LocationsEMBRACE: Partnership of the Government of Norway and UNDP for the advancement of civil society
February 2, 2024
With the joint efforts of the Government of Norway and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) over the past four years, more than 37 civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been supported through the EMBRACE (Enable and Manage Beneficial Civil Society Environment) project, and the preconditions for adoption of the new Law on financing CSOs in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been established.
Projects of civil society organizations that were implemented within EMBRACE provided support to 5,274 people in 16 local communities of Bosnia and Herzegovina who needed help the most, including 1,435 people from a vulnerable population group.
The project manager of the EMBRACE project Siniša Ignjatić says that this joint initiative of the Government of Norway and UNDP was conceived as a simple intervention lasting 18 months, but in the end it managed to extend its activity to a little more than four years and leave a noticeable mark in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As part of EMBRACE, two rounds of public calls were carried out, through which more than half a million dollars were used to enable the implementation of CSO projects that aimed to provide support to citizens in the areas of social inclusion, strengthen human rights, support the most vulnerable categories of the population, promote activism, and protect the environment.
"With their activities, CSOs once again pointed to the possibilities of civil society, which in a properly regulated environment can simultaneously be a partner to local authorities, but also support those social groups that, for whatever reason, do not have systemic support or it is insufficient"stated Ignjatić.
In addition to strengthening the capacity of CSOs, the EMBRACE project took a significant step towards improving the regulatory framework for financing CSOs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In agreement with the donor, the Government of Norway, UNDP supported the Ministry of Justice of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the efforts of this institution to improve the working environment and systematically ensure transparent and purposeful spending of funds directed to CSOs in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After analyzing all the regulations related to the practice of financing CSOs in the FBiH, in the second half of 2021 the Federal Ministry of Justice made a decision to draft a new law on the financing of civil society organizations in this entity.
The EMBRACE project assumed the role of technical and professional support in the drafting of the new law. A working group was formed consisting of members of eminent civil society organizations, experts, representatives of state institutions, the Tax Administration of FBiH and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA). The result of the work of this group is the preliminary draft of the law on the financing of civil society, which was completed at the end of 2023 and as such was made available to the Federal Ministry of Justice for further action.
The interest of the authorities in FBiH for the adoption of the new law intensified even after the visit of Moneyval to BiH, which earlier during the visit of this delegation had objections to the insufficiently regulated work of civil society, which leaves opportunities for money laundering and financing of terrorism.
The Federal Ministry of Justice points out that EMBRACE opens up numerous benefits both within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in international relations and the position of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the processes of European integration, as it directly affects the better regulation of this area, which Moneyval has identified as risky.
"We have taken a step towards a system that is transparent, clear, inclusive, but also aligned with international standards. In this context, thanks to the support we received, we have made progress, the positive impact of which goes beyond the scope of our cooperation and this project"said Adis Omerović, expert advisor for administration from the Federal Ministry of Justice.
He adds that civil society organizations often lead the way in advocating social changes, community development and protection of rights and freedoms, which is why it is necessary to improve and more transparently regulate this area as soon as possible.
Therefore, the Federal Ministry has initiated work on initiating a legislative procedure that will lead to the adoption of a new law and improvement of the environment for the activities of civil society organizations. According to the Annual Work Plan of the Federal Ministry of Justice for 2024, the adoption of the new law on financing civil society is planned for the fourth quarter of 2024.
"This once again shows how big an impact the EMBRACE project has achieved, regardless of its humble beginnings. As the manager of this project, all of this makes me very proud and I sincerely hope that this or a similar intervention will continue in the future"concluded project manager Siniša Ignjatić.
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