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February - March  2014
Issue: 88



Welcome to Civil Society Watch Bulletin, an e-newsletter of updates and analyses concerning civil society's rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression around the world. The Bulletin is compiled by the staff at Civil Society Watch, a programme of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. Please feel free to forward the Bulletin to friends and colleagues. We welcome your comments and contributions!
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JOINT REPORT BY MULTIPLE ORGANISATIONS: Land and Environmental Rights Defenders in Danger: An Overview of Recent Cases  
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KARAPATAN: Year End report on the Situation of Human Rights in the Philippines 
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FREEDOM HOUSE: Freedom in the World 2014
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CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is an international movement of civil society with members and partners in over a hundred countries. CIVICUS nurtures the foundation, growth and protection of citizen action throughout the world especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizens' freedom of association are threatened. The Civil Society Watch Project of CIVICUS seeks to mobilise quick, principled and effective responses to events that threaten civil society fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly



VIETNAM: Sentence of human rights defender and blogger Dinh Dang Dinh suspended on compassionate grounds
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Highlights

CIVICUS releases updated compendium of International Legal Instruments and Other Intergovernmental Commitments Concerning Core Civil Society Rights
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CIVICUS issues joint written statement on Civil Society Space to the UN Human Rights Council
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CIVICUS joins Africa based groups in condemning Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill as ‘profoundly un -African’
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CIVICUS and ZCSD urge Zambia’s development partners to support not undermine civil society
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CIVCUS joins call against restrictive amendments to Azerbaijan NGO Act
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CIVICUS issues call for independent human rights monitoring in Eritrea
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CIVICUS joins GURT Centre in condemning conditional amnesty for protestors in Ukraine
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CIVICUS and Freedom House urge attention to lack of civil society space in Ethiopia in relation to the Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative
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Analysis piece by CIVICUS policy and advocacy officer, David Kode on Bahrain’s silent revolution
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Analysis Piece by CIVICUS head of policy and research, Mandeep Tiwana on threats to civil society and international Law
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BANGLADESH: Staff of human rights group, Odhikar harassed
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CHINA: Activist Xu Zhiyong sentenced to four years imprisonment for “gathering a crowd to disturb public order”  
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KENYA: Activist challenging gender based violence targeted at home 
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MALAYSIA: Human rights NGO coalition targeted for violating “religious tenets”
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NIGERIA: Repressive anti-gay law passed undermining freedom of association passed 
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PHILIPPINES: Land and housing rights activist, Sixto Bagasala, Jr assassinated
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RUSSIA: Concerns about safety of imprisoned environmental activist, Evgeny Vitishko
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Eight protestors handed sentences after questionable trial
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RWANDA: UN Special Rapporteur urges lifting of restrictions on peaceful assembly and association
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SUDAN: Concern for safety of activists detained incommunicado
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UGANDA: Anti-homosexuality law approved by President despite widespread condemnation
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UKRAINE: Call to prosecute perpetrators responsible for deaths of protestors
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VENEZUELA: Civil society groups issue call for observance of human rights, justice and peace
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Civil Society Behind Bars

SYRIA: Second anniversary of Mazen Darwish's imprisonment marks further repression of human rights defenders
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Interview  with Civil Society Activists

CIVICUS speaks to Mauricio Alarcón-Salvador about threats to human rights activists and NGOs in Ecuador. Mauricio is a lawyer and human rights defender who focuses on citizen participation and the rights of people with disabilities. He is the Programme Director of Fundamedios, a position he has held since 2009. Fundamedios or the Andean Foundation for the observation and study of the media is a civil society organisation which works to defend and promote freedom of the press, speech and association in Ecuador.
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DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in this bulletin are a reflection of those contained in the original reports to which they are linked here, and are not necessarily those of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation.

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Mandeep Tiwana

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Kiva LaTouche
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