"Fraying Rule of Law and Declining Civic Freedoms: Citizens and Civic Space at Risk (The Global Risks Report 2017, 12th Edition)", 13 Jan 2017

Civil society actors are increasingly looking to the private sector for support expanding their space to operate…Civil society helps to hold economic actors to account for respecting basic rights, promoting competition by creating a more equal playing field...Brain drain fuelled by unstable and corrupt environments means that business loses out on the country’s top human potential. Restrictions to the civic space risks endanger the ability of businesses to achieve their SDG targets. Increased international solidarity with affected civil society and stronger coalitions of businesses to advance and advocate for human rights promotion are concrete recommendations that have been identified by many organizations as priorities for action…Despite the global nature of closing civil society space, there is still not much awareness...about…the potential risks it can engender: increased social and economic instability, augmented social polarization, more fragile governance, and major detriment to basic civil and political rights that have been...acquired ...in the past 50 years. With technological innovation creating new opportunities for social inclusion and civic empowerment, time is ripe for all actors to come together and enable an open civic space by collectively taking measures and engaging technology to address this risk effectively.