Interviews

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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.

Government restrictions on foreign funding alarms Pakistani CSOs: A CIVICUS interview with Qamar Naseem

Interviews
Qamar Naseem of the Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network (PCSN) speaks to CIVICUS about growing restrictions imposed on civil society organisations and the Pakistani government’s attempts to curb access to funding from international sources.

CIVICUS interview with Bangladeshi civil society activist and Secretary of Odhikar, Adilur Rahman Khan

Interviews
Prominent Bangladeshi civil society activist and Secretary of Odhikar, Adilur Rahman Khan, speaks to CIVICUS about growing restriction on civil society in Bangladesh and his continued judicial harassment under the Cyber Crimes Tribunal.

Hungarian civil society shocked at the pace of increasingly restrictive measures: An interview with Veronika Mora of the Okotars Foundation (Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation)

Interviews
Veronika Mora, of the Okotars Foundation( Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation) speaks to CIVICUS about the Orban government’s clampdown on Hungarian civil society and their sources of funding.

Nawaz Sharif must provide support to CSOs instead of disenabling the environment they operate in: An Interview with Professor Mohammed Ismail

Interviews
Professor Mohammed Ismail of the Pakistan NGOs Forum (PNF Pakistan), speaks to CIVICUS about the overall operating environment of civil society in Pakistan and the recent bills which severely curb civic space.

CIVICUS interview with Mark Heywood, Executive Director of SECTION27

Interviews
Mark Heywood is the Executive Director of SECTION27 and a national executive member of the Treatment Action Campaign, an activist movement formed in 1998 that fights for the rights of people living with HIV (PWAs).

An interview with Laurent Munyandilikirwa on the state of civil society in Rwanda

Interviews
Laurent Munyandilikirwa, former president of Rwandan CSO, LIPRODHOR, speaks to CIVICUS about the state of civil society in Rwanda and the government’s continued targeted harassment of LIPRODHOR.

CIVICUS interview with Amal Elmohandes, Director of the Women Human Rights Defenders Program at Nasra for Feminist Studies

Interviews
In light of the ongoing threats faced by civil society activists, journalists and ordinary citizens in Egypt from state and non-state actors, CIVICUS interviews Amal Elmohandes, Director of the Women Human Rights Defenders Program at Nasra for Feminist Studies, to get a better understanding on the current situation.

"Speak up for the Venezuelan people" - An interview with Feliciano Reyna

Interviews
4 March, 2014 Feliciano Reyna is a human rights advocate working on HIV and AIDS related issues in Venezuela since 1995.

CIVICUS interviews Andrew Khoo, Co-Chairperson of the Malaysian Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee

Interviews
Andrew Khoo, the Co-Chairperson of Malaysian Bar Council's Human Rights Committee (BCHRC), speaks to CIVICUS about the growing restrictions on civil society and obstacles to realizing UPR recommendations in Malaysia.

"Open spaces for dialogue with citizens and civil society" - A CIVICUS interview with Brazilian lawyer and activist Natasha Zadorosny

Interviews
In June 2013, protesters took to the streets in Brazil to protest against increases in the prices of bus tickets in the major cities.

Interview with Nassima AlSadah, Adala Centre for Human Rights

Interviews
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CIVICUS interview with Saira Rahman

Interviews
Saira Rahman, wife of detained activist Adilur Rahman Khan speaks to CIVICUS about the circumstances surrounding his arrest and detention and the on-going persecution of his Bangladesh-based organisation, Odhikar.

"Protestors want the change that the revolution did not yet achieve"- An interview with an Egyptian activist

Interviews
Ahead of the mass protests expected in Egypt on Sunday, CIVICUS spoke with Hicham Ezzat, an activist for Egypt’s pro-revolution movement.

"Spread the news about Turkey" | A CIVICUS interview with Turkish civil society activists

Interviews
Aysegul Ekmekci and Semanur Karaman from Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV) speak to CIVICUS about the on-going protests in the country and what they mean for the youth, politics and civil society in Turkey.

Youth unemployment in SubSaharan Africa is cancerous | A CIVICUS member interview with Awa Ndah of Impact Creators

Interviews
Awa Ndah is the Founder and Executive Director of Impact Creators, a youth educational and professional development organisation based in Cameroon.

Young people need to get informed | A CIVICUS member interview with Esther Agbarakwe of NYCC

Interviews
Esther Agbarakwe is a co-founder of the Nigerian Youth Climate Coalition, the biggest youth climate movement in Nigeria.

Independent dissent being silenced in South Sudan | An interview with Victor Lowilla of SSLS

Interviews
Victor Lowilla, senior legal aid attorney at the South Sudan Law Society (SSLS), speaks to CIVICUS about the trajectory of civil society in South Sudan since independence and the growing restrictions on independent media and journalists in the country.

Post-2015 Agenda needs to address the 1 billion people with disabilities

Interviews
Dagnachew B.

Children and Youth Concerns are about Sustainability: An interview with Kiara Worth

Interviews
Kiara Worth is one of the Organising Partners for the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY).

On Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: An Interview with Un Women’s Lakshmi Puri

Interviews
United Nations officials, civil society groups and worldwide media coverage hailed last month's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for taking a significant step forward in the campaign to end gender-based violence.

Interview: Global conversation conducive to shaping post- 2015 agenda

Interviews
The World We Want 2015 initiative aims to create a collective vision of the most important priorities of people in every part of the world, including indigenous populations, women and youths, to ultimately inform what the development agenda should include when the current MDGs expire in 2015.

Decent work and social protection should be included in the Post-2015 Agenda | An interview with Matt Simmonds

Interviews
Matt Simmonds is the liaison officer for the platform of civil society organisations that sits in the OECD Working Party on Aid Effectiveness (WP- Eff), BetterAid in Paris.

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