Johannesburg, South Africa, 31 July 2012: Global civil society network CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is pleased to announce the appointment of three new Board members: Antonella Valmorbida, from Italy, is the Director of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA), which has promoted local governance and citizens’ participation in Europe and neighbouring countries since 1999.

CIVICUS is a member and signatory to the INGO Accountability Charter.

Pakistan: government must protect civil society CIVICUS launches youth video contest Guest blog: caste based discrimination in Nepal The post-Rio climate - reflections from the Vitae Civilis Executive Director, Marcelo Cardoso The UN and the 21st Century Unilever's CEO strongly advocates for sustainable growth in government and business policies No arms for atrocities Read Online now | Subscribe to the e-CIVICUS here

English | French | Spanish ENGLISH -  CIVICUS is launching a video contest for youth aged 18-30 attending the CIVICUS Youth Assembly or the 2012 United Nations Alliance of Civilisations Summer School answering the following question: How would you like the CIVICUS World Assembly to help foster a new social contract that integrates intercultural and interfaith dialogue? The winner will receive a US$500 cash prize as well as having your video featured at the closing session of the Youth Assembly.

CIVICUS is deeply dismayed by the actions of the upper house of the Russian Parliament, the Federation Council, to pass a bill that stigmatises civil society groups which receive foreign funding.

SOUTH AFRICA FORUM FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY (SAFIS) STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY, 18 JULY 2012 South Africa Forum for International Solidarity (SAFIS) takes the occasion of Mandela Day 2012 to remind our government, politicians of all parties, religious and community leaders that the South Africa we fought for and envisaged through our 1994 democratic transition was one where tolerance of difference and equality of all was fundamental to the transformation of the country from its racist, patriarchal past.

CIVICUS' latest two interventions in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process of the UN Human Rights Council, which reviews countries' human rights progress, address the status of civil society freedoms in Israel and Serbia.

Belarus and Eritrea resolutions an important step towards accountability Civil society behind bars: take action for imprisoned Bahrain activist Nabeel Rajab Partnering for the future of development - remarks from CIVICUS Acting SG Katsuji Imata at the UN Development Cooperation Forum International community must act against latest curbs on free speech in Ethiopia The Rio+20 summit and its follow up UNICEF and UN Women call for papers: addressing inequalities in the post-2015 development agenda UN media interview with Jeffery Huffines, UN CIVICUS Representative, on the NGO Major Group’s reactions to the Rio+20 Outcome Document World Assembly blog: 20 días después de Rio+20: el Futuro que queremos Kyrgyzstan: UN human rights chief calls attention to corruption, discrimination and rights deficiencies Read Online now | Subscribe to the e-CIVICUS here

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is disappointed and shocked that the Russian Duma has approved a law requiring organisations that receive international funding to label themselves as "foreign agents," opening them up to excessive government oversight.

As nongovernmental organizations working to promote human rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council, we are deeply concerned by the recent decision of the African Group in New York to endorse the candidacies of Sudan and Ethiopia in the upcoming UN General Assembly elections for membership in the Human Rights Council within a closed slate that does not allow for a competitive vote.

Joint Submission by CIVICUS and Ligue des Droits de la personne dans la région des Grandes Lacs to the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR), 15th Session of the UPR Working Group, submitted 9 July 2012 Joint Submission by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, NGO in General Consultative Status with ECOSOC And Ligue des Droits de la personne dans la région des Grandes Lacs

    Forging ahead: partnering for the future of development ( ECOSOC High-level Segment 2012) - Katsuji Imata, CIVICUS' acting Secretary General

Interactive debate:  Forging ahead: partnering for the future of development, Friday 6 July 2012 Moderator: Bruce Jones, Director, Centre on International Cooperation, New York University Panellists: HE Kim Bong-hyun, Deputy Minister of Multilateral and Global Affairs, Republic of KoreaRogelio Granguillhome, Executive Director of the Mexican Agency for International Development CooperationKatsuji Imata, Acting Secretary-General, CIVICUSTalaat Abdel Malek, Co-Chair, OECD/DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness andEconomic Adviser to the Minister of International Co-operation, Egypt

July 2012 CIVICUS is deeply concerned about the compatibility of Ethiopia’s draft Telecom Fraud Offenses Proclamation with internationally guaranteed human rights standards.

