Indonesia: Lack of accountability six months on for attack on human rights defender Andrie Yunus
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To:
H.
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81 years on, the United Nations has yet to be led by a woman
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New York City, 8 September 2026
The race for United Nations (UN) Secretary-General enters a decisive phase, with eight candidates competing for the top job.
Hong Kong: Unjust verdict against Chow Hang-Tung uses draconian law, silences dissent
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CIVICUS global civil society alliance condemns the guilty verdict against Chow Hang-Tung.
Defending Our Lands and Environment: Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Worldwide
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Statement on International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
Each year on 9 August, the international community marks the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, honouring the first session of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982.
Morocco: Provide safety and justice for Sahrawi activist Naama Asfari
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CIVICUS calls on Moroccan authorities and the international community to provide safety and justice for Sahrawi human rights defender (HRD) Naama Asfari.
Joint Letter: Urgent Call to End Escalating Repression in Uganda
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Together with partners, we have written to the international community urging immediate action to condemn and respond to the escalating repression of civil society, human rights defenders, journalists and political opposition in Uganda.
Mandela Day: CIVICUS calls on the public to spend 67 minutes standing with jailed human rights defenders
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Johannesburg, South Africa — As the world marks Nelson Mandela Day, CIVICUS is calling on people everywhere to dedicate 67 minutes to solidarity and action for imprisoned human rights defenders through the #StandAsMyWitness campaign.
Joint Statement | Tunisia: Conviction of Sihem Bensedrine Threatens Transitional Justice and Deepens Restrictions on Civic Space
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While awaiting the scheduling of Sihem Bensedrine’s appeal trial before the Tunis Court of Appeal, the undersigned organizations express their deep concern over the judgment issued against the prominent human rights defender and former President of the Truth and Dignity Commission (TDC), sentencing her to twenty-five years in prison in connection with two cases directly related to her work as President of the Truth and Dignity Commission and the preparation of its final report.
United States: Texas Federal judges' sentence against ICE protestors a brutal assault on First Amendment rights
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A justice system turned upside down: protesters face decades-long sentences while an agent who killed Renée Good, an unarmed female activist, walks free.
United States: End attacks on anti-ICE protesters and civic freedoms activists
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As federal agents raid anti-ICE protesters and a voting rights group and the administration targets critics, CIVICUS warns of an increasing assault on US civic space.
A Public Call to end Khurram Parvez’ arbitrary detention
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On his 49th birthday, his fifth while arbitrarily detained, we, the undersigned organisations and individuals, stand in solidarity with human rights defender Khurram Parvez.
Indonesia: Deliver justice for attack on activist by armed forces
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CIVICUS condemns the inadequate and unjust sentences by the military for the acid attack on human rights defender Andrie Yunus.
Turning Locally-Led Development into Action
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By Trisha Alexis De Leon
Recent global crises have magnified the gaps in the global development architecture—deficits which especially impacted under-represented and marginalised communities, reflecting the power imbalances and colonial biases that continue to shape whose knowledge, leadership, and solutions are valued.
Egypt: Rights Groups Call for the Release of Filmmaker Omar Salah Marei and Immediate Access to Medical Care
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Read in Arabic
We, the undersigned organisations, strongly condemn the continued detention of Egyptian filmmaker and screenwriter Omar Salah Marei.
78 Years Since the Nakba: Ongoing Displacement, Denied Return, and Enduring Resistance
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Today we mark the Nakba, the ‘catastrophe’, and remember the more than 750,000 Palestinians forcibly expelled from their homeland in 1948, some 530 villages destroyed and the families forced to live in an exile that has never ended.
CIVICUS at the 87th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
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The 87th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) will be held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 11 to 20 May.
IRAN: Release Narges Mohammadi and Provide Urgent Cardiac Care
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CIVICUS global civil society alliance calls for the immediate release and urgent medical care for Iranian woman human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.
