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Good Governance and Community Improvements in Nepal

01 Thursday Aug 2019

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Authors: Joseph Sany and Alex Levy

Development practitioners know that governance matters, but what is good governance and how can it be measured? FHI 360’s Good Governance Barometer (GGB) is a social accountability and development planning tool designed to bring together stakeholders, ranging from local government officials to community members, to jointly identify problems – such as improving the management of a health clinic – and determine the actions needed to resolve them. In addition, the GGB process produces action plans that strengthen and help measure the effectiveness and performance of local governance.
FHI 360’s Civil Society: Mutual Accountability Project (CS:MAP), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, partners with civil society and media organizations to foster an accountable, resilient Nepali civil society. The project team is using the GGB to achieve this goal.
Recently, we traveled to six villages in three rural districts in Nepal – Sindhupalchowk, Rukum and Gulmi – to learn how these communities are using the GGB to improve their public services and achieve this goal. Though the communities we visited were different, we saw some commonalities. Local officials often encountered service delivery challenges for reasons such as limited capacity or resources. When citizens and public officials were empowered to work together using the GGB, however, solutions were more likely to be identified.
For example, the GGB helped a community in western district Rukum recognize that some of their members, namely women and people with disabilities, faced barriers to accessing the health clinics. After identifying this problem, the community prioritized the need for disability-friendly structures and separate toilets for men and women.
In Gulmi, one farming community cultivates coffee, rice, millet and oranges, but only the wealthiest individuals had been receiving seeds. The GGB helped a diverse stakeholder group decide to organize a farmers committee to ensure the equitable distribution of the seeds. Now, the entire community is able to grow crops for sale or consumption.
In Sindhupalchowk, a village that was severely affected by earthquakes in 2015, the GGB helped the community to identify important deficiencies in the local education system. The GGB’s stakeholder group developed an action plan that resulted in five secondary schools installing machines to check the arrival and departure times of teachers and staff in response to complaints about absences. This new system significantly reduced teacher absenteeism. The stakeholder group also installed complaint boxes in the schools, which are reviewed regularly by a joint group of teachers, students and parents.
One of the GGB’s greatest strengths is its adaptability to different cultures and contexts. The GGB has also been used in Guinea, Mali and Senegal, where each country modified it to fit local needs. The tool enables communities, regardless of location, to better understand the root causes of service delivery challenges, identify common goals and develop plans to achieve them. Most importantly, the GGB supports efforts that are sustainable because they are locally owned and led.

This blogpost was originally posted in FHI 360 Degrees

Trends in Civil Society Organizations — A Visual Perspective on Data

03 Friday May 2019

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To view the original article with infographics visit: https://blog.keshif.me/trends-in-civil-society-organization-sector-a-visual-perspective-on-data-d3b7d184817

Excerpts posted here with the permission of the author – Ashwed Patil from Keshif.me

How do we assess and evaluate how well a country’s civil society sector is performing? What factors are strongly affecting the progression or regression of a country’s civil society? Using Keshif’s interactive data dashboard for the Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index (CSOSI) data, we searched for answers in the journey of civil society environments across seventy countries and five regions.

It’s not just the government and businesses that define the fabric of our neighborhood, city, or country. Civil society organizations (CSOs) — including non-profits, community organizations, faith-based organizations, labor unions, charity groups, youth movements, indigenous groups, and professional associations — contribute significantly to our society in critical areas by providing educational, health, food, social and legal services, giving voice to the vulnerable, assisting during disasters and conflicts, advocating for public rights and citizen engagement, working against corruption and holding institutions accountable, and enhancing transparency and good governance.

