CIVICUS’s 2026 State of Civil Society Report highlights how a dangerous convergence of authoritarian leaders, economic elites and tech oligarchs are tearing up the international rulebook to imperil democracy, peace and environmental sustainability.

As part of a human rights observation visit, the organizations visited several communities and interviewed human rights and environmental defenders, civil society organisations, public institutions and the international community.

Read the statement in Arabic The assassination of woman human rights defender Yanar Mohammed, a prominent Iraqi feminist and President of the Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), on 02 March 2026 in Baghdad, constitutes a grave attack against human rights defenders and against the struggle for women’s rights in Iraq.

  CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls for the immediate release of five Mother Nature Cambodia environmental rights defenders, who are now featured in its ‘Stand As My Witness’ campaign.

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office and independent civil society human rights organisations are struggling to survive.

OPEN LETTER To: Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar Federal Minister for Law and Justice & Human Rights S-Block, Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan Pakistan: Overturn conviction and release human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha Dear Minister, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is a global alliance of civil society organisations (CSOs) and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society worldwide.

CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the international community to step up and do more to resolve the human rights crisis in Myanmar as well as reject the sham election results.

Venezuela faces a new and complex political juncture.

CIVICUS remains deeply concerned about the outcome of the UN budget negotiations in New York.

CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, is seriously concerned over a decision by the Ugandan authorities to suspend the operations of five human rights organisations.

Following the illegal invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of its head of state by US forces on 3 January 2026, global civil society alliance CIVICUS urges respect for international law and the UN Charter.

Today, 28 December 2025, marks one year since the arrest of Egyptian–Turkish poet and opposition figure Abdulrahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi in Lebanon.

We Volunteer Activists and CIVICUS strongly condemn the arbitrary detention and reported ill-treatment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Iranian human rights defender Narges Mohammadi by Iranian authorities.

CIVICUS welcomes the release of Belarusian human rights defenders Ales Bialiatski and Uladzimir Labkovich, who were freed on 13 December 2025 as part of a broader release of 123 political prisoners by Belarusian authorities.

CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society worldwide, strongly condemns Niger’s decision to suspend hundreds of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the governments in eight countries in the Pacific to do more to respect civic freedoms and strengthen institutions to protect these rights.

We, the undersigned organisations, call for the immediate and unconditional release of human rights defender Khurram Parvez.

The International Civil Society Week (ICSW) which gathered over 1,000 civil society leaders from around the world called on governments and multilateral institutions to defend democracy and civic freedoms.

CIVICUS statement at the 85th  Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights     Agenda Item 3  – Human rights situation in Africa (with a special focus on Rapidly Closing Civic Space and Systemic Violations of the Human Rights) Delivered by Dr Paul Mulindwa, CIVICUS Global civil society alliance CIVICUS welcomes this opportunity to address the African Commission.

Foreign agents laws are proliferating, increasingly threatening the civil society worldwide, finds CIVICUS report ‘Cutting civil society’s lifeline: The global spread of foreign agent laws,’ released today.

Friday, 20 October 2025 – 29 October 2025 At CIVICUS, we believe in the fundamental importance of human rights and are dedicated to advancing the work of human rights defenders and protecting civic space.

Arabic We, the undersigned human rights organisations, strongly condemn the escalating crackdown by Moroccan authorities on peaceful protests, including minors and human rights defenders, which has now extended into a third day.

Free Buzurghmer Yorov and All Others Held for Exercising their Human Rights Tajikistan authorities have wrongfully imprisoned a human rights lawyer for 10 years for exercising his human rights, 12 organizations said today.

For Immediate Release September 24, 2025, New York, NY – Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly Friday, CIVICUS Secretary General Mandeep Tiwana issued the following: “Just one week after an independent UN Commission found that Israel has committed genocide, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being given the UN stage.

For Immediate Release Monday, September 23, New York, NY – Ahead of President Donald Trump's speech to the UN General Assembly today, Secretary General of CIVICUS, Mandeep Tiwana, said: “One of the greatest threats to peace and multilateralism today is the United States President.

