This report summarizes the online webinar discussing 'Restrictions on civil society organizations: Strengthening accountability and SDG16 amid the pandemic', which was part of the 2021 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development. 

Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a vital role in overseeing the security sector. In particular, CSOs can contribute to security sector governance in five ways: awareness raising, advocacy, monitoring and public oversight, fact-finding, research and analysis, and service provision. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, CSOs have been faced with new and unprecedented restrictions. This session highlighted the different ways in which CSOs working in the fields of peace, justice and security are able to continue carrying out their oversight role and provided practical examples of how they contribute to the achievement of the good governance targets of Sustainable Development Goal 16 on the national, regional and global level.

This webinar was made possible by the financial support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The webinar was recorded and can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycKZ9haNdyk