Opinions & Features

Featured

Introducing CIVICUS Impact Stories: Understanding our contribution towards expanded civic and democratic space

Opinions & Features
A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS    Dear CIVICUS members and allies, In July 2022, CIVICUS started delivering on our revised strategic plan, focusing on one overachieving goal across the alliance: ‘to strengthen civil society and civic action for expanded civic and democratic space.
Featured

EU’S ‘Foreign agent law’ is misguided

Opinions & Features
By Tara Petrovic, leads research on Europe and Central Asia for the CIVICUS Monitor.
Featured

Civil Society Scores LGBTQI+ Rights Victory in Dominica

Opinions & Features
By Ines Pousadela,  CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

South Africa’s post-apartheid democracy is sustained by protest

Opinions & Features
By Safia Khan and Tarryn Booysen  On April 27, South Africa marks the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid, when we, South Africans, finally won the fight for all to be recognised as equal citizens.

The Climate Alarm Is Ringing – It’s Time to Stop Silencing It

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin The heat records keep tumbling – 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history.
Featured

Senegal’s Democracy Passes Crucial Test

Opinions & Features
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report The fact that Senegal’s election took place on 24 March was in itself a triumph for civil society.
Featured

Fixing the rules-based order: Start with the UN

Opinions & Features
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Officer - Evidence and Engagement at CIVICUS U.
Featured

Gender Rights: Resistance Against Regression

Opinions & Features
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

The criminalisation of climate activists must stop now

Opinions & Features
Andrew Firmin is the co-author of the State of Civil Society report and Editor-in-Chief at CIVICUS, where he leads research into climate activism around the world.

Strengthening Civic Space in Zambia: A Decade of Challenges and Collaborative Efforts

Opinions & Features
CIVICUS, in collaboration with our esteemed partners at the GEARS Initiative, recently convened civil society actors in Zambia to delve into the intricacies of citizen-led advocacy aimed at expanding civic freedoms through legislative and policy reform.
Featured

2024: A Big Year for Women and Democracy

Opinions & Features
By Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS  The year 2024 is a bumper election year.
Featured

International Women’s Day, 2024 Progress Hinges on Feminist Leadership

Opinions & Features
By Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS Investing in inclusion requires more than electing and initiating women leaders.
Featured

Greece: Another First for LGBTQI+ Rights

Opinions & Features
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report After almost two decades of civil society campaigning, Greece’s parliament has passed a law enabling same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.
Featured

Russia: Moments of Dissent after Two Years of War

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked its second anniversary on 24 February.
Featured

Pakistan’s Election Outcomes Leave Many Unhappy

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report Pakistan’s 8 February election has resulted in an uneasy compromise that few wanted or expected.
Featured

Myanmar’s Military Catastrophe: Three Years and Counting

Opinions & Features
The military must have expected an easier ride.
Featured

Serbia’s Suspicious Election

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

“Imagine if the Haitian revolutionaries had to write a proposal?”: Reflections from the Shift the Power Summit

Opinions & Features
By Taís Siqueira, Local Leadership lab Coordinator This quote represents what Shift the Power Summit was to me, a space to hear uncomfortable truths and to collectively reimagine solutions.
Featured

Civil Society Trends for 2025: Nine Global Challenges, One Reason for Hope

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin and Inés Pousadela It’s been a tumultuous year, and a tough one for struggles for human rights.
Featured

Guatemala’s Chance for a New Beginning

Opinions & Features
By Inés Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Iran, Back to the Grim Normal

Opinions & Features
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

CIVICUS at Festival de Datos: Advancing action on inclusive, timely, and accountable data processes

Opinions & Features
Julieta Zurbrigg, Civic Space Research Advisor Faith Pienaar, Impact and Accountability Officer In the dynamic realm of data innovation, global challenges call for timely and impactful solutions.
Featured

Bangladesh: Election with a Foregone Conclusion

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin,  CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Locally-led Development: Beyond Promises to Action

Opinions & Features
By Clara Bosco (CIVICUS), Anita Kattakuzhy (Movement for Community-Led Development (MCLD)) and Gunjan Veda (NEAR) Over the last couple of years, we have seen an unprecedented number of commitments by funders and philanthropists to support locally-led development, increase direct funding to local actors and promote a more enabling environment for civil society.
Featured

Sudan’s Conflict Needs Civil Society Solutions

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin,  CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Latvia: A Vital First Step Towards Marriage Equality

Opinions & Features
 By Inés M.
Featured

Reflecting on a Transformative Year and Priorities for the Future

Opinions & Features
A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS Dear CIVICUS members and allies, As we bid farewell to a remarkable year, I am inspired as we reflect on the growth of the CIVICUS Alliance.
Featured

Netherlands Latest Country to Tilt to the Right

Opinions & Features
By Andew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Argentina Plunges into the Unknown

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
Featured

Mauritius' court ruling shows southern Africa leads the way in LGBTQIA+ rights in Africa

Opinions & Features
By Sylvia Mbataru and Mawethu Nkosana The Mauritius decision is part of a wider trend of Southern African courts protecting LGBTQIA+ rights following sustained strategic litigation and advocacy by activists and civil society organisations.

