#UN75: ‘It is time for the UN to be bold again!’
Interviews
2020 marks 75 years since the founding of the United Nations (UN).
Interviews
#UN75: ‘The Human Rights Council has made a positive difference in addressing human rights violations’
Interviews
2020 marks 75 years since the founding of the United Nations (UN).
#UN75: ‘Governments use the UN to sanitise their image before the international community’
Interviews
2020 marks 75 years since the founding of the United Nations (UN).
PAKISTAN: ‘I was told the people who detained me were from the Army Intelligence Agency’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Mohammed Ismail, a longstanding member of CIVICUS’ Affinity Group of National Associations (AGNA), a network of 90 national and regional civil society platforms from around the world.
#UN75: ‘Human rights are at the centre of multilateral diplomacy’
Interviews
2020 marks 75 years since the founding of the United Nations (UN).
‘Due to the communications blockade in Kashmir, news of protests went largely underreported’
Interviews
On 5 August 2019, the government of India revoked Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, which guaranteed the autonomous status and rights of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
#ShiftThePower, exciting possibilities and challenges for resourcing
Interviews
Left to Right: Dumiso Gatsha, SDGs Goalkeeper and founder of Success Capital NGO & Degan Ali, Executive Director at Adeso
A growing movement of people is challenging the traditional top-down paradigm, ways of working and decision-making within international development aid and philanthropy.
BANGLADESH: ‘Out of fear, people are being silent’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Aklima Ferdows, who works with the Centre for Social Activism in Bangladesh, about civil society’s challenges and support needs in the face of a sustained government crackdown.
MALAYSIA: ‘We need global solidarity to push back on attacks on rights’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their experiences of backlash from anti-rights groups and their strategies to strengthen progressive narratives and civil society responses.
Letter from Jail: Members of poetry troupe in Myanmar
Interviews
Letter from Zeyar Lwin and Paing Ye Thu members of the Peacock Generation in Myanmar
Seven members of the Peacock Generation—Kay Khine Tun, Zayar Lwin, Paing Pyo Min, Paing Ye Thu, Zaw Lin Htut, Su Yadanar Myint and Nyein Chan Soe —were arrested in April and May 2019 after they performed Thangyat, a traditional performance art akin to slam poetry during the Thingyan Water Festival in April.
TAIWAN: Same-sex marriage legalisation a joint effort of government and civil society
Interviews
In May 2019 Taiwan became the first nation in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.
CHILD RIGHTS: ‘Anti-child rights groups are making up stories to convince the public’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about their experience of facing backlash by anti-rights groups and how they are responding.
SRI LANKA: ‘Trolls accusing people of being traitors are organised and political’
Interviews
Ahead of the Sri Lankan presidential elections on 16 November 2019, CIVICUS spoke with Sandya Ekneligoda, a human rights defender and campaigner for justice for families of people who have been disappeared.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Feminists have pushed for marginalised voices to be heard
Interviews
As calls grow for climate action to be more responsive to frontline communities, CIVICUS spoke to Maria Nailevu, a feminist climate activist from Fiji, about how feminists have been fighting for more inclusive climate policies from the local to the global levels.
SUDAN: Young activists show climate solidarity through drought, floods and tears
Interviews
بالعربية
CIVICUS speaks to Nisreen Al Sayeem, Chair of the Sudan Youth Organization on Climate Change and Coordinator of Youth and Environment - Sudan (YES).
Zombies in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Satirical protest & mobilisation against Apartheid-era policies in Cape Town
Interviews
On 30 September 2019 an unusual scene flooded Cape Town as ‘zombie’ protesters fled through the inner city in a satirical protest against the re-emergence of Apartheid-era policies in post-Apartheid South Africa.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES: ‘When social trust has been eroded, people don’t know what to believe’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about their experience of facing backlash by anti-rights groups and how they are responding.
ETHIOPIA: ‘Civil society can play a key role in overcoming divisions’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Yared Hailemariam, Executive Director of the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, about recent political reforms in Ethiopia, the opening opportunities for civil society and the prospects for further change.
UNITED NATIONS: ‘Civil society has proved itself to be an indispensable ally’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Ben Donaldson, Head of Campaigns at the United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK).
HUMAN RIGHTS: ‘People have a great desire for positive stories’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Saleem Vaillancourt, a journalist and media producer who works to promote the rights of Iran’s Bahá’í community and to encourage positive action to realise human rights.
INDONESIA: ‘We often face threats for reporting on abuses in Papua’
Interviews
Since August 2019, there have been mass protests in Papua and West Papua, Indonesia.
HATE SPEECH: ‘The fact that this is how online platforms are supposed to work is a big part of the problem’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about their experience of facing backlash by anti-rights groups.
MYANMAR: ‘The government needs to open the doors’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Nay Lin Tun, a doctor and civil society humanitarian worker in Myanmar, about conflict in Rakhine State, the difficulties faced by minorities in the region, and civil society’s work to provide help.
VIETNAM: ‘The government is using non-state actors against minority religions’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Thang Nguyen of Boat People SOS (BPSOS), a civil society organisation based in the USA and Thailand, about the challenges for civil society and religious minorities in Vietnam, and about their work to enable civil society responses.
ANTI-RIGHTS GROUPS: ‘They want to stop us because we do make a difference’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about their experiences of facing backlash by anti-rights groups.
THAILAND: ‘Nobody should go to jail simply for expressing their opinions’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Sutharee Wannasiri, a human rights activist in Thailand who has been facing criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit as a result of reporting on abuses of migrant worker rights by a Thai poultry company while working as a researcher with Fortify Rights, a human rights organisation.