An active and independent civil society is essential for sustainable development. Given their broad impact into creating a vibrant civil society, CSOs are frequently called the ‘third pillar’ of a democracy. To play an essential role in a healthy democracy, active and independent CSOs require sustainable environments that foster their operations and growth. However, this environment is dynamic across countries, with progress and regression intermixed across countries and thematics. Several societies are also experiencing a ‘shrinking civic space’ — environments where public institutions curb freedom of association and expression through repressive laws, suppressing political opposition and dissenting opinions and crackdowns on independent media
For reliable analysis of the CSO sector, we turn to the Civil Society Organizations Sustainability Index (CSOSI), which provides annual assessment data on seven dimensions of the state of civil society for many studied countries since 2001, when it was conceived by the USAID. In each study, a panel of experts coming from diverse CSO sectors assess the sustainability across key dimensions, coming up with a numeric score, and a sustainability category. This annual source of data has become a key metric to track the strength and viability of the CSO sector globally. (You can learn more about the CSOSI methodology and how the indicators are scored at USAID’s CSOSI website). Also Visit CSO Sustainability Index Dashboard

Recent Global Trends
Around the world, civil society organizations are operating in environments ranging from extremely challenging to highly sustainable.
Overall, countries in Europe and Eurasia have fared well in terms of CSO sustainability with a majority of them having high scores overall, followed by Asia where most of the assessed countries have shown willingness to improve their civic spaces. However, CSO sectors in Africa and the Middle East continue to struggle with hostility and restricted opportunities, with few exceptions such as South Africa and Kenya.

CSO sectors across the world continue to struggle with financial viability. However, advocacy scores across the world have been strongest of all CSOSI dimension.
With financial viability appearing as the weakest dimension in almost every country, many CSOs are facing barriers with access to funding opportunities and strong financial systems. A global look reveals that most of the countries had impeding financial viability sustainability in 2017. Among the study, only three countries (or just 4% of the countries assessed) were considered to offer enhanced sustainability for financial viability. However, even with strong financial challenges, CSOs across the world continued on their mission to advocate for greater accountability and influence public policy. We can observe the strong advocacy sustainability of CSOs globally, even in fragile and conflict-ridden countries such as Iraq and Mali.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s Big Problem: Scarcity of Financial Resources
While financial viability scores for CSO sustainability remain low across the world, the problem of dwindling funding for CSOs is particularly severe for Sub-Saharan Africa. From 2010 to 2017, financial viability was the weakest dimension in all the 31 studied countries in the region, often by a wide margin.
Based on the trends over time, nearly all the countries in this region have experienced a net deterioration in the CSO sector’s financial viability from 2009 to 2017. In 2017, 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa had impeded sustainability in their financial viability for CSOs. Even South Africa which traditionally has been the best-performing country in the region for CSO sustainability, the financial viability score dropped by 0.4 points between 2010 and 2017. Ethiopia saw the biggest drop in its funding, with its score deteriorating from 5.9 in 2010 to 6.5 in 2017. In contrast, only 5 countries (The Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone) reported a modest improvement in their CSO funding scenario, but these improvements were not enough to boost their overall CSO sustainability.

Financial Viability has been deteriorating in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Service Provision in most of Sub-Saharan Africa has remained high or mostly stable throughout the last few years. An interesting observation to notice is that service provision doesn’t seem to be affected by the decrease in financial viability across these years. Typical, civil society organizations often struggle with provision of goods and services due to dwindling financial resources but the overall service provision scores in Sub-Saharan Africa have remained strong even in countries with impeding sustainability such as Cote D’Ivoire and Madagascar.

A Declining Legal Environment in Central and Eastern Europe
While Central and Eastern Europe countries have traditionally shown high sustainability, CSOs operating in several countries have seen increasing impediments from 2008 to 2017, especially concerning their legal environments.
Even countries with highly sustainable CSO sectors such as Poland and Bulgaria have seen continuous declines in their scores in the last few years. Ukraine and Moldova stand as exceptions where CSOs saw modest improvements in legal provision of services, registration, funding, and operations.

Central and Eastern Europe’s legal environment for CSOs has been declining, with Russia and Azerbaijan demonstrating major downward shifts after 2013.
Additionally, we noticed that there was a correlation between legal environment and public image — countries where CSO sectors faced legal challenges and shrinking operating spaces also saw a decline in their public image. It is known that the 2015 refugee crisis and economic uncertainties brought a wave of nationalism and xenophobia in Europe. As legal restrictions for pro-migration CSOs, NGOs receiving foreign funding and organizations critical of governments increased, the accompanying negative rhetoric by pro-government media discrediting their work and sometimes portraying them as a threat to national security significantly affected their public image.

