2019 Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index
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STRENGTHENING STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY CIVIL SOCIETY GLOBALLY GLOBALLY 2019 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 8th EDITION – DECEMBER 2020 2019 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 8th EDITION – DECEMBER 2020 Developed by: United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Acknowledgment: This publication was made possible through support provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-LA-17-00003. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are those of the panelists and other project researchers and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or FHI 360. Cover Photo: As part of the USAID-supported Iraq Governance and Performance Accountability (IGPA) project, known locally as Takamul or Integration, the Iraqi Development Association organized a solid waste management awareness campaign in the Ali bin Yakteen area and souq al-Basrah al-Qadeema (Basrah Old Market), the largest market in Basrah, which is visited by thousands each day. The media, local government, and volunteers helped the campaign give away calendars with educational messages on July 1, 2019. Photo Credit: USAID IGPA/Takamul project TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................................................................................... ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 2019 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX COUNTRY REPORTS Egypt ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Iraq ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Jordan ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 25 Lebanon .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 34 Libya .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Morocco ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 52 Tunisia ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 61 Yemen................................................................................................................................................................................................. 70 ANNEX A: CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 79 ANNEX B: STATISTICAL DATA ..................................................................................................................................................... 97 ANNEX C: REGIONAL MAP ............................................................................................................................................................ 99 The 2019 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa INTRODUCTION The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is pleased to present the eighth edition of the CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa, covering developments in 2019. This year’s Index reports on the state of CSO sectors in eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), including, for the first time, Tunisia. The Index addresses both advances and setbacks in seven key components or “dimensions” of the sustainability of civil society sectors: legal environment, organizational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, service provision, sectoral infrastructure, and public image. The Index is intended to be a useful source of information for local and international CSOs, governments, multilateral institutions, donors, academics, and other partners and stakeholders who want to better understand and monitor key aspects of sustainability in the CSO sector. The Index’s methodology relies on CSO practitioners and researchers, who in each country form an expert panel to assess and rate these dimensions of CSO sustainability during the year. The panel agrees on a score for each dimension, which ranges from 1 (the most enhanced level of sustainability) to 7 (the most impeded). The dimension scores are then averaged to produce an overall sustainability score for the CSO sector of a given country. A Washington, DC-based editorial committee composed of technical and regional experts reviews each panel’s scores and the corresponding narrative reports, with the aim of maintaining consistent approaches and standards so as to facilitate cross-country comparisons. Further details about the methodology used to calculate scores and produce narrative reports are provided in Annex A. The CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa complements similar publications covering other regions. The various regional editions of the 2019 CSO Sustainability Index assess the civil society sectors in a total of seventy-four countries, including thirty-two in Sub-Saharan Africa; twenty-four in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia; nine in Asia; and Mexico. A publication of this type would not be possible without the contributions of many individuals and organizations. We are especially grateful to our local implementing partners, who play the critical role of facilitating the expert panel meetings and writing the country reports. We would also like to thank the many CSO representatives and experts, USAID partners, and international donors who participate in the expert panels in each country. Their knowledge, perceptions, ideas, observations, and contributions are the foundation upon which this Index is based. In addition, special thanks goes to Eka Imerlishvili from FHI 360, the project manager, Jennifer Stuart from ICNL, the report's editor, and Asta Zinbo and Mariam Afrasiabi from USAID, both of whom provided critical support for this edition of the CSO Sustainability Index. A full list of acknowledgements can be found on page ii. Happy reading, Michael Kott Director, Civil Society and Peace Building Department, FHI 360 December 14, 2020 The 2019 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS EGYPT Hesham Issa, PhD, Center for Development Services IRAQ Sangar Y. Salih and Abdullah Khalid, Peace and Freedom Organization (PFO) JORDAN Aida Essaid and Ayed Tayyem, Information and Research Center/King Hussein Foundation LEBANON Layal Bahnam and Roula Mikhael, Maharat Foundation LIBYA Hala Bugaighis, Jusoor MOROCCO Yassin Bazzaz and Zineb El Jouak, Prometheus Institute for Democracy and Human Rights TUNISIA Wejden Ben Alaya, Sofien Asta, Nour Kaabi, and Emna Trabelsi, Jamaity ii The 2019 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa PROJECT MANAGERS FHI 360 Michael Kott Eka Imerlishvili Alex Nejadian INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT LAW (ICNL) Catherine Shea Jennifer Stuart Marilyn Wyatt EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Leila Abu-Geida, Mariam Afrasiabi, Najiyah Alwazir, Kristen McGeeney, Loubna Rais, and Asta Zinbo The 2019 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2019 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa reports on advances and setbacks in seven key dimensions affecting the sustainability of the CSO sectors in eight countries: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Yemen, and, for the first time, Tunisia. Several themes emerge from a review of the 2019 country reports. First, the legal environments governing CSOs continued to deteriorate, with more than half of the countries included in this edition of the Index reporting increasing problems with registration and government harassment, in addition to violations of the freedom of assembly. On the positive side, organizational capacity improved in four countries (Egypt, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen), driven by advances in constituency building. The infrastructure supporting the sector also improved in four countries (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Morocco), with CSOs having more access to various support services and increasingly developing coalitions and intersectoral partnerships. In 2019, CSOs in most of the countries covered by this edition of the Index operated in unstable environments marked by public discontent, conflict, and limited civic freedoms.