Russia’s missile strike on 8 July that targeted Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital, the largest paediatrics facility in Ukraine, and Isida, a maternity hospital in Kyiv, is part of a series of systematic assaults carried out against Ukraine health care system and aimed at terrorising civilians.
How does one combat disinformation? For the Georgian Strategic Communications Center, training is key. Meet the Georgian activists fighting anti-Western disinformation. This article is part of our “Meet activists” series which highlights the work done by EaP CSF members.
The infamous “foreign agent” law was adopted today by the parliamentary majority of the Georgian Dream ruling party in a striking defiance of peaceful protests attended by hundreds of thousands of people over the past four weeks and dozens of international reactions highlighting the detrimental impact of this bill on Georgia’s democracy and EU accession process. The adoption of this law and the process that led to it mark Georgia’s rapid descent into authoritarianism.
Azerbaijan must stop its crackdown on civil society and free all political prisoners.
The Co-Chairs of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum strongly condemn the detention of human rights defender, Anar Mammadli, on 29 April 2024, and urgently call for his immediate and unconditional release. Mammadli’s arrest reconfirms the need for a strong international response to Azerbaijan’s ongoing crackdown on independent civil society.
Less than a week after the European Parliament urgency resolution on “Azerbaijan, notably the repression of civil society and the cases of Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu and Ilhamiz Guliyev”, Anar Mammadli, prominent human rights defender and member of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF), has been arrested on 29 April in Baku. Abducted on the street by policemen wearing civilian attire, Mammadli’s is now in a 3-month and 28-day pre-trial arrest for “smuggling by a group” under article 206.3.2 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code. He denied all accusations as unlawful and politically motivated.
“We join the international community in condemning Anar Mammadli’s arrest and call for his immediate release. His abduction and detention are part of an ongoing trend of repression against independent civil society and media that has intensified over the past year and led to the detention, on bogus charges, of nearly 300 activists, journalists and political opposition figures, including several members of the EaP CSF Azerbaijani National Platform, namely Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, Aziz Orujov, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Hafiz Babaly, and, now, Anar Mammadli. As a Host Country of the UN Climate Change Conference COP29, Azerbaijan has the obligation to uphold human rights and provide concrete assurances that civil society, both local and international, is free to attend COP29 without fear of harassment and legal action. To stay credible on the global stage, Azerbaijani authorities must undertake genuine human rights reforms without delay. A first step is to free all political prisoners and cease any persecution against them now.” said Ana Otilia Nutu and Irina Suky, EaP CSF Steering Committee Co-Chairs.
Anar Mammadli is the chairman of the independent Center for Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDS), an organisation that has been carrying out independent election monitoring in Azerbaijan since 2001, including independent observations of the recent snap presidential elections on 7 February 2024 for which it reported widespread shortcomings. A prominent human rights defender and an outspoken critic of Ilham Aliyev’s regime, Anar Mammadli has already served two and a half years in prison after unlawfully being detained in 2013, shortly after the October 2013 presidential elections for which EMDS reported numerous irregularities. Recognised globally as a political prisoner, in 2014, Anar Mammadli was awarded in absentia the Vaclav Havel Prize by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, for “his commitment in promoting democratic institutions and civil and political rights”. In 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Azerbaijan had violated several human rights enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights in Mammadli’s case.
In the context of Azerbaijan hosting the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties COP29 and in line with its international human rights obligations,
Ana Otilia Nutu and Irina Sukhy, Co-Chairs of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
Statement by the Co-Chairs of the Steering Committee of the EaP CSF, 2 May 2024.
The Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Forum strongly condemns the re-introduction of the controversial ‘Transparency of foreign influence’ draft law by the Georgian Dream. Considering the nine steps that Georgia should fulfil as part of the EU’s 2023 enlargement package, we urge the Georgian government to immediately withdraw this bill and ensure a genuine enabling environment for civil society and media in the country. A democratic Georgia does not need such a bill, particularly given the public rejection of a similar law through mass protests in March 2023.
On 3 April 2024, the ruling Georgian Dream party announced their second attempt to pass a so-called ‘Foreign Agent’ bill, now rebranded as ‘Transparency of foreign influence’, which primarily targets civil society organisations and independent media outlets. The bill is a copy-paste of last year’s largely contested version with the difference that the new legislation would label organisations that receive funding from overseas as ‘organisations carrying out the interests of a foreign power’ instead of ‘agents of foreign influence’ as proposed in 2023. In essence, there is no difference between the two labels.
