Interviews

Featured

‘The government is in fact listening to civil society, just not to the progressive side of it’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Horace Levy, the director of Jamaicans for Justice, a non-profit, non-partisan, non-violent citizens’ rights action organisation that advocates for good governance and improvements in state accountability and transparency.
Featured

Kenya’s fresh election lights up Africa with hope

Interviews
On 26 October 2017, Kenya returns to the polls after the Supreme Court declared the election held on 8 August 2017 null and void.
Featured

‘La sociedad civil trabaja por una democracia no solo más representativa sino también más participativa’

Interviews
English CIVICUS conversa con Ramiro Orias, abogado y defensor de derechos humanos boliviano.
Featured

South African NGO scores legal victory in limiting the influence of ‘big money’ on democracy

Interviews
A South African NGO My Vote Counts recently won a court case in which it asked that political parties must be compelled to publicly reveal their sources of funds.
Featured

Les manifestants se transforment en milliers de personnes qui battent la fermeture d'Internet

Interviews
Read the interview in English  CIVICUS parle avec KEPOMEY Koffi Dela Franck de l'organisation non gouvernementale Concertation Nationale de la Société Civile au Togo des récentes manifestations dans le pays sur les limites du mandat présidentiel.
Featured

The Political Parties Bill is ‘poison for Zambia’s ailing democracy’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Zambian human rights defender McDonald Chipenzi.
Featured

NGO soldiers on giving holistic care to rape survivors in DRC

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Julienne Lusenge, director of SOFEPADI (Solidarite Feminine pour la Paix et le Development Integral), an NGO based in the Democratic Republic of Congo which supports and empowers women and girls who are rape and domestic violence survivors.
Featured

Liberian rural communities face ‘David vs Goliath’ battle with multinationals

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to a Liberian activist about the invasions by multinational companies into community and indigenous lands.
Featured

Dire situation for journalists and civil society in Turkey

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Huseyin Hurmali, President of the Journalists and Writers Foundation about the difficult environment for journalists in Turkey.
Featured

Cultural barriers are lifting but legal and political obstacles still hinder gender equality in Chile

Interviews
Spanish CIVICUS speaks to Natalia Muñoz Castillo, director of International Affairs at the Observatory Against Street Harassment (OCAC), a Chilean civil society organisation that works to make public spaces safe and egalitarian, making them accessible to the most vulnerable, and specifically to women, children, adolescents and LGBTI people.
Featured

Hungary new Bill aims to silence civil society that criticises the state

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Anita Koncsik of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) on the recent Bill on transparency of organisations receiving foreign funding.
Featured

Advocating for women’s sexual and reproductive rights in Peru, a risky fight against powerful enemies

Interviews
Spanish CIVICUS speaks to María Ysabel Cedano, Director of DEMUS –Study for the Defense of Women’s Rights, a Peruvian feminist organisation that since 1987 defends human rights, and particularly women’s sexual and reproductive rights, by promoting their free exercise and questioning the hegemonic cultural paradigm on women and their sexuality.
Featured

Omani human rights activist silenced and pushed into exile

Interviews
CIVICUS interviews Habiba Al Hinai a human rights defender from Oman who had to leave the country for her own safety.
Featured

Closure of Himal magazine part of ongoing onslaught on free expression in the South Asia region

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Aunohita Mojumdar the editor of Himal Southasian, a review magazine of politics and culture based in Nepal and run by the not-for-profit Southasia Trust.
Featured

Bolivian government using law and force to cow civil society into silence

Interviews
Spanish CIVICUS speaks to Marco Antonio Gandarillas, Director of the Centre of Information and Documentation Bolivia (CEDIB), a human rights organisation founded in 1970 with the aim of providing information and consulting services with a critical eye on the social reality of Bolivia and Latin America.
Featured

Togo’s violations of the press are out of step with democratic norms

Interviews
French CIVICUS speaks to Koffi Déla Frack Kepomey, the executive director of Concertation Nationale de la Société Civile du Togo (CNSC-Togo) concerning the recent closure of a television and radio station by the regulatory authority as well as the torture of a journalist.
Featured

