Tag: civil society

During the last PACE Winter session, on 26 January 2018, twenty-nine members signed a motion for resolution to call for the strengthening of efforts aimed at promoting and protecting the rule of law and the respect of civil liberties in Poland, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.

In the light of the recent developments in Poland, one of the most urgent problems is the attack on civil society by governmental administration bodies. Non-governmental organisations, critical of the state authorities have been subjected to unprecedented pressure.

ODF, in partnership with PACE Members P. De Sutter and F. Schwabe is pleased to invite you to attend the event “Government against the rule of law, civil society and independent media in Poland” on Tuesday, January 23, from 13.00 to 14.00, at the premises of the Council of Europe, Room 11 – Palais.

Success of Ukrainian NGOs. Once again, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has prevented the Russian delegation from returning to its ranks. This decision was appealed for by 40 Ukrainian NGOs and the Open Dialogue Foundation.

On December 13, 2017, MEPs – Ana Gomes, Tunne Kelam, Jaromir Stetina, Indrek Tarand, Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski, Julie Ward – addressed the Moldovan authorities with regard to the worrisome developments of the state of democracy and the crackdown on civil society taking place in the country.

The Management Board of the Open Dialogue Foundation will not be suspended – on 7 December, the District Court in Warsaw dismissed the motion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to put the Foundation under administrative receivership and to suspend its current Management Board.

On 12 October, 2017, 27 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) signed a written declaration calling for the re-establishment of constitutional order and the liberties of civil society in Poland.

In the light of the recent developments in Poland, one of the most urgent problems is the attack on civil society by governmental administration bodies. Non-governmental organisations, critical of the state authorities (including Obywatele RP [Citizens of Poland], Fundacja Otwarty Dialog

“Currently, there are not regular inspection activities because the system has picked Open Dialog at random but because Minister Kamiński called Minister Waszczykowski and said: “Do something with them” – comments the Head of the Foundation Board Bartosz Kramek.

A women’s organisation has lost about 80 to 90 percent of its funding. Seven hundred court cases have been instituted against participants in protests organised by civil society associations. Another organisation is facing extensive custom and tax inspections.

On 13.09.2017, at the National Stadium in Warsaw, during the international conference 2017 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting which was an OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights event, we organised a discussion panel on the attack on the rule of law and civil society in Poland.

An article posted on the website of the Polsat News channel was devoted to the participation of the Head of the Foundation Board of the ODF Bartosz Kramek in the discussion panel organised during the conference of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

In early July 2017, the presidential draft laws No. 6674 and No. 6675 were registered in the Parliament of Ukraine. The draft laws were elaborated allegedly to replace the scandalous amendments to the anti-corruption legislation obliging the anti-corruption activists to annually file personal asset

On August 24, 2017, Ukrainian citizen Pavlo Hryb (age 19) went missing in the Republic of Belarus. As of September the 4th 2017 his whereabouts remain unknown. Belarus authorities confirmed the border crossing; however did not confirm his arrest or detention.

„The Ministry of Foreign affairs is considering the appointment of a compulsory administrator for the Open Dialogue Foundation” Newsweek communicated on the 21st August, relying on information from the Ministry’s press office.