Ahead of the 28th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UN HRC), 11 human rights organisations are calling upon the intergovernmental body to address Azerbaijan's rapidly deteriorating environment for human rights defenders (HRDs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and independent media.

Since International Civil Society Week (2014) was such a big success with more than 40 partner-led workshops and more than 630 inspired participants, CIVICUS is excited to continue the conference's legacy by convening the next International Civil Society Week (2016) in Latin America.

Interview with Mireille Delmas-Marty, Emeritus Professor at Collège de France This interview seeks to comment on the innovating potential of local democratic practices presented in the CIVICUS- FACTS Report on “Stories of Innovative Democracy at Local Level: Enhancing Participation, Activism and Social Change Across the World".

Joint Brief by CIVICUS and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP)   21 January 2015 - Ahead of Kenya’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council tomorrow, CIVICUS and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) urge the government to stop its onslaught against civil society and urgently address backsliding on civic freedoms.

15 January 2015 – This week, 16 human rights organisations have written to 47 States to express grave concern ahead of a 20 January verdict in the trial of Nabeel Rajab, a prominent Bahraini human rights defender.

Almost a billion lives hang in the balance at crucial summits in New York & Paris Famous names back one of the biggest campaigns ever launched New figures show poverty could increase for the first time in a generation According to new research, almost a billion extra people face a life of extreme poverty if leaders duck key decisions on poverty, inequality and climate change due to be taken at two crucial summits in New York and Paris later this year, with billions more continuing to face a life of hardship.

5 December 2014: Global civil society alliance, CIVICUS, is dismayed over the politically motivated sentences handed down this week to Bahraini human rights activists Maryam al-Khawaja and Zainab al-Khawaja.

4 December 2014: In response to the UN Secretary General's highly anticipated post-2015 synthesis report 'The road to dignity by 2030: ending poverty, transforming all lives and protecting the planet', CIVICUS issued the following statement: 

On 22 November 2014, Bahrain’s citizens will be called to cast their votes for legislative and municipal elections.

The upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Egypt on 5 November 2014 comes at a critical time for human rights, freedoms and independent Egyptian civil society, including rights defenders and democracy activists.

20 October 2014.

9 October 2014.

Pro-democracy protests continue in Hong Kong as protesters remain steadfast in their calls for fair and transparent elections of the Chief Executive and for China to stop meddling in the political affairs and electoral processes.

BACKGROUND INFORMATIONThe legal, regulatory, and policy environment in which Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) operate is key to their ability to register, operate, access resources, and effectively engage in advocacy, all of which are key to civil society’s ability to flourish and be successful.

"We write to you as the Post-2015 Human Rights Caucus, a cross-constituency coalition of development, environment, trade union, feminist and human rights organizations worldwide.

CIVICUS and a number of national and international civil society groups have urged the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to ensure that the Government of Sri Lanka upholds Commonwealth values on democracy and human rights.

Arabic Verdict Scheduled in Charges Before Anti-Terrorism Court Geneva, September 5, 2014.

The representatives of international human rights organisations write to urge the Bahrain government to comply with its international treaty obligations to provide victims of torture with physical and psychological rehabilitation.

20 August 2014.

14 August 2014.

31 July 2014 – Global civil society alliance, CIVICUS is shocked over moves in Sri Lanka to stifle civil society and muzzle democratic freedoms, particularly the rights to freely express, associate and assemble.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn  Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia  Office of the Prime Minister  P.

16 July 2014, London – A group of 29 NGOs have sent a letter to the newly appointed Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Phillip Hammond, urging a shift in UK policy towards the situation in Bahrain.

We, the undersigned civil society organizations from Brazil, India and South Africa, call upon our governments to ensure that the Fortaleza Declaration addresses the following issues: 1) the Syrian crisis and the urgent need to secure greater humanitarian aid; 2) the Implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT); and 3) the role of civil society in BRICS agenda setting.

Today, 26 June 2014, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) and CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance,  condemn the Royal Government of Cambodia’s (the “RGC”) decision to reject key recommendations on the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Cambodia put forward  by United Nations member States during Cambodia’s 2nd Universal Periodic Review (the “UPR”).