BAHRAIN: Civil society urges world leaders to act against citizenship stripping and related human rights violations
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Arabic
Dismayed by the Government of Bahrain’s (GoB) continued violations of its international human rights obligations, on 1 May 2026, 12 human rights organisations appealed directly to the UN, the European Union, and the UK government to take action to address citizenship stripping and related abuses.
Bahrain: Call to Release Political Prisoners and End Prison Abuses
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The undersigned organisations urge the European Union and other regional bodies and agencies to address the human rights situation in Bahrain, in particular the ongoing crackdown on protests, incidents of torture and the inadequate provision of medical care for political detainees.
Global Civil Society Calls for Ending Violence and Protecting Civilians in the Middle East
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A coalition of 342 civil society organisations calls on all parties to immediately cease attacks on civilians in the Middle East and uphold international law.
Pakistan: Civic space situation has regressed two years since the elections
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CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government to halt the continued harassment of activists and journalists and crackdown on protests.
CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist: March 2026
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The March 2026 Watchlist from the CIVICUS Monitor highlights five countries where civic freedoms are deteriorating at an alarming pace: Ecuador, Georgia, Iran, the Philippines and Benin.
Belarus Releases Viasna Human Rights Defenders Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovich
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The global civil society alliance CIVICUS welcomes the release of Belarusian human rights defenders Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovich, featured in its Stand As My Witness Campaign, following the Belarusian authorities’ decision to free 250 political prisoners in exchange for sanctions relief.
Pakistan: Release human rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch
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CIVICUS calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Pakistani human rights defender Dr.
Indonesia: Investigate attack on human rights defender Andrie Yunus
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To: General Listyo Sigit Prabowo
Chief of Indonesian National Police
Indonesian National Police Headquarter
Jl.
Joint Call for the Immediate Release of Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace
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CIVICUS joins 17 organisations in calling for the release of human rights defenders, Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace.
Bangladesh: New Prime Minister must address human rights challenges
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Nine civil society groups including CIVICUS have written a letter to Bangladesh’s prime minister, Tarique Rahman, who was elected in February 2026 to use this opportunity to bring lasting protections of human rights.
CIVICUS Global Campaign Urges the Release of Mother Nature Cambodia Activists
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CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls for the immediate release of five Mother Nature Cambodia environmental rights defenders, who are now featured in its ‘Stand As My Witness’ campaign.
Pakistan: Overturn Conviction and Release Human Rights Lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha
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OPEN LETTER
To: Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar Federal Minister for Law and Justice & Human Rights S-Block, Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Pakistan: Overturn conviction and release human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha
Dear Minister,
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is a global alliance of civil society organisations (CSOs) and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society worldwide.
Myanmar: Military Junta has Crushed Civic Space Five Years Since its Takeover
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CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the international community to step up and do more to resolve the human rights crisis in Myanmar as well as reject the sham election results.
UN Budget Cuts – Hurts Human Rights Around the World
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CIVICUS remains deeply concerned about the outcome of the UN budget negotiations in New York.
UGANDA: Reverse the suspension of five human rights organisations and urgently lift internet shutdown
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CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, is seriously concerned over a decision by the Ugandan authorities to suspend the operations of five human rights organisations.
One year since the arrest of Abdulrahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi: a year of complicity, enforced disappearance, and diplomatic failure
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Today, 28 December 2025, marks one year since the arrest of Egyptian–Turkish poet and opposition figure Abdulrahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi in Lebanon.
Iran: Joint statement on the detention of Narges Mohammadi
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We Volunteer Activists and CIVICUS strongly condemn the arbitrary detention and reported ill-treatment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Iranian human rights defender Narges Mohammadi by Iranian authorities.
Belarus: The release of Viasna defenders Ales Bialiatski and Uladzimir Labkovich
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CIVICUS welcomes the release of Belarusian human rights defenders Ales Bialiatski and Uladzimir Labkovich, who were freed on 13 December 2025 as part of a broader release of 123 political prisoners by Belarusian authorities.