If adopted, the newly proposed bill would require all those who receive at least 20 percent of their funding from international sources – individuals, civil society organisations and media outlets – to register as ‘organisations carrying out the interests of a foreign power’ with the Ministry of Justice. Evasion of registration or submission of an incomplete declaration can attract fines up to 25,000 GEL (the equivalent of 8,500 EUR). Besides, the status would carry obvious negative connotations and lead to self-censorship. In our view, this bill aims at restricting the work of activists and independent voices within civil society organisations and at curtailing civil society’s ability to hold those in power accountable. It also threatens the existence and functioning of independent civil society and media and harms Georgia’s path towards European integration.
We recall that, in March 2023, the initiation of the Russian-styled ‘foreign agents’ bill sparked massive protests by thousands of Georgians who bravely took to the streets amidst the use, by police forces, of tear gas, water cannon and stun grenades. After several days, the government was compelled to ‘unconditionally’ drop the law. Nevertheless, despite the bill’s withdrawal, throughout 2023 and in the first quarter of 2024, the ruling party and pro-governmental media continued to escalate their rhetoric against civil society, journalists, and donors in Georgia. Back then, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF), together with the EaP CSF Georgian National Platform and other civil society actors, stood in solidarity against the reintroduction of any ‘foreign agents’ law in Georgia. Our attempts to raise concerns about democratic backsliding and reform challenges at all levels – from state accountability to the independence of the judiciary – were met with smear campaigns and targeted individual accusations from Georgian Dream representatives and pro-governmental media. Through our EaP Index assessment, we warned about the imminent dangers to Georgia’s democracy, including symptomatic aspects related to the Government’s persistent attempts at undermining civil society, limiting our oversight role, and labelling us as ‘enemies’ of the country.
Recalling that “the European Council granted Georgia candidate status on the understanding that the relevant steps set out in the Commission’s recommendation of 8 November 2023 are taken. Step 9 includes a recommendation for Georgia to make sure that civil society can operate freely, and Step 1 calls on Georgia to fight disinformation against the EU and its values.”
We therefore:
“The Georgian Dream’s objective to constrain civil society’s role is an offence to the citizens of Georgia who hope to join the European Union. Georgia’s deeply rooted European aspirations cannot be shelved by a stroke of the pen and we will continue to stand alongside Georgian civil society in this process” said Natia Kuprashvili, EaP CSF Steering Committee member and National Facilitator, Georgia.
Members of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
Statement by the Steering Committee of the EaP CSF, 5 April 2024.
STATEMENT BY THE EAP CSF STEERING COMMITTEE CONDEMNING RUSSIA’S LATEST LARGE–SCALE DRONE AND MISSILE ATTACKS ON UKRAINE’S CITIES
The Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum strongly condemns the Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and the people of Ukraine and is abhorred by the recent drone and missile attacks on numerous cities, energy sector and civilian infrastructure.
On March 22, Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack against numerous Ukrainian cities, namely Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhzhia, targeting their energy infrastructure. Over the next couple of days similar attacks were recorded in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy and Vinnytsia Regions. These attacks caused the failure of the Ukrainian energy system leaving almost 1.5 million Ukrainians without electricity, water, and internet.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine amidst Russia’s latest criminal acts targeting the Zaporizhzhia’s Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant.
We strongly urge the European Union and its Member States to:
Members of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
“Over the last few nights, we have been under constant shelling. Our cities have been left in complete darkness, without electricity, water and internet. Under each attack, we live this war over and over again. And yet, we do not succumb to fear, although we are afraid for our lives and those of our loved ones each and every day.
Only with more military support we will be able to put an end, once and for all, to all these atrocities and crimes. Only with more military support, our cities will be safe. Only with more military support, our people will be able to safely return to our country and contribute to its reconstruction”, said Ruslan Havryliuk, EaP CSF Steering Committee Member and National Facilitator, Ukraine.
