CIVICUS makes UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on civil society space in Angola, El Salvador, Fiji and Iran.
The United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States once every 4.5 years.
CIVICUS and its partners have submitted UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on four countries in advance of the 48th UPR session in January - February 2025, in the context of the 4th UPR cycle. The submissions examine the state of civil society in each country, including the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression (including media freedom), and the environment for human rights defenders as well as related unwarranted restrictions. We further provide an assessment of the States’ domestic implementation of civic space recommendations received during the 3rd UPR cycle over 4 years ago and provide a number of targeted follow-up recommendations in relation to core civil society space issues.
Angola - CIVICUS and Plataforma Lusófona dos Direitos Humanos highlight concerns on the introduction of additional legal restrictions in the draft law on the Statute of Non-Governmental Organisations and the draft National Security Law in Angola. The laws, if adopted, would seriously erode freedoms of association and expression. They further highlight the arbitrary arrest and prosecution of HRDs, journalists and protesters, the use of excessive force during peaceful protests and the arrest of protesters.
El Salvador - In this submission CIVICUS, the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy and The Salvadoran Network of Women Human Rights Defenders express concerns over the enacting of restrictive legal reforms that can hinder freedom of association, which could be used against CSOs critical of the government. They also highlight that the draft Foreign Agents Bill could negatively affect funding for civil society work and are further alarmed by the ongoing violence and stigmatisation faced by human rights defenders (HRDs), particularly environmental defenders and people advocating for LGBTQI+ and women’s rights, and the widespread use of intimidation, smear campaigns and denial of access to information by state agents against journalists.
Fiji - CIVICUS, the Pacific Island Association of Non-Government Organisations, the Fiji Council of Social Services and Amnesty International highlight several positive steps undertaken by the current Government of Fiji. However, while HRDs are able operate in a relatively free environment, rights particularly related to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly had been limited. Laws such the 2012 Public Order (Amendment) Act and sedition provisions in the Crimes Act have created a chilling effect for HRD, including WHRDs, who continue to be subjected to stigmatisation and ostracism. While freedom of peaceful assembly has improved under the current government, some groups continue to face challenges from the police.
Iran - In this submission on the Islamic Republic of Iran CIVICUS and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights highlight the ways in which some spheres of civil society, such as those that work on labour rights, students’ and women’s rights, are kept under strict surveillance and face disproportionate difficulties. Activists, HRDs, and journalists face systematic targeting through arbitrary detentions, judicial harassment, torture, and lengthy sentences, among other forms of reprisals, amid the continued abuse of the criminal and judicial system, with the courts used as a weapon to systematically silence dissent through vexatious lawsuits and the abuse of broad and vague provisions of the Islamic Penal Code and national security offences.