Russia's Parliament -the Duma- will consider amendments to laws governing NGOs on 13 July.

No more global musty gatherings: World Assembly blog Activists who spoke at People’s Summit found killed UN senior officials highlight Rio+20 achievements Poorer countries seek assurances on technology transfer after Rio+20 CIVICUS World Assembly: Early Bird registration extended! 2012 Millennium Development Goals Report Yemen: Enduring Conflicts, Threatened Transition Read Online now | Subscribe to the e-CIVICUS here

Государственная Дума Российской Федерации рассмотрит поправки к законам об НКО 13 июля.

Become a CIVICUS citizen - join us for only US$5 Ethiopian blogger found guilty of ‘terrorism’ Call for clips for a new civil society video Enhancing the capacity of human rights defenders to monitor public policy and respond to threats in West Africa Another setback for freedom of assembly hits Russia CIVICUS expresses concern about civil society rights in Bahrain and Belarus at UN Human Rights Council Rio+20: civil society analysis and reflections A completely transformed Youth Assembly New analysis of participatory citizenship in Europe Read Online now | Subscribe to the e-CIVICUS here

With freedom of expression, association and assembly under attack in many countries in West Africa, experience suggests a greater need in response for intervention at the early stages of the drafting process of restrictive laws, policies or moves to introduce restrictive practices.

CIVICUS has engaged with IRIBA on a project to create a short advertising spot to be launched at the 2012 CIVICUS World Assembly in September and featured at other external events, on the CIVICUS website, promoted on our social networks and shared with our members and partners.

UPDATE Eskinder Nega was found guilty of encouraging "terrorist" acts and conspiring with rebels in Ethiopia's High Court on 27 June.

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Cirizen Participation have written an open letter to the Commonwealth secretary-general on their concerns about Uganda's treatment of human rights defenders.

Disappointment and frustration abound in Rio Wanted: a new CIVICUS Secretary General Final weekly webinar: cultural activists, the champions of social change CIVICUS statement to UN Human Rights Council Network profile: Nigeria Network of NGOs NGO Major Group Statement delivered to Rio+20 Rio's roadmap falls flat, civil society groups say CIVICUS expresses NGO Group disappointment in UN interview The Future We Don’t Want Read Online now | Subscribe to the e-CIVICUS here

Chers collègues, Il ya seulement 4 jours pour participer à la consultation en ligne de CIVICUS, de sorte que vous pouvez apporter votre contribution à laquelle vous pensez devrait être le travail de l'alliance dans les 5 prochaines années! Si vous n'avez pas répondu à l'enquête, s'il vous plaît faites-le maintenant! Alors ne manquez pas l'occasion de faire partie de CIVICUS Orientations stratégiques 2013-2017.

Tell us what CIVICUS should work on in the next five years! CIVICUS World Assembly 2012: an action-packed programme! ‘The main issue is equality of opportunities’: Rio+20 interview with Sabina Anoye-Mensah, Voice of African Mothers CIVICUS at the Cape Town Book Fair Next weekly webinar: amplifying marginalised and muted voices, 20 June Bangladesh: civil society under attack as dissent is silenced Read Online now | Subscribe to the e-CIVICUS here

CIVICUS is co-organising two events during the 20th session of the UN Human Rights Council, being held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 18 June to 6 July: 21 June – Ethiopia’s stifled civil society 22 June – Freedom of assembly and association – countering persecution and pushback on civil society

A virtual consultation hosted by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation Wednesday 20 June 2012 at 1pm UTC/GMT The work of organised civil society can sometimes reinforce existing paradigms of power and exclusion.

Spanish | French          Dear colleague CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation needs your voice so that we can together shape an inclusive and ambitious global civil society agenda for the next five years.

Urgent action: safety of Nabeel Rajab must be ensured Coming of age in Rio? Uzbekistan: allow independent experts access to prevent persecution, say CIVICUS and Expert Working Group Increased support needed for civil society in Azerbaijan after Eurovision contest World Assembly blog: building partnerships: beyond buzzwords CIVICUS UN Representative Jeffery Huffines represents NGO Major Group at Major Groups press conference CIVICUS Board Member Rajiv Joshi moderates UN press conference on Sustainable Development Goals Youth Blast: an opportunity for young people to participate in the Rio+20 action Presentation: launch of special issue of the Journal of Economic Inequality: ‘Measuring Poverty Over Time', 14 June 2012 Bahrain: released activists urge end to crackdown Read Online now | Subscribe to the e-CIVICUS here

Chers collègues, CIVICUS l’alliance Mondiale pour la Participation Citoyenne, sollicite tes idées et tes connaissances afin de construire tous ensemble une société mieux intégrée et élaborer un agenda ambitieux pour la société civile internationale dans les 5 prochaines années.