Statement by the Steering Committee of the EaP CSF, 27 March 2024
Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Remarks by Ana Otilia Nutu, Steering Committee Member of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
Dear Members of the European Parliament,
Dear members of the EaP countries’ parliaments,
Dear Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya,
Distinguished representatives of EU institutions and member states,
I am honoured to address you today on behalf of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, on how we view the future of the EaP region and our role as civil society.
We are now at a critical political juncture: European elections are coming up in June and it’s almost time to take stock of what was done – almost. There are still a few months left before wrapping up this mandate.
EU leaders will assemble again for the Summit here in Brussels tomorrow for important decisions. They should not shy away from discussing enlargement and adopt as soon as possible the relevant negotiating framework. We call on you: ask for this to take place now. Do not push the decision after the elections, when we don’t know what the new political constellation may be.
There is an expectation among some that Poland, which will take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in 2025 and has announced it will host the EaP Summit, will start to lay the groundwork for enlargement. But time is of the essence. We ask you to sustain this political momentum and call onto the European Council to advance swiftly on the adoption of negotiating frameworks.
Beyond this immediate matter, we call on you to continue working closely on the EU approximation and democratic reform processes across the entire EaP region.
Enlargement and neighbourhood are complementary to each other – and not in competition. Since 2009, the EaP policy has been and continues to be a training ground for the EaP countries with EU aspirations.
. It was precisely the EaP policy, with its flexible approach adapted to each country’s needs, which kicked off the reforms on democracy, rule of law, and functioning market economy that allow us to hope today for EU accession for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. It was the achievement of the European Neighbourhood Policy that the three countries signed Association Agreements, including DCFTAs since 2014. And it is precisely the EaP framework that supports today Armenia’s renewed ambition and political will to build a stronger partnership with the EU, beyond the existing CEPA. Both the civil society and the Armenian government desire closer ties with the EU: it is now high time to fully commit to the hard, frustrating yet rewarding work, in both Yerevan and Brussels, to make it happen. The EaP thus supports, not undermines, the European aspirations of individual countries.
But EaP is not only for countries who plan to join the EU sooner or later. It is for all the countries in the region where the citizens, sometimes despite repression from their governments, have aspirations and values matching those of the EU: respect for freedom, equality before the law, the final say in governing their country and politicians who understand they are there to serve the public, and not the other way around. For these countries, EaP policy is sometimes the only instrument to empower civil society. It is a crucial safeguard for activists in Belarus and Azerbaijan.
These people need now more than ever supporters in the EU to hear their voice, and EaP gives them the platform and hope for change. In Belarus, repression against independent civil society and regular citizens continues. All opposition political parties have been deprived of legal status during the forced re-registration; virtually all independent civil society lives in exile or is behind bars; independent trade unions have been wiped out. More than 1500 men and women are currently recognised as political prisoners; their children left without parents; their families held hostage. We do welcome the updated Conclusion of the Council from 19 February and we appreciate the ongoing support of the EU for Belarusian civil society and democratic forces. But we must do more. It’s time to have a comprehensive, coherent EU strategy for Belarus. A clear plan of joint actions to stop repression; release political prisoners; and support the country’s progression to democracy. On this, the EaP CSF can work with you.
We are alarmed by the ongoing repression of civil society and media in Azerbaijan. Since 2022, repression and intimidation against local journalists, trade union activists, environmental defenders, and opposition figures has ramped up. The number of political prisoners doubled in the past 12 months. 200 people are currently held in jail on political grounds, including three of our EaP CSF colleagues, Gubad Ibadoghlu, Bakhtyar Hagiyev and Aziz Orujov. Gubad Ibadoghlu, a renowned political economist, prominent opposition figure and a founding member of our organisation, has been in prison since last July and his life hangs by a thread as vital medications are denied to him.
We said it last year and I repeat it here today: the EU and all its member states must stop compromising on rule of law and human rights for the sake of the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation on energy. One million cubic meters of gas are not equal to one dissident. We cannot “switch suppliers” from one tyrant to another. If we learned something from our previous dependence on Russian gas, it’s that it’s below us as Europeans to pay with our money for a dictator’s internal repression and external aggression.
