Interviews

Featured

EL SALVADOR: ‘Patriarchal justice persecutes, tortures and abuses women’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Sara García Gross about the recent judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) against the Salvadoran state, and the struggle of Salvadoran women for the right to abortion.
Featured

PHILIPPINES: ‘We will make sure that human rights are on the electoral agenda’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about civil society responses to the growing restrictions on civic space in the Philippines with Nymia Pimentel Simbulan, Chairperson of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) and Executive Director of the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights).
Featured

UK: ‘For women to be respected, police reform is necessary but not sufficient’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Anna Birley, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, policy lead at the Co-operative Party and councillor in the London borough of Lambeth.
Featured

NICARAGUA: ‘María Esperanza’s case is part of a growing process of criminalisation of social protest’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Ana Lucía Álvarez, Nicaragua officer of the Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defensoras), about the case of María Esperanza Sánchez, unjustly imprisoned in Nicaragua since March 2020, and the ongoing campaign for her release.
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CHILE: ‘There is social consensus that the arbitrary exclusion of diverse families is unacceptable’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Marco Becerra, director of ACCIONGAY, about the process leading to the recent passage of Chile’s Equal Marriage Law.
Featured

INDIA: ‘The government is dealing with dissent in very concerning ways’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks Sudha Bharadwaj, a lawyer and long-time human rights defender working for the rights of workers and Indigenous peoples in India.
Featured

SERBIA: ‘We are not just fighting locally; we are sending a message to the world’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the recent protests against the exploration and licensing of lithium mining – for use in batteries, including electric vehicle batteries – in Serbia with Miroslav Mijatović, activist and president of the Podrinje Anti-Corruption Team (PAKT).
Featured

PERU: ‘Environmental regulations were relaxed, when they should have been strengthened’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the recent oil spill off the coast of Lima, Peru, with Juan Carlos Sueiro, Director of Fisheries at Oceana, the world’s largest international organisation dedicated to protecting and restoring the world’s oceans.
Featured

BOLIVIA: ‘To exercise our rights, Indigenous peoples don’t need anyone’s permission’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the struggles of Indigenous peoples in Bolivia with Ruth Alipaz Cuqui, an Indigenous leader from the Bolivian Amazon and general coordinator of the National Coordination for the Defence of Indigenous Peasant Territories and Protected Areas (CONTIOCAP).
Featured

KAZAKHSTAN: ‘No economic or social reform will bring real change unless there is also serious political reform’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the recent protests in Kazakhstan and the state’s repressive response with Yevgeniy Zhovtis, a prominent human rights lawyer and director of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR).
Featured

KENYA: ‘Holding police officers accountable for killings in a court of law will be the main deterrent’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about police brutality in Kenya with Joseph Kariuki, Communications and Media Lead of International Justice Mission and editor of the Missing Voices project.
Featured

HAITI: ‘The international community has never addressed the root causes of the crisis’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Nixon Boumba, a human rights activist and member of Kolektif Jistis Min nan Ayiti (Haiti Justice in Mining Collective), about the political situation in Haiti following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
Featured

TUNISIA: ‘Civil society is not yet under direct threat, but we believe that our turn is coming’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the prospects for democracy in Tunisia following the president’s July 2021 power grab with Amine Ghali, director of Al Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center (KADEM).
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RUSSIA: ‘We hope that social media companies will avoid becoming a censorship tool’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about increasing civic space restrictions in Russia with Denis Shedov, a lawyer and analyst at OVD-Info, an independent human rights civil society organisation (CSO) that recently experienced the blockage of its website by the Russian authorities.
Featured

SAN MARINO: ‘There was an overwhelming demand for women to gain the right to choose’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Sara Casadei, vice-president of Noi Ci Siamo San Marino (‘We are here San Marino’), about the referendum on abortion rights held in San Marino on 26 September 2021.
Featured

CZECH REPUBLIC: ‘We believe that the new government will defend democratic principles’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the recent Czech elections with Marie Jahodová, Executive Director of Million Moments for Democracy, a civil society organisation working to support democracy in the Czech Republic and Europe by fostering civic participation, the accountability of elected representatives and democratic debate.
Featured

