July 10, 2025

GERMANY: ‘Democracy and human rights are two sides of the same coin’

CIVICUS discusses the potential for a United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Democracy with Andreas Bummel, founder and executive director of Democracy Without Borders, an international…
July 09, 2025

DRC: ‘International demand for coltan is linked to violence in the DRC’

CIVICUS speaks with Claude Iguma, a mining governance expert with a PhD in Social Sciences, who is based in Bukavu, South Kivu province, eastern…
July 08, 2025

SPAIN: ‘Migration regularisation is a necessary step towards social justice and a sign of democratic…

CIVICUS discusses Spain’s moves to grant undocumented migrants formal status with Rubén Romero, coordinator of the Political Advocacy and Partnerships Department at CONVIVE Fundación…
July 04, 2025

MEXICO: ‘This is the largest experiment in justice systems ever undertaken by any country’

CIVICUS discusses Mexico’s recent judicial elections with Gladys Morales Ramírez, a Mexican researcher who holds a PhD in Social Sciences. On 1 June, Mexico held the…
July 04, 2025

HRC59: CIVICUS and Center for Civil Liberties Call for Accountability for Rights Abuses in Crimea

in Geneva

Statement at 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Item 10: Interactive Dialogue on ID on oral presentation of the High Commissioner on…
July 03, 2025

LIBERIA: ‘We need enforceable legal tools to hold governments accountable for climate inaction’

CIVICUS discusses African climate litigation efforts with Liberian environmental rights activist, lawyer and law professor Alfred Lahai Brownell, president of Global Climate Legal Defence…
July 02, 2025

Angola’s UPR Commitments Welcomed — but Crackdowns on Protest Persist

in Geneva

Statement at the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 6: Adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report of Angola Joint…
July 02, 2025

SWITZERLAND: ‘Expanding defence spending without proper accountability could weaken rather than strengthen security’

CIVICUS discusses the 2025 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit with Francesca Grandi, Head of Defence and Security at Transparency International, a global civil…
July 02, 2025

Cambodia: Release Mother Nature Environmental Activists from Jail

in News

On the one-year anniversary of the arrest of five Mother Nature environmental defenders, CIVICUS expresses concern over their continued imprisonment and its implications for…
July 01, 2025

Fiji’s UPR Report Adopted: Progress Acknowledged, Legal Reforms Still Urgently Needed

in Geneva

Statement at the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report of Fiji Delivered by Olimjon…
July 01, 2025

UPR Report on El Salvador Adopted Amid Sharp Decline in Civic Space

in Geneva

Statement at the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report of El Salvador Delivered by…
July 01, 2025

Mexico’s Judicial Elections: A Democratic Mirage

By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report. On 1 June,…
July 01, 2025

ROMANIA: ‘Only a handful of environmental organisations still dare challenge corporate projects in court’

CIVICUS speaks to Cristinel Buzatu, regional legal advisor for Central and Eastern Europe at Greenpeace, about how Romania’s state gas company is weaponising the…
June 30, 2025

BANGLADESH: ‘Authoritarian laws outlast authoritarian rulers, so we must dismantle them’

CIVICUS discusses Bangladesh’s democratic transition challenges with Taqbir Huda, human rights lawyer and former regional researcher with Amnesty International, responsible for investigating and documenting…
June 27, 2025

From Crackdowns to Censorship: Spotlight on Burundi’s Shrinking Civic Space at HRC59

in Geneva

Statement at the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Burundi Delivered by Olimjon Bakhtaliev, CIVICUS  Mr…
June 27, 2025

ITALY: ‘This security decree is the biggest attack on the right to protest in the…

CIVICUS discusses Italy’s new Security Decree with Pasquale Prencipe, a lawyer, member of the research staff of Associazione Antigone, an Italian civil society organisation…
June 26, 2025

CIVICUS at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development: Statement and List of Events

The Fourth Financing for Development (FFD4) Conference will be held in Sevilla, Spain, from 30 June to 3 July 2025. This pivotal global event…
June 26, 2025