Advocacy at African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, Tanzania

Opinions & Features
On the margins of the 77th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) held in Arusha, Tanzania, CIVICUS, through the Consortium for Human Rights and Media in Sub-Saharan Africa (CHARM) project hosted a side event on Environmental Rights and Human Rights Defenders in Africa on 21 October 2023.
Featured

Gaza: Immediate ceasefire needed

Opinions & Features
Long-term solutions must also be advanced to respect human rights By CIVICUS Staff An immediate ceasefire is needed to stop the slaughter of civilians in Gaza and enable full humanitarian access to supply the essentials a besieged population needs and is currently being denied.
Featured

UN's impact is hamstrung by scant civil society participation

Opinions & Features
Mandeep Tiwana, chief officer for evidence and engagement at CIVICUS and Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS Let’s not beat around the bush: this year’s United Nations General Assembly was a letdown.
Featured

Intergenerational Movement For Change: CIVICUS Uniting For A Just And Sustainable Future

Opinions & Features
By Secretary General, Lysa John and Chief Officer of Evidence and Engagement Mandeep Tiwana Defending people power and striving to promote excluded voices — this is the mission of CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world.
Featured

The UN’s Own Relevance Is at Stake at This Year’s General Assembly

Opinions & Features
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Officer for evidence and engagement + representative to the UN headquarters at CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance This September, world leaders and public policy advocates from around the world will descend on New York for the UN General Assembly.
Featured

Niger coup – military intervention by Ecowas could prove costly for human rights

Opinions & Features
By David Kode, CIVICUS' Advocacy and Campaigns Lead  Mohamed Bazoum’s ascension to the presidency in 2021 in a rare political transition was a major boost for Niger’s democracy.
Featured

Lessons from our work across 2017 to 2022 and implications for our current strategic action

Opinions & Features
  A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS    Dear CIVICUS members and allies At the close of our 2017-2022 Strategic Plan period, we committed to review the most significant outcomes achieved and lessons learnt from its implementation.
Featured

The Civic Space Crisis in Africa and How Civil Society Responds

Opinions & Features
Introduction The state of civic space globally and the environment for civil society continues to deteriorate.
Featured

Cloud Lingers over Sierra Leone’s Election

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Guatemala Clings to Democratic Promise

Opinions & Features
by Inés M.
Featured

MYANMAR: MILITARY JUNTA GETS A FREE PASS

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Climate Change Gets Its Day in Court

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
Featured

Thailand: Time for Democracy

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Chile: New Constitution in the Hands of the Far Right

Opinions & Features
By Inés Pousadela, Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Celebrating our #1 position on the FAIR SHARE of Women Leaders Monitor

Opinions & Features
Dear members and allies,  CIVICUS has just been recognised as the top-ranking organisation in the annual FAIR SHARE for Women Leaders Monitor.
Featured

Civil society in a world of crisis: An overview of the 2023 State of Civil Society Report

Opinions & Features
Mandeep S.
Featured

Agenda 2030: Why civic participation is key to meeting UN sustainability targets

Opinions & Features
Mandeep S.
Featured

Uzbekistan: A President for Life?

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin Where will you be in 2040? For Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the answer is: in the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace.

Localisation: A Paradigm Shift Towards Local Leadership in the Global South

Opinions & Features
By Deborah Mowesley, Innovation For Change InternIn recent years, words like “localisation” and “locally-led” have garnered significant attention.
Featured

Fiji: Deeper Democracy or Continuing Danger?

Opinions & Features
 It’s been a time of significant change in Fiji following the country’s December 2022 election.

Sign up for our newsletters

Our Newsletters

civicus logo white

CIVICUS is a global alliance that champions the power of civil society to create positive change.

brand x FacebookLogo YoutubeLogo InstagramLogo LinkedinLogo TikTokLogo BlueSkyLogo

Johannesburg Hub

25  Owl Street, 6th Floor

Johannesburg
South Africa
2092

Tel: +27 (0)11 833 5959


Fax: +27 (0)11 833 7997

UN Hub: New York

CIVICUS, c/o We Work

450 Lexington Ave

New York
NY
10017

United States

UN Hub: Geneva

11 Avenue de la Paix

Geneva

Switzerland
CH-1202

Tel: +41 (0)79 910 3428