A civil society committed to defending their rights
2 December 2019 | Corporate news
Euro-Mediterranean civil society is not intended to replace governments or provide services to citizens that must be guaranteed by states, but to monitor policies and ensure that their rights are not violated. This is just one of the main conclusions derived from the results of the tenth edition of the Euromed Survey, which this year asked about the role of civil society and social movements in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
The survey was answered by 751 experts from academia and think tanks, as well as institutional, political and civil society actors from the 43 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region. Experts from both academia, think tanks and the media represent 51% of respondents, while 32% correspond to representatives of civil society (especially NGOs) and 17% to representatives of national governments, EU institutions and other international organizations.
The survey, conducted annually by the IEMed since 2009, had 21 questions on various aspects related to civil society and social movements.
The descriptive report of the results and the qualitative analyzes will be published soon, but some of the main conclusions that can be advanced are:
The main mission of civil society, according to respondents, is to monitor the effectiveness of public policies and fight for the rights of citizens not to be violated.
Climate change should be the top priority for civil society in Europe. In the countries of the south and east of the Mediterranean: human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
Public mobilizations continue to be the most efficient means for civil society to achieve its objectives.
The EU is the main source of support for civil society in the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean. Its role in this regard is positively valued and, according to the survey, it should give priority to civil society in Egypt, Palestine and Syria.