The Digital Security Act was passed despite protests from civil society and journalists DSA  incorporates other legislation that has been systematically used to silence dissent New law comes amid a growing, brutal crackdown on peaceful protests and dissent  

Global civil society alliance condemns ongoing violations of freedom of assembly At least two protesters shot, several injured in police attacks on marches Hundreds of thousands of workers staged three days of protests Violent police action against peaceful protests comes on eve of controversial elections Global human rights groups have condemned the violent repression of peaceful protests in eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) as part of a long-running pattern of fundamental rights violations in the southern African kingdom.

Attacks on opposition and media continue as elections approach in #Maldiveshttps://t.

The CIVICUS Board of Directors is pleased to announce that following an extensive international search and selection process, Lysa John will be joining CIVICUS as the new Secretary General (SG) of the alliance.

Peaceful activists and campesinos of the “Movimiento Rios Vivos” were unlawfully obstructed by police in Ituango, Colombia on 8 September 2018 as they participated in the global “Rise for Climate” mobilisation.

Bangladesh: Release and drop all charges against all those arbitrarily arrested and investigate police abuse Global civil society alliance CIVICUS is calling for your support and solidarity to demand the release of students and protesters who were arrested and charged over the last month in Bangladesh.

#Malaysia: Senate’s rejection of bill abolishing fake news law a step backwards for the new government says @CIVICUSalliance & @article19org https://t.

Vietnam arbitrarily detains and deports global human rights leader attending regional summit Senior Amnesty International official also denied entry to attend World Economic Forum meeting Barred entry of activists comes amid widespread repression of human rights in Vietnam CIVICUS condemns actions, calls for end to harassment, intimidation, imprisonment of activists Global human rights groups have condemned Vietnam’s arbitrary detention and deportation of a Malaysian human rights leader who had arrived in the country to attend a regional World Economic Forum (WEF) summit.

The passing of the so called “cybercrime law” is another worrisome development for citizens in Egypt, adding another layer to the already repressive freedom of expression situation in the county.

Three campesino environmental activists mistreated in detention, awaiting trial UN report confirms continued targeting of campesino leaders by government UN staff expelled from Nicaragua after UN report on protesters’ rights abuses More than 320 people killed since violent crackdown on protests began in April Global rights groups urge authorities to drop all charges, release campesino leaders

Over 200 civil society groups have issued a joint letter calling on governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to sign the Escazu Agreement & commit to respect people’s right to participate in environmental decisions! https://t.

Global civil society alliance, CIVICUS, believes the conviction of two journalists employed by global news agency, Reuters, who have been on trial in Myanmar is a dark day for press freedom in Myanmar.

Paris-Geneva-Manama- For the second time since 2013, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has issued an Opinion regarding the legality of the detention of Mr.

New #civicspace watchlist - Six countries to keep an eye on: https://t.

Cambodian authorities should immediately drop politically motivated bribery charges against five human rights defenders known as the ADHOC 5 (“FreeThe5KH” in social media campaigns), five international organizations said today.

JOHANNESBURG: Shocking scenes have emerged from Uganda where police and the military have used live ammunition and extreme violence to disperse protestors demanding the release of detained members of parliament and activists following days of political unrest in further signs of growing political intolerance against dissenting voices.

Land activist and human rights defender Tep Vanny has been unjustly detained for two years, for defending the rights of the Boeung Kak Lake community and her fellow Cambodians.

What do a Liberian rapper, an Indian journalism graduate and a young Angolan author have in common?  They are all winners of a global contest that encourages young creatives to imagine the kind of democracy they would like to live in.

To the President of Bangladesh, H.

A global human rights group has called for police and ruling party supporters to be held accountable for their violent responses to peaceful student protests in Bangladesh.

JOHANNESBURG: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) should urge Zimbabwean authorities to show restraint and respect of the rule of law in the wake of a violent crackdown on post-election protests.

Four years after the disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan, the criminal court has acquitted two suspects on trial for abducting him.

A Malaysian court has acquitted three government critics charged under the draconian Sedition Act A renown political cartoonist, a human rights lawyer and a parliamentarian were on trial for criticism of the government and judiciary’s political-motivated prosecution of former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim CIVICUS calls for sedition charges against others for their activism, to be dropped The government must also repeal the Sedition Act ahead of the UN human rights review in November

CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance and its partners Asia Democracy Network (ADN), Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Forum Asia, Instituto de Comunicación y Desarrollo (ICD), West African Human Rights Defenders Network, Experts for Security and Global Affairs Association, Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN),  European Civic Forum (ECF) and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) call on the Singapore government to drop contempt charges against human rights activist, Jolovan Wham for his comments on social media criticising the judiciary.

Legitimacy of upcoming #Cambodia elections questioned as Hun Sen has narrowed democratic space by cracking down on opposition & journalists & attempting to silence #civilsociety https://t.

CIVICUS & @karapatan call for immediate & unconditional release of all detained #humanrights defenders & development workers, & for authorities to investigate & prosecute police & military members responsible for this gross abuse of power https://t.

Re-Imagining Democracy: in search of silenced voices   Call for Submissions Johannesburg, 3 July 2018 – What does democracy mean to you? How are youth in your community putting democracy into action? What do you see as threats to democracy today? What does your ideal democracy look like? ‘Through Arts and Imagination’ is a global contest seeking bold and original creative arts submissions – music, poetry, art, multimedia – that present youth perspectives on Re-imagining Democracy.