Summary
We observed that CSO sectors across the world have seen vastly different developments, with some countries and regions showing remarkable achievements in their CSO sustainability but a number of other countries facing alarming situations. Despite numerous adversities they face, particularly with financing, CSOs across the world have striven to meet the urgent and often challenging needs of the populations they serve. Greater government scrutiny and oppressive constraints loom behind civil society organizations as they continue to be resilient, advocate for development and influence policy decisions.

To see and explore the CSOSI data in depth, visit https://csosi.org

 

Islam and Terrorism: A Risky Topic of Conversations.

30 Monday May 2016

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The terrorist attacks in Paris, Belgium, and Turkey, not to mention dozens of previous such attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, etc. have sparked a very intense debate in the West on trans-national terrorism and trans-national violent extremism. In America, there are those who directly connect Islam, Muslims with terrorism. While others, will not dare to put Islam and terrorism in the same sentence.

Between these two positions, it is becoming quite risky for well-intentioned researchers and policy-makers to raise some hard questions regarding Islam and the current form of trans-national terrorism. Doing so without directly accusing Muslims and Islam for supporting terrorism is seen as disingenuous in some circles. Meanwhile, on the other side, they are accused of promoting Islamophobia or simply not being culturally sensitive.

Caught in the middle of this debate is no other than President Obama himself. His reluctance, rightly so, in my opinion, of not using the term “Islamic” terrorism, has provoked the ire of a segment of Americans, who bizarrely accuse him of, at best, being weak on the war against Trans-National Violent Extremist Organizations (TVEOs) and at worst, supporting them. President Obama is right from a semantic and symbolic standpoint, not to use “Islamic” terrorism to describe the current trans-national terrorism. Let’s consider a situation where someone says “American values”, “American wars” or “American cars.” The use of the adjective “American” immediately associates the entire country  (or continent ) with the aforementioned values, wars or cars and furthermore, it gives ownership of these notions to America. Words create realities in people’s minds. Using the term “Islamic terrorism” immediately associates terrorism with the entire community of Muslims, which is misleading and dangerous. While understandable and even justified, the President’s stance on this matter and the reasoning behind it, have unfortunately been used by some to shut down any discussion about Islam and terrorism, and to cast doubt on the motives of pertinent questions such as:

  • How does the current inter-Islamic ecumenical debate, and the related power-struggle between Sunni and Shiah leaders, facilitate the recruitment by TVEOs?
  • Why is Islam being used by TVEOs, such as Daesh (ISIL), Al Qaeda, Boko Haram to legitimize their narratives, rituals and actions?
  • What are the effects of the current fight against trans-national terrorism led by western countries on the diverse global Muslim community of faith?

Of course, these are not the only questions we should be asking. But they are essential pieces of a complicated puzzle, and therefore should not be avoided or ignored.

What opportunities could be missed by avoiding these questions and many others in that vein?

Currently, there is a failure to fully appreciate and leverage the healthy debate that is going on in the Muslim world between reformists/progressives and conservatives on the role and place of Islam in the globalized modern world. This debate is a window into the potential confusion that young Muslims searching for religious meaning could experience; a confusion quite often exploited by TVEOs. But by recognizing and disseminating these type of debates in the public sphere, there is an opportunity to show alternative non-violent ways and that different opinions within the Muslim community co-exist. These types of internal conversations can be important educational tools for youth in particular, who are searching for answers and forming their religious identity. A couple of years ago, I came across a radio program in Chad during which two Muslim clerics were having an intense debate about the extent to which a modern society can apply the Sharia Law. The program was part of a donor-funded project. After the broadcast, there was a facilitated discussion among youth of the listeners’ group I was observing. I was impressed and encouraged by the quality of feedback and the constructive learning that occurred.