Estimad@ coleg@ CIVICUS: Alianza Mundial para la Participación Ciudadana necesita tus ideas y conocimiento para que todos juntos podamos construir una sociedad mas inclusiva y una agenda ambiciosa para la sociedad civil mundial para los próximos cinco años.

This Rio+20 side event, to be held on 14 June, is the third in a series that will examine the representation, participation and accountability of civil society and Major Groups in informing, monitoring and implementing intergovernmental policy-making in a reformed institutional framework for sustainable development that embraces multi-level governance.

Current events in Quebec, Canada where a law has recently been introduced in an attempt to limit long-running student protests, offer a reminder that the challenges of state pushback against protest, as documented extensively by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation in its recent report, the State of Civil Society 2011, are not limited to developing countries and those without elected governments.

A virtual consultation hosted by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation Wednesday 13 June, 2012 at 1 pm UTC/GMT In an era marked by increasing inequality, economic contraction or jobless growth and high youth unemployment, the fallout of the economic crisis has placed the issue of social protection high on national and global agendas.

CIVICUS is appalled by this new chapter of killings in El-Houleh, including of 49 innocent children, and by the overall deteriorating human rights situation in Syria.

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is a global movement of civil society with members and partners in over 100 countries.

A virtual consultation hosted by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Wednesday 6 June 2012 at 1 pm UTC/GMT Social media and mobile technology have served as catalysts for offline activism and vehicles for new forms of online activism.

CIVICUS is extremely pleased that Nabeel Rajab was released on bail on 28 May 2012.

CIVICUS delivers Major Group statement on Rio+20 'My message to civil society is that you are vitally needed': interview with Nikhil Seth, Head of the Rio+20 Secretariat CIVICUS global consultations - new dates confirmed Weekly webinar: Finding common ground - a global civil society alliance and faith based civil society, Wednesday 30 May Hockey federation turns blind eye to human rights by confirming 2014 championships in Belarus Brazil lowers exorbitant hotel costs for delegates going to Rio+20 UNESCO-MOST Conference 2012: Labour Rights as Human Rights? Migration, Labour Market Restructuring, and the Role of Civil Society in Global Governance, Sweden, 30 May to 1 June 2012 New study on aid transparency and climate finance Azerbaijan: authorities violently disperse peaceful rallies Read Online now | Subscribe to the e-CIVICUS here

A statement of the nine Major Groups involved in the Rio+20 sustainable development process was delivered to a special session of the UN General Assembly this week by CIVICUS’ UN New York representative, Jeffrey Huffines.

Register Now! Faith-based CSOs have the potential to harness the energy and passion of people of faith and access large pockets of social capital.

The 2012 CIVICUS World Assembly programme is now available.

La serie de consultas globales de la alianza CIVICUS, están llegan a tu región.

A serie de consultas globais da CIVICUS está chegando a uma localidade perto de você.

Portuguese  | Spanish    The CIVICUS alliance's series of global consultations is coming to a locale near you.

Eight human rights organisations in the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland are deeply disappointed that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has confirmed at its general assembly in Helsinki that the Republic of Belarus will host the 2014 IIHF World Championship.

A virtual consultation hosted by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Wednesday 23 May, 2012 at 1 pm UTC/GMT The global economic crisis has been a devastating blow for many civil society organisations.

“CIVICUS has directly contributed to freedom of expression and citizen participation in Yemen”- Yemen Portal In January 2011 the Yemeni people rose up and demanded change, calling for an end to Ali Abdullah Saleh’s dictatorship and the establishment of a democratic state.

CIVICUS has called on the Ethiopian Government to ensure that its land investment policy does not undermine the rights of small-scale agriculturalists to an adequate standard of living including access to adequate food.

24 April 2012, Johannesburg.