SUDAN: ‘The government and the international community must engage more with civil society’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the prospects for democracy and civilian rule in Sudan with Abdel-Rahman El Mahdi, founder and director of the Sudanese Development Initiative (SUDIA).
Featured

PARAGUAY: ‘As long as land remains in private hands, conflict will continue '

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Alicia Amarilla, national coordinator of the Organisation of Peasant and Indigenous Women (CONAMURI) in Paraguay about conflicts over land rights between the state, the private sector and Indigenous communities.
Featured

PALESTINE: ‘The counter-terrorism law is used to restrict political work in Palestine & shrink civic space in Israel’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Einat Fogel-Levin, International Advocacy Coordinator for the Human Rights Defenders Fund (HRDF), about growing restrictions on Palestinian civil society.
Featured

Denmark: ‘There is a focus on protecting borders rather than people’s rights’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), about recent immigration policy changes and the rights of refugees in Denmark.
Featured

HAITI: ‘There is opportunity for a meaningful shift from foreign interference to true leadership of Haitian people’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Ellie Happel, professor of the Global Justice Clinic and Director of the Haiti Project at New York University School of Law.
Featured

VENEZUELA: ‘We need a multilateral, flexible and creative approach from the international community’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Feliciano Reyna, founder and president of Acción Solidaria, a Venezuelan civil society organisation (CSO) established in 1995 with the mission to contribute to reducing the social impact of the HIV epidemic.
Featured

CHILE: ‘For the first time the extremes are inside the parliament and there are unacceptable undemocratic voices’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Alberto Precht, executive director of Chile Transparente, about Chile’s presidential elections and their persistent pattern of low electoral turnout.
Featured

POLAND: ‘right-wing backlash is just one side of the coin, the other being the active mobilisation of rights-oriented civil society’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Krzysztof Śmiszek, a member of the Polish Parliament and chair of the Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBTI Rights, the first of its kind in Poland, about the situation of LGBTQI+ rights and activist responses to the anti-rights backlash.
Featured

UNITED NATIONS: ‘Civil society has always been an integral part of the UN ecosystem’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Natalie Samarasinghe, Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Association UK (UNA-UK) about the UN Secretary-General’s recent ‘Our Common Agenda’ report and the need to include civil society voices in the UN.
Featured

COP26: ‘Much more money is being invested in destroying the planet than in saving it’

Interviews
The 26th United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP26) has just ended in Glasgow, UK, and CIVICUS continues to interview civil society activists, leaders and experts on the outcomes of the summit, its potential to solve the environmental challenges they face and the actions they are taking to address them.
Featured

NICARAGUA: ‘For the government, these fraudulent elections were a total failure’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the recent elections in Nicaragua, characterised by the banning of candidates, fraud and repression, with a woman human rights defender from a national platform of Nicaraguan civil society, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
Featured

SWITZERLAND: ‘It was about time for everybody to have the same rights, with no discrimination’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Reto Wyss, International Affairs Officer of Pink Cross, about the recent referendum on same-sex marriage in Switzerland and the challenges ahead.
Featured

SWITZERLAND: ‘The victory of marriage equality will boost our efforts towards the next steps’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Jessica Zuber, co-leader of Operation Libero’s marriage for all campaign, about the recent referendum on same-sex marriage in Switzerland.
Featured

CHILE: ‘Migration restrictions do not tackle the causes of migration’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Delio Cubides, migration legal advisor at the Chilean Catholic Migration Institute (INCAMI), about the situation of migrants in Chile, and the restrictive measures and mass expulsions that took place this year.
Featured

CAMBODIA: ‘This is a textbook case of organised crime with links to the state’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, a Spanish national and co-founder of Mother Nature Cambodia (MNC), a civil society organisation (CSO) that advocates and campaigns locally and internationally for the preservation, promotion and protection of Cambodia’s natural environment.
Featured

COP26: ‘We need to regenerate ourselves and what we have destroyed’

Interviews
 Portuguese As the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) gets underway in Glasgow, UK, CIVICUS continues to interview civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are taking to address them and the reprisals they face because of their work.
Featured

COP26: ‘The global north must remain accountable and committed to tackle climate change’

Interviews
As the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) gets underway in Glasgow, UK, CIVICUS continues to interview civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the summit.
Featured

COP26: ‘Decision-makers have national objectives whereas the issues at stake are transnational’

Interviews
As the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) takes place in Glasgow, UK between 31 October and 12 November 2021, CIVICUS is interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the summit.

