Introduction

“Supporting the Unity and Sustainability of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to uphold Human rights, national Integrity and rule of Law in Bangladesh” (SUSHIL) project by AAB spans four years (2023-2026) and focuses on empowering Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Bangladesh. Aligned with AAB's core priorities, the project aims to enhance the operating environment for CSOs by promoting transparency, accountability, and a conducive civic space for policy dialogue. With a targeted approach, the project plans to support 123 grassroots CSOs in 9 districts including Dhaka, Satkhira, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bagerhat, Chattogram, Bandarban, Naogaon and Kushtia through activities like legal counseling, media engagement, and tailored capacity building. Stakeholders include grassroots CSOs, networks, alliances, local government authorities, and relevant ministries. By strengthening the organizational and technical capacities of CSOs, the project aims to fortify their resilience in promoting democracy and human rights. Additionally, the project seeks to foster multi-actor alliances, encouraging collaboration and coordination within civil society. Ultimately, the goal is to elevate the visibility of CSOs in dialogues with various sectors, contributing to a more democratic, accountable, and inclusive society in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals.

Target groups

Key Outputs:

• Facilitated a more productive and enabling environment, that promotes increased transparency and accountability to help CSOs and their alliances to carry out their work and advance their mandates.
• Civic space conducive for dialogue on domestic policy formulation by a strengthened CSOs alliance in collaboration with stakeholders and government authorities at all levels.
• Targeted CSOs significantly increase their organizational and technical capacity to promote human rights, democracy, and good governance.
• Strengthen the multi actor alliances of civil society to undertake joint initiatives, review good practices and promote coordination, collaboration, and exchange.

Project Focus Areas: 

• Grassroots CSOs located in rural areas, have huge organizational capacity gaps that hinder their participation in government policy dialogues and budget planning.

• Following project phase-out, grassroots CSOs and community groups often become dysfunctional, and their legitimacy is questioned if they are no longer in association to a certain national NGO.
• Lack of support from the local government authorities leads to challenges in implementation of grassroots CSOs mandates and programmes.

Background

In Bangladesh, civil society organizations play a crucial role in promoting fundamental rights and contribute to promoting democracy and good governance. By recognizing that, the EU co-financed the project, “SUSHIL: Supporting the Unity and Sustainability of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to uphold Human Rights, National Integrity and Rule of Law in Bangladesh” in the context of strengthen the Civil Society Organizations as independent actors of good governance and development in their own rights. The duration of the action is 48-months starting from January 2023. The specific objective of the project is to strengthen the ability of local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), alliances, networks, and multi-actor platforms to engage in meaningful policy dialogue and influence authorities as actors of good governance and development. By recognizing that good governance and accountability are critical to achieve sustainable development and by placing strong and capable Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) at the center of the activities to achieve it, this action will contribute to strengthen the capacities of a wide range of CSOs to allow them to voice their concerns and aspirations while engaging, promoting, and advocating for their civil and political rights and contributing to a strong, functioning democracy.