USAID 2014/2015 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2014/2015 CSO SUSTAINABILITY USAID For the Middle East and North Africa East and North the Middle For 4 th Edition 2014/2015 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA U.S. Agency for International Development 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20523 Tel: (202) 712-0000 Fax: (202) 216-3524 www.usaid.gov The 2014/2015 Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa Developed by: United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Bureau for the Middle East Office of Technical Support TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... ii Introduction ........................................................................................................... 4 2014/2015 CSO Sustainability Ratings .............................................................. 12 Country Reports .................................................................................................. 13 Egypt ...................................................................................................................................... 13 Iraq ......................................................................................................................................... 24 Jordan .................................................................................................................................... 32 Lebanon ................................................................................................................................. 41 Morocco................................................................................................................................ 49 West Bank and Gaza .......................................................................................................... 56 Yemen .................................................................................................................................... 67 Annex A: CSO Sustainability Index Methodology ........................................... 78 Annex B: CSOSI 2014/2015 Data ...................................................................... 92 THE 2014/2015 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Egypt Negad El Borai, The United Group (UG) Iraq Jamal Al Jawahiri and Hasan Wahhab, Iraqi Al Amal Association Jordan Dr. Aida Essaid and Ayed Tayyem, The Information and Research Center- King Hussein Foundation Lebanon Roula Mikhael and Layal Bahnam, Maharat Foundation Morocco Asmaa Achemial and Mourad Gourouhi, Tanmia Ma West Bank and Gaza Nicholas Herbert Hyman, Dr. Nader Said, and Reem Ziad-Ghattas, Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) Yemen SOUL for Development THE 2014/2015 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA ii Project Managers Management Systems International, Inc. Allison Poyac-Clarkin Alex Nejadian The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law Catherine Shea Jennifer Stuart Elly Page Editorial Committee USAID: Sajda Ouachtouki, Joseph Scheibel, Charles Kiamie III, Mariam Afrasiabi MSI: Allison Poyac-Clarkin ICNL: Elly Page, Kristen McGeeney Regional Expert (Consultant): Hania Aswad THE 2014/2015 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA iii INTRODUCTION USAID is pleased to present the fourth edition of the Civil Society Organization (CSO) Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa, which covers events in calendar years 2014 and 2015. This edition of the Index reports on the strength and overall viability of the CSO sectors in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen, and the West Bank and Gaza. The Index relies on the knowledge of CSO practitioners and researchers, who in each country form an expert panel to assess and rate seven interrelated dimensions of CSO sustainability: legal environment, organizational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, service provision, infrastructure, and public image. The panel proposes a score for each dimension, which can range from 1 (indicating a very advanced civil society sector with a high level of sustainability) to 7 (indicating a fragile, unsustainable sector with a low level of development). Dimension scores are averaged to produce an overall sustainability score. The Index groups all scores into three overarching categories—Sustainability Enhanced (scores from 1 to 3), Sustainability Evolving (3.1-5), and Sustainability Impeded (5.1-7). An editorial committee composed of technical and regional experts reviews the panel’s findings, with the aim of maintaining consistent approaches and standards so as to allow cross-country comparisons. Further details about the methodology used to calculate scores and produce corresponding narrative reports are provided in Annex A. Readers should note that this publication focuses on the situation on the ground in 2014 and 2015. USAID notes that developments in the seven countries and territories covered by this report continue to be turbulent and that the situation in many of them is dramatically different now than it was during the period covered. The Index is a useful source of information for local CSOs, governments, donors, academics, and others who want to better understand and monitor key aspects of sustainability in the CSO sector. The CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa complements similar publications covering other regions, which include reports on twenty-four countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, thirty countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, seven countries in Asia, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan.1 These editions of the CSO Sustainability Index bring the total number of countries surveyed to seventy. A publication of this type would not be possible without the contributions of many individuals and organizations. We are grateful to the implementing partners, who played 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 participated in the expert panels in each country. Their knowledge, perceptions, ideas, observations, and contributions are the foundation upon which the Index is based. 1 The CSO Sustainability Index for Afghanistan and CSO Sustainability Index for Pakistan are made possible by the support of the Aga Khan Foundation. The Aga Khan Foundation also provides funding for the Mali and Kenya country reports for the CSO Sustainability Index for Sub-Saharan Africa. 4 THE 2014/2015 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa evaluates the strength and viability of the CSO sectors in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen. This edition of the Index covers events and trends affecting CSOs over the course of 2014 and 2015. CSOs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) operated in a tumultuous environment during 2014 and 2015, facing challenges ranging from fierce armed conflicts to severe humanitarian and economic crises. In Iraq, the so-called Islamic State militant group (otherwise known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) emerged as an increasingly potent threat, seizing territory in the western and central parts of the country in 2014. The militant group severely violated human rights, particularly those of religious minorities, women, and young girls, and its territorial expansion in Iraq prompted thousands of people to flee. Iraqi CSOs were faced with practical difficulties of operating in and around areas under the group’s control. In 2015, Iraq, as well as Egypt, Lebanon, and Yemen, experienced attacks claimed by the Islamic State or its affiliates. The spread of Islamic State attacks and the group’s recruitment of fighters from abroad intensified security concerns throughout the MENA region and led governments in many countries to adopt new laws and regulations aimed at countering extremist activity. Some of these measures created new restrictions for CSOs, including limits on their ability to receive foreign donor funding. The civil war in Syria, which the Index does not cover, grew in complexity and deadliness throughout 2014 and 2015 and continued to have spillover effects into neighboring countries, including Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. All three countries, already hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), faced challenges meeting the needs of growing resident refugee and IDP populations while ensuring security and sufficient resources for host communities. Substantial foreign aid continued to flow to these countries, which helped support CSOs already working on refugee and IDP relief as well as those that adapted their scopes of work to include humanitarian aid activities. In Yemen, meanwhile, promising signs of political reconciliation in early 2014 with the conclusion of the National Dialogue Conference faded later that year, when the Houthi militant group seized the country’s capital, several government institutions, and the army. An international coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched a war on the Houthis in early 2015, leading to thousands of casualties, millions of IDPs, and a new humanitarian crisis in the region. CSOs in Yemen struggled to