ECUADOR: ‘Civil society must highlight the added value of its participation’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Estefanía Terán, advocacy director of Grupo FARO, about the role of organised civil society in Ecuador's presidential elections and the challenges civil society faces today.
Featured

GHANA: ‘The ‘anti-gay’ bill will have far-reaching consequences if we do not fight it now’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Danny Bediako, founder and executive director of Rightify Ghana, about the LGBTQI+ rights situation and the significance of Ghana’s ‘anti-gay’ bill.
Featured

BIODIVERSITY: ‘Governments will not show political will unless people on the ground put enough pressure’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Gadir Lavadenz, global coordinator of the Convention on Biological Diversity Alliance (CBD Alliance), about the ongoing process to draft a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework with the full participation of affected communities and wider civil society.
Featured

COP26: ‘Awareness that we need to protect the climate to protect ourselves is still missing’

Interviews
In the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place in Glasgow, UK between 31 October and 12 November 2021, CIVICUS is interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the upcoming summit.
Featured

COP26: ‘False solutions are brandished to divert our attention from those responsible’

Interviews
In the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place in Glasgow, UK between 31 October and 12 November 2021, CIVICUS is interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the upcoming summit.
Featured

COP26: ‘Young people are making proposals rather than just demanding change by holding up a sign’

Interviews
In the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place in Glasgow, UK between 31 October and 12 November 2021, CIVICUS is interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the upcoming summit.
Featured

USA: ‘We cannot trust that increased anti-Asian hate will disappear once the pandemic is over’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Marita Etcubañez, senior director of strategic initiatives with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (Advancing Justice | AAJC), about the recent wave of anti-Asian racism and violence in the USA, and mobilisations by Asian Americans in response.
Featured

PERU: ‘It is necessary to restore trust in elections’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Iván Lanegra, secretary general of Transparency Civil Association (Asociación Civil Transparencia), about Peru’s recent presidential elections and the state of its democracy.
Featured

DISINFORMATION: ‘A moral case based on rigorous technical research can bring about change’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Imran Ahmed, founding Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), about the rise of disinformation and hate speech in the context of the pandemic, and the roles civil society can play in countering them.
Featured

COP26: ‘We hope for stricter obligations under the principle of common but differentiated responsibility’

Interviews
In the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place in Glasgow, UK between 31 October and 12 November 2021, CIVICUS is interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the upcoming summit.
Featured

COP26: ‘We need a power shift to communities, especially to women, in managing climate resources’

Interviews
In the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place in Glasgow, UK between 31 October and 12 November 2021, CIVICUS is interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the upcoming summit.
Featured

COP26: ‘My hope lies in the people coming together to demand justice’

Interviews
In the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place in Glasgow, UK between 31 October and 12 November 2021, CIVICUS is interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the upcoming summit.
Featured

COP26: ‘Marginalised communities should be at the centre of climate action’

Interviews
In the run-up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place in Glasgow, UK between 31 October and 12 November 2021, CIVICUS is interviewing civil society activists, leaders and experts about the environmental challenges they face in their contexts, the actions they are undertaking to tackle them and their expectations for the upcoming summit.
Featured

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: ‘Canadians stand in solidarity with us and want to see change’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Teresa Edwards, Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel of the Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF), about reactions to recently evidence of atrocities committed against Canada’s Indigenous peoples in the context of the country’s longstanding Residential School System, and about civil society efforts to obtain truth, justice and reparations.
Featured

USA: ‘Extremist politicians have been hellbent on stigmatising and banning abortion for decades’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Caroline Duble, Political Director of Avow – Unapologetic Abortion Advocacy, about the current backlash against women’s rights in the USA, and in Texas in particular, as well as the activist responses.
Featured

MIGRATION: ‘The spread of COVID-19 is no excuse to confront vulnerable people with more violence’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Maddalena Avon, project coordinator at the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) about the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe under the pandemic and the ways in which civil society is responding to increasing border pushbacks from hostile European governments.

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