That experience highlighted to me the importance for example, of leveraging technology to encourage and connect the hundred million youth and women who are faithful Muslims, and who faithfully and humbly honor their relationship with God in the spirit of tolerance and love of others, to share their stories. They may not have the skills to craft moderate and politically correct messages suitable for conferences and western donors’ wishes; but if given the opportunity, they could share in their own words the experience of their own Jihad grounded in their daily reality and legitimized by their Muslim faith. These could be relevant counter-messages to TVEOs’ narratives, and maybe more appealing than messages crafted by clerics who do have the knowledge of Islam, but may lack the legitimacy to appeal to people targeted by TVEOs for recruitment.

Transnational terrorism since 9/11 attacks in the US cannot be fully captured from a secular analytical perspective alone. TVEOs such as Daesh, Al Qaeda, and Boko Haram feed in part, not entirely, on the ecumenical and doctrinal ambiguities of Islam. By the way, these ambiguities are not true of Islam alone; all major monotheist religions have them. They raise internal debates and tensions, and have led in some cases to major schisms.

Governments, policy-makers and practitioners who have made it their goal to counter or prevent trans-national terrorism, cannot afford to shy away from asking the types of questions raised in this blog. However, answers to these questions should be analyzed in relation to other factors and within the different contexts in which they’re being asked. Discussions and analyses around transnational terrorism and violent extremism should not be reduced to debates about the effects of Islam, but should be informed and enhanced by frank discussions on the role that Islam and Muslims can play in perpetrating or preventing Trans-national violent extremism.  Essentially, those worried about fueling Islamophobia should take control of these conversations rather than ignore them, because by avoiding these questions they are not only missing the opportunity to benefit from the answers they might get, but also presenting an opportunity for the other side to manipulate and define the answers in ways that could be far more damaging.

Terrorism can be supported and perpetrated by people of different religious and ideological leanings; it is not unique or restricted to Islam, nor does it characterize or represent Muslims or their faith. However, the fact remains that the deadliest and most far-reaching TVEOs today ground themselves in Islam specifically and target Muslims around the world in their recruitment and killings (Muslims account for the highest numbers of victims from terrorist acts). We should be ready to ask difficult, but important, questions about the role of religion and ideology in extremism irrespective of what that religion or ideology is. Again, the key is to ensure that they are asked for the right purpose, in a constructive way, and with open mindedness.

It is a fine line to walk on, a difficult challenge, but one worth taking!

Regional Security Assessment, Dec 18, 2013

19 Thursday Dec 2013

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I thought that a bi-monthly security assessment by an expert will be a good addition to this blog. So, I intend to have a bi-monthly security assessment, and The Reneric Group has given me the permission to post the following Regional Security assessment. Please, I am looking forward to your feedback and comments. – Sany

By  Byron Brown, MSA
CEO/President The Reneric Group
Email: byron@trgoperations.com

December 18, 2013

The following report is the current security issues occurring in Burundi, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda. All organizations and businesses operating in these areas should pay particular attention to the safety and security they are providing their customers and employees.

Central Africa Republic (CAR) – Extreme conditions The ongoing violence and displaced persons crises worsens throughout the CAR, more than 240,000 displaced persons are being affected by the violence. Christian militias massacred 27 Muslims in a village in the west of the Central African Republic (CAR) on Thursday, UN officials said Friday. The French government has deployed more soldiers to the country and continues to support the efforts to stabilize the worsening security situation in CAR.

The United Nations Children’s Fund is reporting more than 2.3 million children are being affected by the violence in CAR, as many as 6,000 are believed to have been recruited as child soldiers and being killed for being Muslim or Christians.

Chad – Continued Travel Alert:  U.S. citizens are warned of the risks of travel to Chad and recommends citizens avoid all travel to eastern Chad and border regions. Because of security concerns, the U.S. Embassy in Chad reviews all proposed travel by official U.S. government personnel to areas outside the capital, N’Djamena, and its immediate surroundings before approving such arrangements.

