Interviews

Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

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

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

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

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

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

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

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

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

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

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

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

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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).
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

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

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

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

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

GREECE: ‘Together we can do more’

Interviews
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.
Featured

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

Interviews
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.
Featured

RUSSIA: ‘These protests are key to the preservation of Russian civil society’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the ongoing anti-war protests in Russia and the repressive government response with OVD-Info’s spokesperson Maria Kuznetsova.
Featured

GUATEMALA: ‘Anti-rights groups seek to maintain the privileges of some at the expense of the rights of others’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with the team of Visibles about recent anti-rights developments in Guatemala.
Featured

RUSSIA: 'Any tactic that protesters use will likely be banned and declared a crime'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about anti-war protests and the growing restrictions on civic space in Russia with Nelya Rakhimova, coordinator of the Coalition for Sustainable Development of Russia (CSDR).
Featured

POLAND: ‘If lots of tiny actions are performed by many people, we can achieve big things’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Magdalena Demczak, co-founder and director of Akcja Menstruacja (Menstrual Action), about the work her organisation is currently doing to help Ukrainian refugees.

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