Interviews

Featured

UGANDA: ‘Hate speech against LGBTQI+ people comes from religious, traditional and political leaders’

Interviews 20 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the situation of LGBTQI+ rights in Uganda and the ongoing impacts of the British colonial legacy with Opio Sam Leticia, founder and Executive Director of Queer Youth Uganda (QYU).

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THE GAMBIA: ‘Civil society works to ensure Jammeh and other perpetrators of human rights violations face justice’

Interviews 15 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the prospects of The Gambia’s former dictator Yahya Jammeh being put on trial with Adama Jallow, National Coordinator of the Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations (Victim’s Center).

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TURKEY: ‘Refugees are the perfect scapegoat in times of crisis’

Interviews 10 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Dilan Akbayır, a social worker who works with Syrian refugees, about Turkey’s plan to send refugees back to Syria and the rise of anti-refugee sentiment and racism against Syrians in Turkey.

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USA: ‘The Starbucks unionisation campaign has sparked the imagination of workers across the country’

Interviews 07 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about unionisation efforts at Starbucks with Theresa Haas, director of global strategies of the labour union Workers United.

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PALESTINE: ‘They label us antisemites or terrorists to silence us and paralyse our human rights work’

Interviews 07 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about civil society’s online activism against repression and oppression in Palestine with Nadim Nashif, executive director and co-founder of 7amleh: The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media.

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ZIMBABWE: ‘Society is only starting to open up to the idea of living harmoniously with LGBTQI+ people’

Interviews 06 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the situation of LGBTQI+ rights in Zimbabwe and the ongoing impacts of the British colonial legacy with Samuel Matsikure, programmes manager at GALZ-Association of LGBTI people in Zimbabwe.

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JAMAICA: ‘Laws that discriminate against LGBTQI+ people send a signal about our place in society’

Interviews 04 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the situation of LGBTQI+ rights in Jamaica and the ongoing impacts of the British colonial legacy with Glenroy Murray, Executive Director of J-FLAG.

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NIGERIA: ‘People experience gross rights violations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity’

Interviews 03 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the situation of LGBTQI+ rights in Nigeria and the ongoing impacts of the British colonial legacy with Olaide Kayode Timileyin, executive director of Queercity Media and Productions.

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CUBA: ‘All tactics used by activists have been turned into crimes’

Interviews 02 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about changes to the Cuban Penal and Family Codes and the government’s reaction to mass protests in 2021 with Marta María Ramírez, a Cuban journalist and autonomous feminist.

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ZIMBABWE: ‘We need CSOs to continue working and defending people’s rights’

Interviews 01 June 2022

CIVICUS speaks about a proposed NGO bill and the threat it represents for Zimbabwean civil society with Ernest Nyimai, the Acting Executive Director of Zimbabwe’s National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO).

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KENYA: ‘The government has put all the burden of addressing homophobia on civil society’

Interviews 31 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the situation of LGBTQI+ rights in Kenya and the ongoing impacts of the British colonial legacy with Stephen Okwany, programme director of Talanta Africa.

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SRI LANKA: ‘They arrest us to stop us, silence us and instil fear in others’

Interviews 30 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Hejaaz Hizbullah, a human rights defender who was kept in detention for 22 months under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

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BERMUDA: ‘A right that the LGBTQI+ community enjoyed for four years has been stripped away’

Interviews 27 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the recent court decision on same-sex marriage in Bermuda with Adrian Hartnett-Beasley, a founding board member of OUTBermuda.

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LEBANON: ‘The political youth movement was a major pillar of the opposition to the ruling class’

Interviews 25 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the recent general election in Lebanon with Marwan Issa, research assistant with the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut.

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LEBANON: ‘This election has brought to the forefront new voices speaking about rights’

Interviews 23 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the recent general elections in Lebanon with Lina Abou Habib, director of the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut.

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PHILIPPINES: ‘We fear the democracy those before us fought so hard for will be erased’

Interviews 20 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the recent presidential election in the Philippines with Marinel Ubaldo, a young climate activist, co-founder of the Youth Leaders for Environmental Action Federation and Advocacy Officer for Ecological Justice and Youth Engagement of Living Laudato Si’ Philippines (LLS).