Danny Sriskandarajah , Director-General of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, joins Breaking Views with UNICEF to talk about the role of civil society in Africa, social engagement, social challenges and the impact communities can have in the world.

Introducing two new practical guides for good advocacyThursday 12 June 2014Webinar [in English]: 10am (EDT- New York) / 3pm (BST- London)           Webinar [in French]: 10am (CEST- Central Europe) / 10am (CAT- Central Africa) Thursday 19 June 2014Webinar [in Spanish]: 4pm UTC+2 SD2015 has produced an Advocacy Toolkit and Media Guide for civil society and other stakeholder organisations, coalitions and individuals that want to influence the post-2015 development agenda, including the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

26 May 2014.

The University of Waterloo is pleased to announce that it has signed a five-year partnership agreement with CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s authoritarian rule in Belarus, the “last dictatorship of Europe.

"CIVICUS, an international movement dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world, expresses its appreciation for this opportunity to address the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights during the 55th Ordinary Session.

Dear CIVICUS friends,As Chair of the CIVICUS Board of Directors, I am delighted to share with you some results of our Board of Directors meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey at the end of March, 2014.

I am looking forward to joining some 100-odd civil society colleagues in Mexico City next week to attend the first High Level Meeting of the Global Partnership on Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC).

CIVICUS and the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA) express shock at the continued harassment and re-arrest of Swazi journalist Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko.

The undersigned civil society organizations express their serious concern for the health and well-being of imprisoned Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.

By Danny Sriskandarajah There is a new weapon of choice for governments that want to undermine bits of civil society that irritate them - restricting funding from foreign sources.

Geneva, Switzerland – The government of Syria should immediately and unconditionally release the arbitrarily detained human rights defender Mazen Darwish and his colleagues Hani Al-Zitani and Hussein Ghareer, 61 human rights organizations said today.

CIVICUS is supporting a new campaign  to raise awareness about the ongoing crisis in Syria.

By Danny Sriskandarajah Last weekend, I took part in two back-to-back meetings in Istanbul on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

Member organizations of Foro por la Vida, together with other Venezuelan organizations, have made the following statement in light of events in the country.

CIVICUS and the World Movement for Democracy (WMD) have submitted a written statement to the 25th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (3 – 28 March 2014).

February 14, 2014 Ethiopia’s renewed push for admission to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) should be closely scrutinized due to the limited role Ethiopia has granted to civil society and a hostile legal environment that minimizes meaningful debate, Freedom House and Civicus World Alliance for Citizen Participation said.

CIVICUS is currently in the process of developing the content for our flagship State of Civil Society Report.

As part of our regular interview series, CIVICUS speaks to Mauricio Alarcón-Salvador about threats to human rights activists and NGOs in Ecuador.

French | Spanish     CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is pleased to announce the selection of 8 convening partners to conduct local multi-stakeholder dialogues between January and June 2014, as part of its action-based research project, the New Social Contract.

Global Update by the Civic Space Initiative  As he concluded his official visit to Rwanda, the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association Maina Kiai urged the government of Rwanda to lift restrictions on peaceful assembly and association.

4th February 2014 The Government of Eritrea should accept recommendations to cooperate fully with the United Nations human rights system, said Human Rights Concern-Eritrea, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, following its examination at the Universal Periodic Review yesterday.

27 January 2014.

22 January 2013  The annual gathering of world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos lacks any meaningful citizen engagement and is a shameful reinforcement of the status quo it purports to change, says the global civil society alliance, CIVICUS.

21 January 2013 To the political and business leaders gathering at the World Economic Forum in Davos  As representatives of civil society organisations attending the World Economic Forum, we are writing to urge you to ensure that the following issues of critical global importance are central to discussions at the forum and that, as per its stated purpose, the forum helps to deliver the insights, initiatives and actions necessary to respond to them Securing a safer world: As the forum takes place thousands of innocent people in Syria, including many children, continue to die.