The C20 Affinity Group held its summit in Japan and RACI went there with the aim of continuing to contribute to the agenda proposed in Argentina last year.
During the week of the event, different discussion forums, panels and exhibitions were held with the aim of delineating the recommendations that would be raised to the leaders of the state and will be included in the communiqué of the G20.
In addition to the coordination of the Local2Global Group, in charge of analyzing the context in which civil society organizations operate today and promoting recommendations aimed at protecting the qualified social groups, RACI moderated several meetings of the agenda such as the session “Financial and Security Restrictions for CSOS”.
The panel that was developed during the first day was conducted in the framework of the “Tokyo Democracy Forum”, whose motto was: to promote peace, human rights and democratic governance through SDG 16: to improve the conditions and civic spaces for CSOS facing global challenges. The objective was to discuss the impact that financial and legal regulations have on non-profit organizations; from its registration and operation to its access to resources, as well as the risk bank. These state-led overcompliance regulations and practices severely restrict the free functioning of CSOS, reducing civic space and limiting individuals to join to legally establish and operate CSOS freely.
On the second day of the summit, issues related to the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration for the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals (ODS) were discussed and the need for the G20 to be inclusive and to place individuals in the center.
The third day of the event highlighted the need for effective and continuous dialogue with the G20 working groups and focused on the importance of engaging civil society in the process of public policy development. In this regard, C20 was able to maintain a dialogue with representatives of all affinity groups (L20, B20, S20, T20, U20, W20, Y20) who shared the main messages and recommendations made to G20 leaders in their areas of work.