Reflections from the UN Oceans Conference 2025

in Geneva

CIVICUS works to facilitate the meaningful participation of civil society in global decision-making spaces. Most recently, we supported Laurent Cypria, an activist from Martinique,…
June 25, 2025

UNITED STATES: ‘Democratic states have been slow to recognise Chinese transnational repression on their soil’

CIVICUS discusses China’s transnational repression with investigative reporter Scilla Alecci of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a news organisation and independent global network encompassing…
June 25, 2025

Poland’s Democratic Deadlock

Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report. Poland’s embattled Prime Minister Donald Tusk emerged…
June 25, 2025

Kenya: New report describes a year of unprecedented restrictions on civic freedoms

in News

Over the past year, Kenya’s government has launched an all-out assault on civic space to crush dissent both online and in the streets in…
June 23, 2025

THE NETHERLANDS: ‘The Pandemic Agreement is a work in advanced progress: we are close to…

CIVICUS discusses the Pandemic Agreement with Jaume Vidal, Senior Policy Advisor at Health Action International, an international civil society organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, that…
June 20, 2025

SWITZERLAND: ‘Enabling machines to make life and death decisions is morally unjustifiable’

CIVICUS discusses autonomous weapons systems and the campaign for regulation with Nicole van Rooijen, Executive Director of Stop Killer Robots, a global civil society…
June 20, 2025

South Korea‘s Democracy Renewed

By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report. On a resounding 79.4 per cent turnout, South…
June 19, 2025

HRC59: Free and fair elections depend on respect for Assembly and Association rights

in Geneva

Statement at the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly…
June 19, 2025

JAPAN: ‘The roots of young people’s political disengagement lie in their lack of representation’

CIVICUS discusses Japan’s upcoming election for its upper chamber of parliament with Aoi Horiuchi, Senior Advocacy Officer at the Japan NGO Center for International…
June 18, 2025

United States: ‘It’s time for states to commit to binding reforms of the international financial…

CIVICUS discusses financing for development with Elena Marmo, Head of Advocacy and Campaigns at the Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Network, an international civil…
June 18, 2025

India: International human rights groups reiterate call for release of Khurram Parvez on his birthday

in News

CIVICUS joins human rights organisations in calling on the Indian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Khurram Parvez and to end the persistent misuse…
June 17, 2025

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

This piece is written by Mandeep Tiwana, Secretary General of CIVICUS. As he begins his tenure, Mandeep reflects on the urgent challenges facing civil…
June 17, 2025

Democracy and human rights debated at Oslo Freedom Forum side event

in News

  Summary Report: Roundtable on Democratic Decline and the Establishment of a UN Mandate on Democracy A roundtable convened by CIVICUS and Democracy Without…
June 16, 2025

CIVICUS at the 59th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council

in News

59th Session of UN Human Rights Council (16 June to 11 July 2025) Overview Structural Issues Thematic Priorities Country-Specific Priorities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Overview As civic…
June 16, 2025

El Salvador: Free detained activists and end crackdown on civil society

in News

Amid growing repression, a collective of civil society organisations call on El Salvador government to immediately and unconditionally release detained human rights defenders and…
June 16, 2025

El Salvador: Bukele’s Authoritarianism Goes Global

By Inés M. Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report. At a White House meeting, presidents…
June 16, 2025

Civic Space still Under Siege in Eritrea

in Geneva

Statement at the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue on the report of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea Delivered by Olimjon…
June 14, 2025

ITALY: ‘Referendums reaffirm citizens’ right to be protagonists in their country’s democratic life’

CIVICUS discusses the results of a recent Italian referendum on citizenship and workers’ rights with Andrea Oleandri, Co-Executive Director of the Italian Coalition for…
June 13, 2025

POLAND: ‘The new president will reject anything he perceives as conflicting with conservative and national…

CIVICUS discusses the results of Poland’s presidential election with Filip Pazderski, Programme Manager for Civil Society of the Stefan Batory Foundation, a civil society…

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