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INDONESIA: ‘The Sexual Violence Bill is one step further in claiming the rights of women and children’

Interviews 19 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Nuril Qomariyah, coordinator of Perempuan Bergerak, about the Sexual Violence Bill recently passed in Indonesia and the key roles played by civil society.

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PANDEMIC TREATY: ‘States hold a shared responsibility to keep the world safe and must be held accountable’

Interviews 18 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Dame Barbara M Stocking about the need to develop a new pandemic treaty anchored in solidarity, transparency, accountability and equity.

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NIGERIA: ‘The federal government and ASUU at some point made it feel like our education doesn’t matter’

Interviews 16 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Benedicta Chisom about the current student mobilisation that is calling on Nigeria’s government to respond to teachers’ demands and end the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

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NIGERIA: ‘The government is more willing to negotiate with terrorists than with striking teachers’

Interviews 13 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Olorunfemi Adeyeye about the current student mobilisation that is calling on Nigeria’s government to respond to teachers’ demands and end the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

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INDIA: ‘We have achieved a historic labour rights win for female Dalit workers’

Interviews 12 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about a recent labour rights victory in India’s garment industry with Jeeva M, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU).

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INDIA: ‘Muslim girls are being forced to choose between education and the hijab’

Interviews 11 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the recent ban on the hijab, a headscarf worn by Muslim women, in educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka with Zakia Soman, a women’s rights activist and co-founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (Indian Muslim Women's Movement, BMMA).

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HONDURAS: ‘We must address the roots of the conflict: the handing over of natural resources’

Interviews 10 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the criminalisation of environmental, land and territorial defenders in Honduras with Edy Tábora, director of the law firm Justicia para los Pueblos (Justice for the Peoples) and coordinator of the group of defence lawyers of eight defenders of the Guapinol river who were recently released from detention.

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KENYA: ‘The denial of resources for civic education has been a massive blow for civil society’

Interviews 09 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming elections in Kenya with Paul Okumu, head of the Secretariat of the Africa Platform (AP).

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INDIA: ‘An effective civil society is essential for advancing human rights’

Interviews 09 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the recent ban on the hijab, a headscarf worn by Muslim women, in educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka with Aiman Khan and Agni Das of the Quill Foundation.

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INDIA: ‘The hijab ban is just another tool used by right-wing politicians to remain in power’

Interviews 05 May 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the recent ban on the hijab, a headscarf worn by Muslim women, in educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka with Syeda Hameed, co-founder and board member of the Muslim Women’s Forum (MWF).

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AFGHANISTAN: ‘Our fight for accountability has become a thousand times harder under the Taliban’

Interviews 30 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Horia Mosadiq, an Afghan women human rights defender (HRD) and founder of Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization (SRMO).

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UZBEKISTAN: ‘Advocacy for labour and human rights is a marathon, not a sprint’

Interviews 29 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the recent civil society victory in eliminating state-imposed forced labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry with Allison Gill, a human rights lawyer and Forced Labour Director at the Global Labour Justice - International Labour Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF).

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UGANDA: ‘Our government cares only about profit, not people’

Interviews 25 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and its potential impacts on the climate and on the health and livelihoods of local communities with Nyombi Morris, founder of Earth Volunteers.

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TANZANIA: ‘The government is trying to silence those who are against the pipeline’

Interviews 22 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and its potential impacts on the climate and on the health and livelihoods of local communities with Tanzanian climate justice activist Baraka Lenga.

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EAST AFRICA: ‘The pipeline project would open up critical ecosystems to commercial oil exploitation’

Interviews 21 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and its potential impacts on the climate and on the health and livelihoods of local communities with Omar Elmawi, coordinator of the Stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (#StopEACOP).

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SRI LANKA: ‘The ongoing protests have put the government on the defensive’

Interviews 20 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about protests in response to deepening economic crisis in Sri Lanka with Ruki Fernando, a human rights activist, writer and consultant to the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) in Colombo.

