[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1145, 260], "category": "Text", "text": "Maldives.⁶ The media landscape remains highly politicised and is facing increased restrictions as the next presidential elections approach. The Information Commission (ICOM) also reported growing difficulties to engage in dialogue with the government. The Maldives is currently ranked 87 in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index, with a score of 59.55, which is a 15 spot drop from 72nd place in 2021."}, {"bbox": [96, 283, 1145, 602], "category": "Text", "text": "One of the key issues that permeates the entire field of civil society is recurrent and widespread online threats and intimidation, notably from extremist groups. This continues to have a chilling and significant effect on civil society, especially when they work on sensitive or taboo/controversial topics perceived by some to be incompatible with the tenets of Islam (such as gender equality, sexual identity, prevention of violent extremism or corruption for instance). Public discourse or debate on such sensitive topics are scare, and conservative social attitudes appear to be prevalent – and may have been exacerbated as a consequence of COVID-19. On the other hand, there is a lack of adequate protection from public authorities in that respect. Events such as the allegedly arbitrary dissolution of the leading human rights NGO Maldivian Democracy (MDN) in 2019⁷ highlight the threats to civil society organisations and sets a precedent that challenges the relationship between civil society and public authorities. Furthermore, the trend towards increasing political and religious polarisation means that a safe space for open dialogue could shrink further in the future, especially for the organisations and activists that are vocal on issues such as democracy and human rights, religious freedom, or sexuality and gender identity."}, {"bbox": [96, 627, 1145, 841], "category": "Text", "text": "Maldivian civil society capabilities often remain quite constrained, lacking capacity and/or the necessary experiences to carry out their respective roles or manage larger, longer-term funds. The geographic spread of the inhabited islands in the archipelago, which does not facilitate strong national associations, is another challenge to building the capacity of local CSOs although this could be addressed through ongoing decentralisation efforts. Furthermore, the limited number of international NGOs due to high operational costs combined with the lack of funding results in a lack of access to technical and professional training especially at island level, making it difficult to take up more sophisticated and challenging projects. Despite the presence of several youth-led organisations, the number of young people in leadership or decision-making roles is another challenge."}, {"bbox": [96, 866, 1145, 1105], "category": "Text", "text": "A re-registration procedure launched in 2021 showed that there were 607 active CSOs in the Maldives CSO registry, with the predominant number of CSOs being based in Male. The number of CSOs that operate on an atoll-level, regional level or international level are relatively low, most likely due to lack of access to training or capacity building opportunities. According to a study done by UNDP Maldives (2022), there are challenges to the long-term viability of local CSOs, such as the halting of operations when the founder retires/becomes unavailable. Research also indicates that a large number of CSOs have no women in decision-making positions, and there was a lot of resource sharing between CSOs. The number of paid personnel employed in CSOs are also limited (with most CSOs run by volunteers). Financial constraints are the most significant barriers cited for capacity of CSOs in the Maldives, followed by human resource and other resource-related issues (such as lack of office space, technology, or time)⁸."}, {"bbox": [96, 1130, 1145, 1264], "category": "Text", "text": "The proposed action is fully in line with the Strategic Action Plan of the Maldives SAP (2019-2023), specifically the priorities outlined in the chapter 5 of the SAP: Good Governance (judicial reform, security, eliminating corruption, state accountability, gender equality). The action is also in line with the priorities of the EU-Maldives CSO Roadmap 2021-2024 and with the Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2021-2027 for the Maldives, especially what is foreseen under the section 3.1. \"Measures in favour of civil society\".⁷"}, {"bbox": [96, 1289, 1145, 1397], "category": "Text", "text": "The action will contribute to the realisation of the EU Gender Action Plan 2021-2025 GAP III in the Maldives, in particular to its thematic area of engagement: \"Promoting equal participation and leadership\" - Objective O3: Women's organisations, other CSOs and women human rights defenders working for gender equality and women's and girls' empowerment and rights work more freely and are better protected by law\"."}, {"bbox": [85, 1504, 301, 1527], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ https://en.sun.mv/72506"}, {"bbox": [85, 1528, 1061, 1575], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ https://mvdemocracy.org/joint-statement-one-year-since-the-arbitrary-ban-of-maldivian-rights-group-the-maldivian-democracy-network-mdn/"}, {"bbox": [85, 1576, 1144, 1622], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ For more details on CSO landscape and constraints in the Maldives, see: UNDP, \"Comprehensive Study of the Maldivian Civil Society Space\", March 2022."}, {"bbox": [85, 1623, 742, 1645], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ REPUBLIC OF MALDIVES Multi-annual Indicative Programme 2021-2027"}]