U.S. citizens affiliated with humanitarian relief efforts similarly should review security precautions and consider measures to mitigate exposure to violent crime and other threats. U.S. citizens residing in Chad should exercise caution throughout the country.

The frequency of violent crime in rural Chad is highly variable. Incidents of robbery, carjacking at gunpoint, and murder have been reported throughout the country. While there have been no kidnapping for ransom incidents in Chad since 2010, regional trends suggest this still could be a potential threat in the future. Violence is occasionally associated with car accidents and other events causing injury to Chadian nationals.

Robbery victims have been beaten and killed, surgeons conducting unsuccessful medical interventions have been threatened with bodily harm, and law enforcement/military officials have been implicated in violent crime. In addition, although the last active rebel group was recently disarmed, armed groups might reemerge with little warning. The Government of Chad has few resources to guarantee the safety of visitors in rural Chad.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – The United Nations mission in the DRC sent soldiers conducting foot patrols and attack helicopters to North Kivu following the discovery of 21 brutally slaughtered civilians, including babies, children and women, some mutilated and raped. The bodies were discovered on Friday and Saturday in Musuku village in the Rwenzori area of Beni sector. The killers are yet to be identified, but villagers questioned believe they could be the work of the Allied Democratic Forces or the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda.

Continued travel alert: U.S. citizens should be aware of the risks of traveling to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) (DRC). Security officials strongly recommend you avoid all travel to the city of Goma and the province of North Kivu, and all but essential travel to the province of South Kivu and the Ituri region in the province of Oriental. Because of ongoing instability and violence, the Department of State ability to provide consular services to U.S. citizens in these regions of the DRC is extremely limited.

Armed groups, bandits, and elements of the Congolese military remain security concerns in eastern and northeastern DRC. These armed groups, primarily located in the North Kivu, South Kivu, and Orientale provinces, as well as the northern part of Katanga province, and the eastern part of Maniema province, are known to pillage, steal vehicles, kidnap, rape, kill, and carry out military or paramilitary operations in which civilians are indiscriminately targeted. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is present near the border with Uganda, Central African Republic, and the Republic of South Sudan.

The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) continues to assist the Congolese government with the protection of civilians and efforts to combat armed groups.

Travelers are frequently detained and questioned by poorly disciplined security forces at numerous official and unofficial roadblocks and border crossings throughout the country. Requests for bribes in such instances are extremely common, and security forces have occasionally injured or killed people who refused to pay. In the past year, several U.S. citizens were illegally detained by government forces, or were robbed of their valuables while being searched. Very poor infrastructure (road and air) makes the provision of consular services difficult outside of Kinshasa.

Kinshasa has a critical crime threat level, and U.S. citizens continue to be the victims of serious crimes, including armed robbery by groups posing as law enforcement officials in both urban and rural areas, especially after nightfall. Avoid walking alone and displaying cash and other personal property of value. Avoid taking photos in public, especially of government buildings and the airport (which are viewed as places of national security), police stations, the presidential palace, border crossings, and along the river, since doing so may lead to arrest

Ghana – Continued alert: West Africa is a major hub for drugs smuggled from Latin America and Asia to Europe and the US. The local criminal organizations operating within Ghana have unlimited funds from drug sales/trafficking and have the ability to purchase weapons and intimidate the communities at will. All organizations operating in Ghana should have security; policies and procedures in place to make sure their personnel are operating and living in a safe and secure environment.
Gulf of Guinea – Local officials are concerned as efforts begin to deliver results in combating piracy near Somalia, the Gulf of Guinea is beginning to experience an increase in piracy. All organizations operating in this area should be on heightened alert for pirate activity.

Kenya – Nairobi: There is police search for the man believed to be responsible for a grenade attack which killed six people in a mini-bus taxi in Pangani in Nairobi.  The country director, Justus Nyang’aya for Amnesty International was shot three times during a robbery while he was in his home, Mr. Nyang’aya is reported to be in stable condition following the attack.