NIGER: Reverse the Suspension of Civil Society Organisations
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CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society worldwide, strongly condemns Niger’s decision to suspend hundreds of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The Pacific: States Must Strengthen the Protection of Civic Freedoms
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CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the governments in eight countries in the Pacific to do more to respect civic freedoms and strengthen institutions to protect these rights.
India: Arbitrarily Detained Without Trial for Four Years - Khurram Parvez Must be Released
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We, the undersigned organisations, call for the immediate and unconditional release of human rights defender Khurram Parvez.
1,000 Civil Society Leaders Come Together, Demand Democracy and Civic Freedoms from Governments and Institutions
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The International Civil Society Week (ICSW) which gathered over 1,000 civil society leaders from around the world called on governments and multilateral institutions to defend democracy and civic freedoms.
The African Commission must Confront the Widespread Closure of Civic Space Across Africa
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CIVICUS statement at the 85th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights
Agenda Item 3 – Human rights situation in Africa (with a special focus on Rapidly Closing Civic Space and Systemic Violations of the Human Rights)
Delivered by Dr Paul Mulindwa, CIVICUS
Global civil society alliance CIVICUS welcomes this opportunity to address the African Commission.
CIVICUS at the 85th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
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Friday, 20 October 2025 – 29 October 2025
At CIVICUS, we believe in the fundamental importance of human rights and are dedicated to advancing the work of human rights defenders and protecting civic space.
Morocco: End the Crackdown on Peaceful Protests and Uphold the Right to Demands Social Justice
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Arabic
We, the undersigned human rights organisations, strongly condemn the escalating crackdown by Moroccan authorities on peaceful protests, including minors and human rights defenders, which has now extended into a third day.
Tajikistan: Lawyer Wrongfully Held for a Decade
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Free Buzurghmer Yorov and All Others Held for Exercising their Human Rights
Tajikistan authorities have wrongfully imprisoned a human rights lawyer for 10 years for exercising his human rights, 12 organizations said today.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Found Guilty of Genocide by UN Commission, to Address the UN
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For Immediate Release
September 24, 2025, New York, NY – Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly Friday, CIVICUS Secretary General Mandeep Tiwana issued the following:
“Just one week after an independent UN Commission found that Israel has committed genocide, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being given the UN stage.
As Trump Addresses UN, CIVICUS Warns: US Undermining Peace and Human Rights
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For Immediate Release
Monday, September 23, New York, NY – Ahead of President Donald Trump's speech to the UN General Assembly today, Secretary General of CIVICUS, Mandeep Tiwana, said:
“One of the greatest threats to peace and multilateralism today is the United States President.
Sri Lanka: Continued civic space violations and lack of reforms, one year on
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Read in Tamil
CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to halt the continued harassment of activists and journalists and crackdown on protests.
Urgent Citizen Action Required to Promote Democracy
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Today, on the International Day of Democracy, CIVICUS underlines the critical importance of active citizen participation.
Urgent Appeal on Critical Health of Egyptian Lawyer and Human Rights Defender Hoda Abdel-Moneim
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The undersigned human rights organisations are deeply concerned over the severe deterioration in the health of lawyer and human rights defender Hoda Abdel-Moneim, 66 years old, who has been in pretrial detention since 1st of November 2018.
UN Celebrates 80 Years, but Civil Society Faces Ongoing Barriers
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As the United Nations (UN) marks 80 years, civil society continues to encounter significant obstacles to participation.
CIVICUS at the 60th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council
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60th Session of UN Human Rights Council (8 September–8 October 2025)
Overview
Structural Challenges at the Human Rights Council
Thematic Priorities
Country-Specific Priorities
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Overview
As civic space continues to shrink globally, amid funding challenges and a UN liquidity crisis, the Human Rights Council remains a vital space for defending human rights and amplifying the voices of those most affected.