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SRI LANKA: ‘By peacefully protesting, we hope to protect our democracy’

Interviews 19 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about protests in Sri Lanka in response to the country’s deepening economic crisis and civil society’s role in supporting protesters with human rights lawyer Bhavani Fonseka of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).

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ITALY: ‘The constitution now contemplates the interests of future generations’

Interviews 14 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Edoardo Zanchini, National Vice President of Legambiente Onlus, about the recent legislative vote that introduced environmental protections in the Italian Constitution, and civil society’s role in making it happen.

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CSW66: ‘Advocacy for policy change takes time and a long-term commitment’

Interviews 13 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about women’s rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Helen McEachern, CEO of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

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CSW66: ‘Violence against women continues at pandemic levels in the UK as elsewhere’

Interviews 12 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about women’s participation and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Zarin Hainsworth, director of the National Alliance of Women's Organisations (NAWO), a UK civil society network that works for women’s empowerment by advocating for women’s rights at the national and international levels.

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CSW66: ‘Women need more access to real political decision-making power’

Interviews 11 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about women’s rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Terry Ince, founder, and convenor of the CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (CCoTT), a civil society organisation (CSO) focused on advocacy, education, and public awareness on and for the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

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CSW66: ‘Global-level policy-making is disconnected from women’s realities’

Interviews 08 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about women’s human rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Wanun Permpibul of Climate Watch Thailand (CWT) and Misun Woo of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD).

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CSW66: ‘Grassroots environmental defenders are highly underrepresented in decision-making’

Interviews 07 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about women’s rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Joy Hayley Munthali and Dorothy Kazombo Mwale of the Green Girls Platform.

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AFGHANISTAN: ‘Education is our basic right, it’s an Islamic right, it’s a human right’

Interviews 05 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about girls’ right to education in Afghanistan with Matiullah Wesa, founder and president of PenPath.

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CSW66: ‘UN member states should make efforts to honour their commitments at home’

Interviews 04 April 2022

CIVICUS speaks about women’s rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Eucharia Abua, Senior Programme Officer on Gender and Reproductive Justice at African Girls Empowerment Network (AGE Network).

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TUNISIA: ‘We are just students fighting for the future in times in which our opinions are disregarded’

Interviews 31 March 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the impacts of the climate crisis in Tunisia and civil society responses with Aziza Fakher, a biology-geology engineering student and member of Youth for Climate Tunisia (YFC Tunisia).

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UKRAINE: ‘International organisations are clearly not up to their historic responsibilities’

Interviews 29 March 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the board of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), about human rights violations in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion and civil society’s response.

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UKRAINE: ‘The presence of international organisations is key to ensure safe humanitarian corridors’

Interviews 28 March 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Sasha Romantsova, executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), about Ukrainian civil society’s response to the Russian invasion.

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UKRAINE: ‘If we share information, leaders won’t be able to turn blind eye to human rights violations’

Interviews 25 March 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Yaropolk Brynykh of Truth Hounds about Ukrainian civil society’s response to the Russian invasion.

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RUSSIA: ‘The shutdown of media sources threatens to create information vacuum for Russians’

Interviews 24 March 2022

CIVICUS speaks about anti-war protests in Russia and the government’s violations of digital rights with Natalia Malysheva, co-founder and press secretary of Roskomsvoboda.

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GREECE: ‘Together we can do more’

Interviews 23 March 2022

CIVICUS speaks about the state of civil society and civic space in Greece with Sotiris Petropoulos, director of Higher Incubator Giving Growth and Sustainability (HIGGS), an initiative that seeks to strengthen Greek civil society organisations (CSOs) through education and support programmes and activities.

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UAE: ‘Many leaders remain silent in the face of systematic human rights abuses’

Interviews 22 March 2022

CIVICUS speaks with Kristina Stockwood of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) about the current state of civic space in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the government’s efforts to improve its international reputation by holding the Expo 2020 event in Dubai.