ARTISTIC FREEDOM: ‘Artists are targeted because art is a powerful messaging vehicle’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the state of artistic expression with Srirak Plipat, Executive Director of Freemuse, the main international civil society organisation advocating for and defending the freedom of expression of artists.
REFUGEE RIGHTS: ‘It’s about finding ways to make refugee voices stronger’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Evan Jones of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) about the challenges that refugees face in Asia and civil society’s work to help realise refugee rights.
BOTSWANA: ‘Anti-rights groups are emerging in reaction to progressive gains’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their experiences of backlash from anti-rights groups and their strategies to strengthen progressive narratives and civil society responses.
HIV/AIDS: ‘We need a global civil society movement that stands together for all rights’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Alessandra Nilo, co-founder and Executive Director of GESTOS – HIV and AIDS, Communication and Gender, a civil society organisation (CSO) created in 1993 in Recife, Brazil.
REFUGEE RIGHTS: ‘My status doesn't represent me’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their human rights work, their experiences of backlash from anti-rights groups and their strategies to strengthen progressive narratives and civil society responses.
LGBTQI RIGHTS: ‘There is an ongoing desire among many to more closely regulate morality’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about their experiences of backlash from anti-rights groups and their strategies to strengthen progressive narratives and civil society responses.
SRI LANKA: ‘People are scared of expressing themselves freely’
Interviews
In April 2019, more than 250 people were killed and hundreds injured in a terror attack in Sri Lanka that targeted three churches and three hotels.
ONLINE CIVIC SPACE: ‘We shouldn’t expect tech giants to solve the problems that they have created’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their experiences of backlash from anti-rights groups and their strategies to strengthen progressive narratives and civil society responses.
HONG KONG: ‘We may have not achieved our demands yet, but we've built solidarity’
Interviews
Millions of people took to the streets of Hong Kong in June 2019 to protest against a proposed Extradition Bill that would have allowed the government to send people, including foreigners, to face trial in mainland China, in courts controlled by the Communist Party.
‘In response to anti-right narratives, we need to support one another in all of our diversity’
Interviews
As part of our 2019 thematic report, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their experiences of backlash from anti-rights groups and their strategies to strengthen progressive narratives and civil society responses.
'Global policy-making can greatly benefit from the expertise of regular citizens'
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Antoine Vergne, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Missions Publiques, an impact-driven organisation that seeks to improve policy-making at the local, national and global levels by bringing the voices of citizens into policy discussion and negotiations.
CHINA: ’30 years after Tiananmen, the world witnesses the consequences of nurturing China’
Interviews
4 June 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown in China when hundreds, if not thousands, of unarmed peaceful pro-democracy protesters were killed in Beijing and tens of thousands of demonstrators in cities across China were arrested.
THE GAMBIA: ‘I use my art to effect change, and that is why I am being targeted’
Interviews
On his way to participate in International Civil Society Week (ICSW) in Belgrade, Serbia, the Gambian rapper and activist Killa Ace was detained at the Gambia-Senegal border on flimsy excuses, causing him to miss his flight and making him unable to attend the gathering.
SINGAPORE: ‘Making politicians the arbiters of truth invites abuse’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, about the so-called ‘anti-fake news law’ currently under discussion in Singapore, which is expected to be passed in 2019.
CHINA: ‘Crackdown on Jasic labour struggle seeks to eliminate unrest during economic downturn’
Interviews
In July 2018, police in Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, China detained and used physical violence against several workers at Jasic Technology, a welding equipment manufacturer, after they attempted to form an autonomous union under the auspices of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), the sole legal vehicle for workers’ rights in China.
UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR: ‘Human rights defenders are ordinary people doing extraordinary things’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Michel Forst, United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, about key challenges and responses, and the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in his mandate.
UNITED STATES: Voices of vulnerable groups are suppressed if their votes are not counted
Interviews
During the US midterm elections held in November 2018, great numbers of eligible voters, particularly from historically marginalised groups, were prevented from voting due to a number of barriers that were deliberately erected to deny them a voice in politics.
PAKISTAN: ‘The environment for civil society is suffocating’
Interviews
Throughout 2018, the space for civil society continued to deteriorate in Pakistan, particularly in the context of July’s election.
CAMBODIA: ‘We need to bring back to life the spirit of the Paris Peace Agreement’
Interviews
The conditions for civil society in Cambodia have continued to deteriorate.
SUDAN: Demands for political change are fuelled by brutal state response to protests
Interviews
Following a year that was marked by the violent repression of any kind of opposition and dissent in Sudan, a situation that has continued unchanged into 2019, CIVICUS speaks to Abdel-Rahman El Mahdi, a civil society activist and founder of the Sudanese Development Initiative (SUDIA).
ESCAZÚ: A milestone on the road to ending Latin America’s environmental conflicts
Interviews
After several years of negotiations, the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, better known as the Escazú Agreement, was adopted in March 2018.
IRAN: ‘Women are the thorn in the sides of hardliners’
Interviews
Following a year in which women’s rights protests made headlines worldwide - including in Iran, where women’s struggles were symbolised by the resurgence of protests against the mandatory use of hijab - CIVICUS speaks to Jasmin Ramsey, communications director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
PHILIPPINES: ‘All positive developments have been driven by civil society’s persistence’
Interviews
Following a year that saw further deterioration of the rule of law and rising impunity for rampant human rights violations in the Philippines, CIVICUS speaks to Cristina Palabay, Secretary General of the Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights, a national alliance of civil society organisations (CSOs) and activists working for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines.
TANZANIA: ‘Despite threats, we will not retreat from defending the rights of our communities’
Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Joseph Ole Parsambei, Executive Director of the Tanzania Pastoralist Community Forum (TPCF), about the threats faced by environmental, land and indigenous rights activists in Tanzania.