Dear colleagues, if you end up deciding to travel to Baku this year for COP29, make it a point to first meet with Azeri activists and human rights defenders, both in diaspora and in Azerbaijan. Just ask about the human rights situation in the country. If you sign another contract, strategic partnership or energy memorandum, which Azerbaijan needs more than Europe does, you have the leverage to call for the release of all political prisoners. Before we boast on how our cooperation to buy Azeri green energy would help achieve EU’s environment and climate goals, ask questions about the village of Soyudlu and the environmental protests that took place there in 2023 against the construction of a wastewater reservoir for a gold mine. Ask about the violent repression of the protestors by enforcement forces. The human rights crisis in Azerbaijan is no less important than the environment crisis. We in the EU made global commitments to care for both.
Last but not least, I want to raise a point about security. If there’s one lesson we learned since 2022, it’s that the EU will never be secure until its entire neighborhood is secure, and that Russia is and will remain a threat to all of us. No country knows this better than countries in the EaP, the Baltics, and Poland, and the rest of the EU has a lot to learn from the region’s experience. Russia has waged or continues to wage war against almost all of our countries: from military aggression and occupation in Ukraine, to ongoing occupation and hybrid warfare in Moldova and Georgia, to political occupation in Belarus, and, again, hybrid warfare against (the democratically elected government of) Armenia. With the West, Russia weaponizes everything: from energy, migration, sports, food, to the widespread use of disinformation and corruption of decision-makers. To this, we have only one response. Arm Ukraine to the teeth with Russia’s own money. Use now the more than 300 bn USD in frozen Russian assets to give Ukraine everything it needs. Speed up negotiations for EU accession, now, before elections. Fight dictatorship in Belarus and Azerbaijan. Defend our own values and arm against aggression. Step up the fight with disinformation: pre-bunk Russian narratives, tell the truth before the lie spreads. Fight for our European values and turn the table.
None of us can do it alone. Neither individual EU member states, nor the EaP countries individually, neither governments nor civil society by itself. We, the civil society from EaP and EU, are and will continue to be your partners in this fight.
Thank you.
Speech by Ana Otilia Nutu, Steering Committee Member of the EaP CSF, 20 March 2024
Eastern Partnership Senior Official Meeting Remarks by Tania Marocchi, Director of the Secretariat of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
Dear representatives of EU institutions and member states,
Dear EaP partners,
Dear colleagues,
I am happy to speak to you today on behalf of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and share our perspective on how to advance regional cooperation under the EaP policy.
2024 marks 15 years since the launch of the Eastern Partnership initiative: a symbolic anniversary to trigger important reflections ahead of the Summit next year.
What we wish for the region is clear: democracy, stability, prosperity and most of all, peace. As we always advocate, civil society is a key actor in progressing towards these goals. And it bears repeating that EU Institutions, Member states’ and EaP countries’ governments and institutions are both partners and gatekeepers of civil society in this path.
The past year has seen ups and downs in the region’s reform process and patchy or problematic civil society involvement as well at times. To ensure sustainable reforms, we need increased civil society engagement in decision-making processes. This is particularly crucial for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, in the context of which we would like to see civil society’s involvement with the Ukraine Facility and the Ukraine Plan, as well as, going forward, in the enlargement process.
This is relevant for Moldova as well of course, but also crucial for Georgia, where we have been appalled to see government representatives actively starting smear campaigns against civil society representatives or draft laws – later withdrawn – that would have stifled independent voices. This is unacceptable and we call on Georgian institutions to ensure the wide and comprehensive involvement of civil society in the recently formed working groups and in any relevant discussions.
We have seen Armenian authorities articulating more clearly the country’s European aspirations and look forward to them and European institutions delivering on those expectations. We have also seen Azerbaijani civil society facing deeper and further challenges and are extremely concerned about the state of the third sector 10 years since the infamous 2014 law. We call urgently on a coordinated approach to support Azerbaijani civil society.
Last but not least, a point on Belarus, the only EaP country not represented in this room but of whose civil society we channel the voice.
We welcome the Council Conclusions on Belarus of February this year reaffirming the EU’s continue to support Belarusian civil society and recognising its European choice and acknowledging it as an important partner in the framework of the Eastern Partnership. Therefore, we of course welcome the dedicated attention to the continued involvement of Belarusian civil society representatives in EaP meetings and have a few suggestions how to support Belarusian civil society further.