Continued Alert: The continued alert is still in effect for the most populated cities of Nairobi and possibly outlying areas of the country. The warning includes Al-Shabaab (“the youth”), which have reportedly threatened to continue attacking countries participating in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Peace Support Operations (PSO). Kenya, Uganda and Burundi all send Peace Support Troop contingencies to assist with PSO operations under the AMISOM mandate. The mandate supports stabilizing the current situations in Somalia in order to create a non-hostile, peaceful country.

Niger – Niamey — there is still a credible threat for violence comparable to those of Mali, from jihadist militants still operating in Sahel’s remote wilderness. The rebel leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a prominent and long-time Sahel jihadist along with the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), which had operated in northern Mali before being dislodged by the French military, is still operating in the wilderness areas of the country and can cause serious trouble.

Continued alert:
The Maghreb terror group vowed “further operations” in Niger, which shares borders with several countries, including Algeria, Libya and Mali. The instability in Libya provided an opening for Islamist militants driven out of Mali, Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou has warned.

Terrorist groups have called for and executed attacks against countries that have supported intervention against terrorist groups in northern Mali, including Niger. The areas bordering Mali and Libya, and the northern region of Niger continue to be of specific concern.

Nigeria – The Nigerian Federal government announced and displayed their unmanned aircraft (drone), designed and built by the Nigerian Air Force. The drone is already in use flying missions over Nigeria.

Continued warning:  Abubakar Shekau, The leader of the Islamist militant group called for increased attacks on schools teaching Western style classes. All but essential travel to the following states due to the risk of kidnappings, robberies, and other armed attacks: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, and Zamfara. Also, travel to the Gulf of Guinea should only be considered for extreme emergencies, because of the threat of piracy.

Sudan / South Sudan – Heavy fighting occurred in Juba involving presidential guards, some sources indicate a possible coup was taking place, resulting in heavy gunfire. The city was placed on curfew after the clash begun and is still in effect until the officials can restore law and order in the city. Kenya airways have suspended all flights to Juba until the security situation is under control.
Anyone traveling in either country should be extra careful and have a security escorts due to numerous reports of ethnic violence and the constant threat of kidnapping of foreign workers (EXPATS), NGO’s and tourist.

Somalia – Mogadishu — The recent failed attempt by the U.S. Special Forces to extract high level rebels from Somalia show they still have the support of many people, necessary fire power and intelligence to thwart a specialized assault by the elite U.S. Special Forces. Al-Shabab is reported to have been removed from the capital area, but have taken root in several other East African countries, vowing to fight all enemies of their movement and any country participating in the Peace Support Operations in Somalia. The attack on the West Gate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya prove they have the will, resources, and ability to plan a coordinated attack in broad day light and hold off law enforcement agencies for days if not longer. They also have the ability to recruit assistance from countries outside of Africa to fight with their cause.

Continued alert: The security situation inside Somalia remains unstable and dangerous. Terrorist operatives and armed groups in Somalia have demonstrated their intent to attack the Somali authorities, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and other non-military targets. Kidnapping, bombings, murder, illegal roadblocks, banditry, and other violent incidents and threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur in any region.

Al-Shabab has vowed to keep attacking the westerners in the style they used at the West Gate Mall in Kenya and their supporters until they leave Mogadishu and Somalia.
Uganda – there are unverified reports of possible terrorist attacks against public meeting areas, shopping malls, restaurants and schools in the city of Kampala or other major tourist areas. The unverified reports indicate Al-Shabab may be planning on carrying out an attack like they did recently in Nairobi earlier this summer. They have proven they have the personnel, funding and will to carry out the attacks.

I invite you to contact me for ways we can assist you with protecting your personnel and assets abroad. We now offer our International Security Course, which will prepare your personnel for their travel and work abroad. We also offer specialized training for law enforcement organizations and military assigned with protecting the civilian population.

Contact information:
byron@trgoperations.com or complete our contact us form at http://www.trgoperations.com/contactus.html

Byron Brown, MSA
CEO/President
Email: byron@trgoperations.com