  Read in Tamil CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to halt the continued harassment of activists and journalists and crackdown on protests.

Today, on the International Day of Democracy, CIVICUS underlines the critical importance of active citizen participation.

The undersigned human rights organisations are deeply concerned over the severe deterioration in the health of lawyer and human rights defender Hoda Abdel-Moneim, 66 years old, who has been in pretrial detention since 1st of November 2018.

As the United Nations (UN) marks 80 years, civil society continues to encounter significant obstacles to participation.

60th Session of UN Human Rights Council (8 September–8 October 2025) Overview Structural Challenges at the Human Rights Council Thematic Priorities Country-Specific Priorities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Overview As civic space continues to shrink globally, amid funding challenges and a UN liquidity crisis, the Human Rights Council remains a vital space for defending human rights and amplifying the voices of those most affected.

Indonesia has witnessed violent crackdowns on protests, with reports of arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment, unlawful killings, and digital attacks.

Positive steps taken by interim government to investigate protest violations and address enforced disappearances Lack of reforms related to NGO laws and protection for human rights defenders and journalists New cyber law ordinance still problematic and restrictive defamation provisions remain Police reforms stalled, controversial Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) remains untouched despite UN calls for disbandment CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, welcomes the positive steps taken by the interim government to respect and protect civic space since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime a year ago.

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, are deeply concerned about the ongoing systematic repression of Pamiri Indigenous Peoples in Tajikistan.

Volunteer Activists and CIVICUS call for an immediate end to violence in Iran, Israel, and the Middle East.

Arnon Nampa is a human rights lawyer and one of the founders of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), a leading human rights organisation.

The undersigned human rights organisations call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately end all forms of harassment or intimidation against human rights defender Mohamed Abdel Salam, Executive Director of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), in retaliation for his legitimate human rights work.

The 59th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council ran from 16 June to 9 July 2025, resulting in 25 Resolutions, one technical decision, and 14 Universal Period Review adoptions.

On the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Stand As My Witness campaign, global civil society alliance CIVICUS calls on governments around the world to immediately release all unjustly imprisoned human rights defenders.

  We, the signatory civil society organisations, are gravely concerned about United States of America (USA) sanctions imposed on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.

On the one-year anniversary of the arrest of five Mother Nature environmental defenders, CIVICUS expresses concern over their continued imprisonment and its implications for civic freedoms in Cambodia.

Over the past year, Kenya’s government has launched an all-out assault on civic space to crush dissent both online and in the streets in response to last June’s anti-Finance Bill protests, global civil society alliance CIVICUS said in a new research briefing today.

CIVICUS joins human rights organisations in calling on the Indian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Khurram Parvez and to end the persistent misuse of counter-terrorism laws to target civil society and suppress dissent.

  Summary Report: Roundtable on Democratic Decline and the Establishment of a UN Mandate on Democracy A roundtable convened by CIVICUS and Democracy Without Borders in collaboration with the Human Rights Foundation on the margins of the Oslo Freedom Forum (25–28 May 2025) brought together around twenty participants with experience in international civil society, intergovernmental organisations, academia, human rights monitoring mechanisms, and national governments.

59th Session of UN Human Rights Council (16 June to 11 July 2025) Overview Structural Issues Thematic Priorities Country-Specific Priorities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Overview As civic space continues to shrink globally, the Council remains a vital platform for defending human rights and raising the voices of those most affected.

Amid growing repression, a collective of civil society organisations call on El Salvador government to immediately and unconditionally release detained human rights defenders and protesters, repeal repressive legislation, and stop assault on civic space.

CIVICUS global civil society alliance urges the United States of America (USA) authorities to respect the constitutional right to peaceful protest.

CIVICUS global civil society alliance announced today the appointment of Mandeep Singh Tiwana as its new Secretary General (SG).

More than 70 civil society organisations—including CIVICUS—have sounded the alarm over Italy’s new Security Decree, warning it poses a serious threat to democracy amid a systemic deterioration of the rule of law.

From 2–22 May 2025, CIVICUS participated in the 83rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the preceding NGO Forum held in Banjul, The Gambia.

Washington D.