Week, is to contribute to the democratization of society, building the rule of law and the active participation of citizens in the creation and implementation of reforms through the protection and full implementation of three freedoms – association, assembly and information .

The Platform also includes requests addressed to the Government and Parliament of Serbia, the European Union and international organizations.

Among the signatories of the Platform are Civic Initiatives, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), Transparency Serbia, Belgrade Center for Security Policy, Belgrade Center for Human Rights, YUCOM – Lawyer’s Committee for Human Rights, Center for Cultural Decontamination, Trag Foundation, Our Endowment, Serbia on the Move, New Optimism,Policy Centre, Slavko Curuvija Foundation, Autonomous Women’s Center, A11, Helsinki Committee, Catalyst Balkans, National Coalition for Decentralization, Partners Serbia.