Belarusian civil society is currently undergoing what we could call a stabilisation phase. As you know, many civil society organisations have relocated and reoriented their work abroad. Some of the grassroot initiatives that emerged from the socio-political mobilisation of 2020 transformed and began to institutionalise leading to the emergence of new actors. This testifies to the dynamism and adaptability of Belarusian civil society under changing conditions. Although it is not possible to have a clear picture, this statement is valid for civil society inside Belarus. Many activists remain active within the country but conceal their activities for security reasons, rendering them invisible to the outside world and maybe giving the impression that nothing is happening within Belarus itself. This is not the case: both activity – and repression– are still ongoing and civil society should continue to be considered a key actor of change inside and outside the country, and a key player in the wider democratisation of the region.
This makes it all the more crucial to provide Belarusian civil society with steady, stable, predictable and coordinated international support to be able to transition fully from being in survival mode to a phase of active promotion of systemic changes.
In this respect, priority should be given to supporting initiatives that aim at building the resilience and capacity of Belarusian civil society, particularly in the areas of organisational development, advocacy, transparency, and security in repressive conditions. When it comes to focus themes, human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment, civic education, digital literacy, and ecological sustainability should be integrated in all support to Belarusian civil society and their integration and strengthening in EaP multilateral meetings and workplan can only benefit them as well.
And speaking of the workplan – we have a few comments for your consideration.
Starting from the experience of the 2023 workplan:
– We welcome the creation of the gender working group, in which we actively participated and look forward to the continuation of its activities. The group started a practice of joint follow-up among participants, which we found very valuable and recommend continuing and replicating in other contexts.
– On the other hand, as formal civil society representatives in the EaP multilateral architecture, we saw that the practice of steady and regular involvement of civil society in all EaP architecture meetings was somewhat discontinued. We urge you all to ensure that EaP CSF representatives are regularly invited to meetings in 2024 and to be the champions of civil society involvement.
Moving on to the 2024 workplan, we are happy to see the continued inclusion of human security and a strong focus on digital transformation. On the latter, we strongly encourage all parties here to use EaP channels to share best practices and actively support educational programmes and initiatives that focus on enhancing digital literacy. These efforts should be comprehensive, and cover areas like media literacy, critical thinking, and digital security, to equip citizens with the necessary tools to effectively identify, navigate, and counter misinformation and disinformation, but also to foster a well-informed and digitally savvy citizenry – a key pre-condition for democratisation.
We also have two additional suggestions for your consideration:
The first is to include a working group on environmental security. Ensuring environmental security is not just about protecting nature but also about safeguarding human health and promoting economic prosperity. This is key to the effective implementation of the European Green Deal and the sustainable economic transformation of the EaP countries and Ukraine’s reconstruction, so a key area for stronger regional cooperation.
The second suggestion is to create a working group on civic space, addressing questions related to civil society’s meaningful participation in decision making, access to funding, and the regulatory environment and legal frameworks for a thriving civic space. The sharing of best practices and challenges in this area can be an excellent way to simultaneously raise the bar on civic engagement and support democratic reform at the same time.
Lastly, we have a very practical but meaningful recommendation to improve and maximise the transparency and accountability of this and other meetings – and it is to simply but crucially making minutes of meetings available as a standard practice, sending summary notes, and inviting corrections after the meetings. The relatively simple act of sharing the main conclusions and recommendations of the discussion systematically with all attendees, including with EaP CSF civil society representatives, and make them open for comments, would ensure:
o First, continuity, because new representatives at meetings could more easily catch up easily on previous work and duplication or scattered conclusions would be avoided. This is particularly relevant given the more shared ownership of the Annual Workplan.
o Second, transparency, because the expert community of stakeholders could follow the works even if not physically present at the meetings;
o Third, accountability, because it would allow parties to check that their input is properly reflected, integrated and followed up in the work ahead.
I will stop here. Thank you very much for your attention. I wish you a productive continuation of the meeting and traditionally I remain optimistic that civil society will be a full participant in the next Senior Officials Meeting.
Speech by Tania Marocchi, Director of the Secretariat of the EaP CSF, 14 March 2024
EaP CSF steering committee statement on the urgent need for international action regarding political prisoners.
EaP CSF Steering Committee Statement on the vote organised by the Lukashenka regime for its lower House of Representatives and local councils of deputies on 25 February 2024