STRENGTHENING STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY CIVIL SOCIETY GLOBALLY GLOBALLY 2017 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 6th EDITION - DECEMBER 2018 2017 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 6th EDITION - DECEMBER 2018 Developed By: United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance In Partnership With: FHI 360 International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) 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: Girls from Al Dhulail Municipality in Jordan gather for the opening ceremony of the USAID- supported “Al Dhulail Gathers Us” Festival. Like many Jordanian cities, the structure of Al Dhulail’s community has been progressively altered due to regional conflicts. A “first” for this diverse community, this three-day festival fostered community cohesion, featured awareness-raising sessions on combating extremism and drugs, and explored how to better integrate all members of society—particularly refugees and people with disabilities. Photo Credit: Albatool Ali, USAID Jordan Cities Implementing Transparent, Innovative, and Effective Solutions (USAID CITIES) Project B The 2017 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................................ ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................... 1 2017 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX COUNTRY REPORTS Egypt ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Iraq .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Jordan ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Lebanon .................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Morocco ................................................................................................................................................................................... 40 West Bank and Gaza ........................................................................................................................................................... 48 Yemen ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 57 ANNEX A: CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX METHODOLOGY .................................................................... 66 ANNEX B: STATISTICAL DATA ......................................................................................................................... 84 ANNEX C: REGIONAL MAP .............................................................................................................................. 86 The 2017 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa INTRODUCTION The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is pleased to present the sixth edition of the Civil Society Organization (CSO) Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa, covering developments in 2017. In 2017, USAID reaffirmed its commitment to working with a diverse array of partners, including civil society, to advance the principles of self-reliance and locally-sustained development. The CSOSI provides a comprehensive assessment of the capacity of civil society to serve as both a short-term partner in implementing development solutions and a long-term actor in ensuring development outcomes are sustained. The CSOSI empowers local civil society to collectively assess not only the environment in which they are operating, but also their own capacities to advocate, operate sustainably and communicate with citizens. Allowing local civil society to self- identify their development challenges is the first step in promoting resiliency and long-term self-reliance. This edition of the Index reports on the strength and overall viability of the CSO sectors in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen. It 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 CSOs, governments, donors, academics, and others who want to better understand and monitor key aspects of sustainability in the CSO sector. The Index relies on an expert panel of CSO practitioners and researchers in each country to propose a score for each dimension. Scores can range from 1 (indicating advanced development and sustainability in this area due to existing policies and practices) to 7 (indicating fragility and instability in this area with a low level of development due to impeding policies and practices, generally by a government that opposes an independent CSO sector). 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 to maintain consistent approaches and standards and facilitate cross-country comparisons. Further details about the methodology used to calculate scores and produce corresponding narrative reports are provided in Annex A. The CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa complements similar publications covering other regions, which include reports on thirty-one countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, twenty-four countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and nine countries in Asia. These editions of the CSO Sustainability Index bring the total number of countries surveyed in 2017 to seventy-one. i The 2017 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A publication of this type would not be possible without the contributions of many individuals and organizations. We are especially grateful to our 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 this Index is based. EGYPT Hesham Issa, Ph.D., Mariam Negm, and May Seoud, Center for Development Services IRAQ Kawa Mohammed Farje Sabir, Hersh Fakhraldeen Khwakaram, and Hussam Hakim Barznjy, Kurdistan Economic Development Organization (KEDO); Yousif Khoshnaw JORDAN Aida Essaid and Ayed Tayyem, Information and Research Center/King Hussein Foundation LEBANON Roula Mikhael and Layal Bahnam, Maharat Foundation MOROCCO Yassin Bazzaz, Yasmine Boutaib, and Zineb El Jouak, Prometheus Institute for Democracy and Human Rights WEST BANK Mona Amasheh, Samer Said, and Nader Said, Arab World AND GAZA for Research and Development (AWRAD) YEMEN Maher Othman, Resonate Yemen The 2017 CSO Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa ii PROJECT MANAGERS FHI 360 Michael Kott David Lenett Alex Nejadian INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT LAW (ICNL) Elly Page Catherine Shea Jennifer Stuart EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Najiyah Alwazir, Amy Hawthorne, Stephen Kelley, Kristen McGeeney, Elly Page, Loubna Rais, Asta Zinbo iii The 2017 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 in 2017. In 2017 CSOs across the Middle East and North Africa continued to face a range of security, economic, and political challenges that affected their sustainability. Several countries struggled with the effects of violent conflict. In Yemen, a brutal civil war with international involvement made it difficult for CSO personnel to move around the country while creating immense needs for humanitarian aid. The Islamic State and other militants