On 5 April 2019, the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC) and the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development(DG DEVCO) of the European Commission organised a workshop with 30 representatives of...
Articles
PFD Africa: Taking stock of EU and African Union partnership
Between 8 and 10 October 2018, representatives of civil society organisations, the private sector and local authorities from across Africa gathered in Gaborone for the third Regional Meeting Africa of the Policy Forum on...
Capacitating South Africa’s LGBTI Organisations to Track Human Rights Abuses
South Africa is sometimes known as “the gay heaven” of Africa, where same-sex marriage is legal and human rights for all are enshrined in the post-Apartheid Constitution. But there is a gulf between the legal framework and the...
Addressing Rising Inequality via Tax Reform, Infrastructure Investment and Civil Society
Zambia can sound like a success. One of sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest-growing economies – with an average annual expansion of 3% between 2004 and 2013 – it was classed by the World Bank as a lower-middle-income country in 2011.
Supporting Local Actors in a Challenging Environment
Groups representing citizen interests around the world are under pressure. Funding cuts and restrictive laws are curtailing their freedom to operate, and many participants at the 2016 Policy Forum on Development (PFD) and Civil...
Civil Society Shares Their Experience of the VPA Process at FLEGT Week 2013
The European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) initiative calls on the involvement of civil society in the negotiation and implementation of their Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) with timber...
Civil Society and Ghana’s FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements
FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) are bilateral trade agreements between the European Union (EU) and partner countries aimed at guaranteeing that wood exported to the EU...
Civil Society and Oil and Gas Governance in Ghana
In 2007 commercially viable quantities of oil and gas were discovered in Ghana. The estimated revenue of the oil reserves is about $1 billion per year (approximately EUR 768 million), which is similar to the amount of development...
Women’s Manifesto in Ghana: Ghana's Civil Society's 'Roadmap' for Women's Advancement
In Ghana a 'Women's Manifesto', issued by civil society organisations (CSOs) in 2004, has created momentum and awareness around women's rights and gender equality. Almost 10 years after its adoption, the Manifesto continues to...
Guardians of the Forests
As the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) voluntary partnership agreements (VPA) enter the critical phase of implementation, Members of European Parliament (MEP) have stressed the need to involve and strengthen...