Civil society plays a critical role in bridging the gap between citizens and those in positions of power, ensuring that voices are heard, rights are upheld, and systems remain accountable. While civil society actors, including NGOs, community groups, and foundations, are inherently motivated to engage with government, this level of engagement is not always matched by the same incentives on the governmental side — a gap that has been brought into sharper focus in recent times.
Civil society organisations currently or previously involved in Malta’s 2023–2025 Open Government Partnership (OGP) process are today releasing the latest independent monitoring report, along with a letter sent to the Prime Minister in June 2024, alerting of a breakdown in the process.
The Open Government Partnership is an international initiative that brings together governments and civil society to promote transparency, accountability, and public participation. Malta has been a member since 2011. However, its participation has been inconsistent, including a prolonged period of inactivity that led to Malta being formally flagged under the OGP framework.
In 2023, the Government reactivated Malta’s engagement by launching a new action plan and establishing a Multi-Stakeholder Forum to bring civil society and government together in a co-creation and implementation process.
Civil society organisations engaged in this process with a spirit of openness and commitment to collaboration. Disappointingly, from the outset, the process was constrained. Commitments were largely pre-defined by the government, timelines were compressed, and opportunities for meaningful input were limited. After an initial phase of engagement, the government effectively ceased dialogue. Requests for meetings were declined, communications went unanswered, and the Multi-Stakeholder Forum was not convened as required. In an attempt to draw attention to the disengagement by Government, in June 2024, civil society organisations formally wrote to the Prime Minister requesting intervention and a reset of the process. That request has, to date, received no response.
Today, we publish the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) Results Report for Malta’s 2023–2025 action plan. The IRM is the OGP’s independent evaluation body, responsible for assessing whether participating countries meet their commitments.
The report confirms our assessment. It finds that only one in four commitments was substantially completed, that none achieved significant results, and that there was minimal dialogue between government and civil society throughout implementation.
Although limited progress was made in certain areas, especially initiatives led by specialised agencies, these isolated developments do not change the overall conclusion: this process has failed to deliver meaningful open government reform.
Together, we reject the Ministry of Justice’s claim that this failure is due to civil society “polarisation”. Civil society consistently sought constructive engagement, including by proposing that the process address well-established rule-of-law recommendations from international bodies. These efforts were dismissed or ignored.
The OGP is a framework designed to deliver genuine reforms through collaboration. In many countries, it has successfully enhanced transparency, boosted accountability, and fostered trust between citizens and the state. There is no reason why the OGP should not also succeed in Malta, except of course for a lack of political will.
While the timing is unfortunate — as the OGP report was finalised and scheduled for publication prior to the recent announcement of the general election — we nonetheless felt ethically obliged to proceed with its publication, given the importance of the issues raised and the responsibility civil society carries towards the communities it represents.
It is important to state clearly that the intention of this report is neither to interfere with nor politicise the OGP findings, but rather to highlight ongoing concerns and recommendations relating to governance, collaboration, transparency, and the relationship between government and civil society — matters which remain relevant irrespective of the political context or administration in office.
We therefore advocate for a fresh start. This requires political commitment at the highest level, the institutionalisation of regular, meaningful dialogue between government and civil society, and the government’s willingness to seriously address the priorities civil society presents on behalf of the communities we represent.
With the general election now only days away, we remain hopeful that this moment will bring renewed openness to collaboration, stronger engagement with civil society, and a genuine commitment to meaningful reform. Civil society remains ready and open to engage constructively with whichever administration is entrusted with leading the country forward, in the interest of strengthening communities and improving the wellbeing of those we collectively serve.
Signed by the following participating NGOs in the Multi-Stakeholder Forum:
• Aditus Foundation
• The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation
• Repubblika
• SOS Malta
• Victim Support Malta
06.05.2026