Re-imaginar la democracia: en busca de voces silenciadas   Convocatoria Johannesburgo, 3 de julio de 2018 - ¿Qué significa para ti la democracia? ¿Cómo están poniendo en práctica la democracia los jóvenes en tu comunidad? ¿Qué consideras que supone una amenaza a la democracia de hoy en día? ¿Cómo es tu democracia ideal?  'Through Arts and Imagination' es un concurso internacional que busca recoger piezas artísticas, originales y creativas, de música, poesía, arte y/o multimedia, en las que se muestre el punto de vista de la juventud en torno al tema Re-imaginar la democracia.

Ré-imaginer la démocratie: à la recherche de voix réduites au silence   Appel Johannesburg, 3 juillet 2018 - Que signifie la démocratie pour vous? Comment les jeunes mettent-ils la démocratie en pratique dans votre communauté? Que considérez-vous comme une menace pour la démocratie aujourd'hui? Comment est votre démocratie idéale?  'Through Arts and Imagination' est un concours international qui vise à collecter des morceaux artistiques, originaux et créatifs de musique, de poésie, d'art et/ou de multimédia, dans lesquels le point de vue de la jeunesse est présenté autour du thème Ré-imaginer la démocratie.

It is with a mix of sadness and appreciation that the CIVICUS Board of Directors announces that Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah will be stepping down from his role as Secretary General at the end of 2018.

A new proposed policy by the government of Nepal would further curtail the work of international and national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the country by tightening the state’s control over them.

President Muhammadu Buhari Aso Villa, Yakubu Gowon Crescent,  The Three Arms Zone, Asokoro,  Abuja, FTC, Nigeria Dear President Muhammadu Buhari, We at the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit organization that champions press freedom internationally, and 18 other organizations, are writing to call for the release of journalist Jones Abiri, who has been held by Nigeria's Department of State Security (DSS) for nearly two years, and to call for DSS to be held accountable for its attacks against journalists in Nigeria.

Following the announcement of the United States withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), a number of civil society organisations with offices in Geneva, the headquarters of UNHRC, offer their opinions on the resulting impact on the work of the Human Rights Council.

See who SCORES the highest #civicspace rating amongst the 32 countries competing in the #WorldCup: https://t.

One month after a horrific massacre of protesters in the occupied Palestinian territory, global civil society alliance, CIVICUS is urging accountability for the unacceptably high levels of lethal violence employed by Israeli security forces against demonstrations.

Inglés CIVICUS y @CoordinadoraCC exigen al presidente de #Nicaragua el cese inmediato de la violencia contra las protestas pacíficas que se están desarrollando en el país desde el pasado mes de abril.

5 June 2018 Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha Government House Pitsanulok Road, Dusit Bangkok 10300, Thailand   Re: Concerns regarding arrest and prosecution of peaceful protesters Dear Prime Minister, We are writing to you with regards to the recent arrest and charging of pro-democracy activists for their participation in a peaceful protest in Bangkok on 22 May 2018, the fourth anniversary of the military coup in Thailand.

To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland Excellencies, Ahead of the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council (“HRC” or “the Coun­cil”), we write to you as a cross-re­gional group of non-governmental organizations to share our serious concerns over the sys­te­ma­tic, wide­spread and gross human rights violations that continue to be committed with impu­nity in Eritrea.

#Niger: This 25 May marks two months in detention of 26 activists and civil society members https://t.

French | Spanish The upcoming CIVICUS State of Civil Society Report, to be published in September 2018, will focus on the special theme of ‘Reimagining Democracy’.

In the lead up to the 14th general elections in Malaysia on 9 May, CIVICUS interviewed the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.

Spanish STATEMENT / More than 300 national and international NGOs condemn the violent repression of the demonstrations held in Nicaragua against the #INSS reforms: https://t.

Conditions for human rights defenders and journalists in Bangladesh are dire, and appear to be worsening according to the CIVICUS Monitor.

The sentencing of the six activists yesterday for peacefully expressing their opinions, illustrates the Vietnam authorities’ utter contempt for freedom of expression, said global civil society alliance, CIVICUS.

In a letter to the Ethiopian Prime Minister-designate, a coalition of over 40 civil society organisations express their concern regarding the recent arrests of journalists and human rights defenders State of emergency in #Ethiopia: 11 journalists & human rights defenders arrested as new Prime Minister appointed.

Civil society response to the Zero Draft of the UN´s Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration  There are over a quarter billion migrants and refugees in the world.

At the conclusion of International Civil Society Week 2017 (ICSW) on December 7th, more than 700 civil society leaders and activists from over 100 countries have called for climate change to be formally recognised as a primary driver of migration.

By Frances Eve, Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) and Cathal Gilbert, World Alliance for Citizen Participation, CIVICUS From 3-5 September, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met at the ninth BRICS summit.

Arabic | KurdishWe, the undersigned civil society organisations, commemorate the victims of enforced disappearances in Syria and support their families, urging the international community to support their demand to ensure justice, truth and reparation and the immediate release of all those enforcedly held in secret detention.

Español  BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Enabling Environment National Assessment (EENA), developed by CIVICUS and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), is a participatory, civil society-led and action-oriented research methodology.