Worker’s rights activism and human rights activism must be linked

Interviews
Shawna Bader-Blau, executive director of the Solidarity Center, the largest worker rights organisation based in the United States speaks to CIVICUS about challenges facing workers, Solidarity Center’s work and the response of professional NGOs to worker’s rights.
Featured

Malawi makes good reforms on civic space but new NGO Policy sidelines human rights CSOs

Interviews
CIVICUS interviews, the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitations’ Fletcher Simwaka about the state of civic space in Malawi and the new NGO policy.
Featured

Egyptian women's rights defenders risk life in prison

Interviews
Azza Soliman and Mozn Hassan have both been working to improve women's rights in Egypt.
Featured

It’s not all doom and gloom on the ICC and Africa

Interviews
At the recent summit of the African Union (AU), states adopted what appeared to be a plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), the global body that prosecutes grave crimes and challenges impunity.
Featured

Colombian activists: ‘We are paying with our lives to defend water’

Interviews
Spanish CIVICUS speaks to Carlos Andrés Santiago, spokesperson of CORDATEC, an organisation that defends water, the territory and the ecosystems of San Martín, in the Colombian region of Cesar.
Featured

Zambia’s media under siege

Interviews
Following reported violations on the press in Zambia that have included the closing of a newspaper and two radio stations, CIVICUS speaks to Wilson Pondamali a Zambian freelance investigative journalist and media activist to detail the situation 1.
Featured

Letter to Dr. Angela Merkel ahead of visit to Cairo

Interviews
24 February 2017 Dr Angela Merkel Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Willy-Brandt-Straße 1 10557 Berlin   Subject: Your visit to Cairo, 2-3 March 2017, amidst clampdown on human rights in Egypt Dear Chancellor Merkel,
Featured

Claiming the space for women in Argentina, one step at a time

Interviews
Spanish CIVICUS speaks to Ana Correa, a member of the organising group of #NiUnaMenos, a movement that has held massive protests against gender-based violence in Argentina.
Featured

Closed and repressed: No space for democracy to take root in Eritrea

Interviews
CIVICUS interviews a human rights defender from Eritrea, who speaks about the nature of the government and its complete disregard for fundamental human rights.
Featured

Shock and sadness spurs anti-Trump protestors

Interviews
Ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States of America, activists and civil society are mobilising protests against the new establishment.
Featured

Syrian civil society not being heard by international donors

Interviews
CIVICUS asked Nibal Salloum, program manager at the Syrian peace-building organisation Nuon, about the situation for civil society in Syria and the challenges faced working in a conflict area.
Featured

Suppression of freedom of expression in Uganda increases

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Ugandan independent blogger and journalist Rosebell Kagumire (pictured).
Featured

Burundi civil society sees the International Criminal Court as a last resort for justice

Interviews
Human rights defender Cyriaque Nibitegeka speaks to CIVICUS about Burundi’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court and the implications for human rights and victims of human rights abuses.
Featured

Strict legal restrictions on foreign funding hit India’s NGOs

Interviews
CIVICUS interviews Mathew Jacob on the restrictions on freedom of association and attacks on civil society in India including laws on foreign funding.
Featured

Drug war unsettles civil society in Philippines

Interviews
Since assuming power in May 2016 Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has embarked on a controversial campaign against drugs in which over 3 000 people have been killed over three months in extra judicial killings for allegedly being drug peddlers or users.
Featured

Victims of human rights violations will be worst affected if South Africa exits the International Criminal Court

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Angela Mudukuti about South Africa’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, the implications for human rights and justice and the work which the Southern Africa Litigation Centre is doing on this issue.
Featured

Despite progress, freedom of expression still under threat on the African continent

Interviews
To commemorate International Human Rights Day, CIVICUS speaks to the Chair of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) - Advocate Faith Pansy Tlakula about the state of human rights in Africa.
Featured

Mozambique NGOs battle for free civic space

Interviews
To read this in Portugese, click here.
Featured

Indonesian activists fear being targeted by cyber-bullying law

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Asep Komarudin (pictured) of Legal Aid Institute for the Press concerning the cyber bullying amendment that was recently made to the Electronic Information and Transactions Bill.
Featured

Increased violence in South Sudan is increasing difficulties for human rights defenders

Interviews
CIVICUS spoke to a civil society leader based in Juba, South Sudan about why the government threatened and prevented human rights defenders from travelling to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva for reviews on South Sudan and the general state of human rights and media freedoms in the country five years after the country became independent.

