United Nations Advisor at CIVICUS’ New York Hub
Jesselina Rana
UN Advisor, CIVICUS | USA – Nepal
Short Bio:
Jesselina Rana serves as the United Nations Advisor at CIVICUS New York Hub, where she spearheads research and analysis in international law and policy, advocates for civil society participation, and advises on global trends concerning civic space issues from a multilateral and global governance perspective. By engaging closely with member states, UN personnel, and Civil Society Organizations, Ms. Rana actively collaborates with civil society partners in New York and beyond to drive transformative changes in civic space and civil society engagement at the international level. Jesselina Rana holds a master’s degree in law from Harvard Law School.
Event: SDGs Conference 2024 | Date: Sept 25, 2024 |
SPEECH
CIVICUS is a global alliance of civil society organizations dedicated to protecting civic freedoms worldwide and it is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. I would like to provide a brief overview of CIVICUS and share some reflections on the Summit of the Future and the Pact for the Future. One of our key initiatives is our annual participation research publication called the CIVICUS Monitor, where we track civic ratings globally and analyze trends in civic freedoms. In 2023, our data revealed that only 2% of the global population lives in countries classified as having open civic spaces.
Unfortunately, this situation is well-known to the UN. Civil society faces various multi-layered challenges at the UN, ranging from physical and digital access to meaningful participation. Yet, civil society has always been a vital force for change, playing a crucial role in developing and advocating for more inclusive rights-based international policies at the UN. From the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to the Sustainable Development Goals, civil society has consistently championed commitments to inclusivity and accountability in international agreements. However, just as civic space is shrinking globally, access to civil society within the UN has regrettably been narrowing as well.
CIVICUS has viewed the process of engaging with the Pact for the Future with cautious optimism. We have invested substantial time and effort in attempting to shape the Summit’s processes and outcomes. However, we believe that the diplomatic negotiations on the Pact for the Future have been hampered by disagreements over language. Several forward-looking proposals from civil society found little traction in the final pact adopted on 22 September 2024. Regrettably, we also witnessed the removal of language regarding human rights defenders. After extensive advocacy, we now see the language on civic space protection in the final version, but interestingly, the Global Digital Compact features a more diluted version on the promotion of civic space online. As part of our recommendations, we made three innovative suggestions for the Pact for the Future, including a Human Parliamentary Assembly, a World Citizens Initiative, and a civil society envoy to better connect people’s needs and aspirations to the UN. Unfortunately, these proposals did not make it into the final Pact.
That stated we do recognize the value of the Pact for the Future`s acknowledgment of the human rights pillar as an equal, interlinked, and mutually reinforcing component of the UN. We also appreciate the request for the UN Secretary-General to assess the need for an adequate, predictable increase in sustainable funding and financing for UN human rights mechanisms, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Currently, the human rights pillar receives only about 5% of the UN’s regular budget.