The European Union System for an Enabling Environment for Civil Society (EU SEE) was officially launched in Johannesburg, South Africa on January 29, 2025.
The EU SEE platform, which will be implemented by civil society in 86 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, implements and maintains an early warning and monitoring mechanism to document changes and shed light on critical trends. It will provide a clear understanding of the conditions necessary for civil society to thrive, which is important for maintaining social stability, trust, and supporting collective action to address shared challenges.
Platform for Action: The EU SEE Digital Hub
At the heart of this initiative is the EU SEE Digital Hub, an interactive early warning and monitoring system that will document real-time shifts – deteriorations or improvements – in the enabling environment for civil society across 86 countries. This hub will provide data and analysis on:
- Key legislative changes affecting civil society
- New threats, attacks, or restrictions on civic actors
- Trends and opportunities for civil society strengthening
- Best practices in advocacy and resilience-building
Flexible support to civil society
In countries where participating monitors issue alerts on restrictive actions, EU SEE will use its Flexible Support Mechanism (FSM) to provide funding to civil society organizations to mount campaigns or strengthen their internal systems to withstand threats to their operations.
“The implementation of the EU SEE in 86 countries including South Africa will provide valuable insights on the state of the enabling environment for civil society and prompt advocacy actions and financial support mechanisms that address restrictions, opportunities and capacity gaps.”
Corlett Letlojane, Executive Director of the Human Rights Institute for South Africa.
The EU SEE began its work in 2024 as a response to the ever-increasing restrictions on civic freedoms and the enabling environment. Across the world, in both authoritarian states and established democracies, citizens engaged in policy, advocacy, and community work frequently face diverse restrictions on their rights to form associations and organize or are prevented from freely expressing their views.
Through this initiative, concerted advocacy actions at national, regional and international level will mobilize support for civil society actors in their efforts to address challenges to the enabling environment and to promote conditions that allow civil society to thrive.
A global coalition
EU SEE has been co-designed with the broad participation of partner civil society organizations and aims to reach diverse groups such as those outside of capital cities and those representing marginalized communities including civil society organizations headed by women, youth, and other vulnerable groups.
At the global level, EU SEE is coordinated by a diverse consortium of organizations with extensive expertise in monitoring, protecting, and strengthening civic space with members in over 190 countries. The initiative is implemented by: CIVICUS, Democracy Reporting International, European Partnership for Democracy, Forus, Hivos, Transparency International, Oxfam Novib, Protection International, and Urgent Action Fund – Latin America and the Caribbean (UAF-LAC).