Intolerance of civil society in Vietnam: An interview with Penelope Faulkner from the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights

Interviews
Vice-President of the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), Penelope Faulkner, speaks to CIVICUS about the current challenges faced by civil society in Vietnam and the role of international solidarity networks in supporting the creation of a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders.

Death is something we were expecting: Interview with Amadiba Crisis Committee

Interviews
On 22 March 2016, Sikhosiphi “Bazooka” Rhadebe (pictured), chairperson of the, Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) was assassinated at his home by two assailants who shot him eight times in the head.

Support human rights defenders in Ethiopia: CIVICUS interview with Betre Yacob Getahun

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Betre Yacob Getahun a journalist, writer, and human rights advocate and the founder and president of Ethiopian Journalists Forum (EJF).

CIVICUS interview with José De Echave, co-founder of CooperAcción

Interviews
Read the interview in Spanish.

CIVICUS interview with Emily Howie (HRLC)

Interviews
Emily Howie, director of advocacy and research at the Human Rights Law Centre in Australia speaks to CIVICUS about civic space challenges in her country.

CIVICUS interview with Mohamed Lofty (ECRF)

Interviews
Mohamed Lofty of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) speaks to CIVICUS about the travel ban imposed on him on 2nd of June 2015 while he was travelling to Germany to conduct a series of advocacy visits parallel to President Al-Sisi’s visit.

Insights on the current protests in Macedonia: An interview with two leading civil society activists

Interviews
Emina Nuredinoska (left) of the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation and Tanja Hafner Ademi (right) of the Balkan Civil Society Development Network speak to CIVICUS about ongoing protests against the Government and the current state of civil society in Macedonia.

Collaborate to curb restrictions on civic space in Turkey: An interview with Savaş Metin (KYM)

Interviews
Savaş Metin, the General Secretary of Kimse Yok Mu Association (KYM) in Turkey, speaks to CIVICUS about the ongoing judicial harassment of their organization and the Turkish government’s systematic crackdown on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Turkey.

Interview with leading civil society activist in Sudan: Abdel-Eahman El Mahdi

Interviews
Abdel-Rahman El Mahdi, Director of the Sudanese Development Initiative (SUDIA), speaks to CIVICUS about escalating restrictions on civil society and the prospect of engaging in a multi-stakeholder national dialogue to address pressing human rights issues in Sudan.

Extrajudicial powers being abused by India's Armed Forces: An Interview with Human Rights Activist Ravi Nitesh

Interviews
Ravi Nitesh of the Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign (SSSC) speaks to CIVICUS about the vicious cycle of judicial harassment Manipuri activist Irom Sharmila faces merely due to her peaceful resistance to India’s draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1958, (AFSPA).

Call on Egyptian government to end all human rights violations - CIVICUS interview with Hussein Magdy (ECRF)

Interviews
Hussein Magdy of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) speaks to CIVICUS about how Egyptian civil society is dismayed at the ongoing crackdown on fundamental freedoms which are guaranteed by Egypt’s national and international human rights obligations.

"Push for the repeal of the CSO Proclamation" - CIVICUS Interview with Soliyana Gebremichael (EHRP)

Interviews
Soliyana Gebremichael, founding member of the Zone9 bloggers collective and Coordinator of the Ethiopian Human Right Project, speaks to CIVICUS about the Ethiopian government's ongoing persecution of civil society and independent media in the run-up to general elections scheduled for May 2015.

Cambodia: Human rights situation remains critical - CIVICUS interview with Chak Sopheap (CCHR)

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Ms.

The persecution of civil society activists in Azerbaijan: An interview with Turgut Gambar (Founding member of NIDA)

Interviews
Turgut Gambar, founding member of NIDA Civic Movement, speaks to CIVICUS about the growing restrictions on civil society in Azerbaijan and the government’s ongoing judicial harassment of activists.

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