News

Mandela Day: CIVICUS calls on the public to spend 67 minutes standing with jailed human rights defenders

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Johannesburg, South Africa — As the world marks Nelson Mandela Day, CIVICUS is calling on people everywhere to dedicate 67 minutes to solidarity and action for imprisoned human rights defenders through the #StandAsMyWitness campaign.

Joint Global Call for the Protection and Release of Unjustly Imprisoned Human Rights Defenders

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We, the undersigned organisations and partners from around the world, reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with human rights defenders (HRDs) who continue to face judicial harassment, arbitrary detention, and persecution for their peaceful human rights work.

United States: Texas Federal judges' sentence against ICE protestors a brutal assault on First Amendment rights

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A justice system turned upside down: protesters face decades-long sentences while an agent who killed Renée Good, an unarmed female activist, walks free.
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United States: End attacks on anti-ICE protesters and civic freedoms activists

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As federal agents raid anti-ICE protesters and a voting rights group and the administration targets critics, CIVICUS warns of an increasing assault on US civic space.
A Public Call to end Khurram Parvez’ arbitrary detention
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A Public Call to end Khurram Parvez’ arbitrary detention

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On his 49th birthday, his fifth while arbitrarily detained, we, the undersigned organisations and individuals, stand in solidarity with human rights defender Khurram Parvez.

Indonesia: Deliver justice for attack on activist by armed forces

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CIVICUS condemns the inadequate and unjust sentences by the military for the acid attack on human rights defender Andrie Yunus.

Civil organizations demand transparency and citizen participation in the election of Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice

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The partial renewal of justices of the Supreme Court of Justice and other senior positions in the Judicial Branch is taking place in a context of serious questions about judicial independence in Venezuela.

Turning Locally-Led Development into Action

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By Trisha Alexis De Leon Recent global crises have magnified the gaps in the global development architecture—deficits which especially impacted under-represented and marginalised communities, reflecting the power imbalances and colonial biases that continue to shape whose knowledge, leadership, and solutions are valued.
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Hong Kong: Civic space remains ‘closed’ as security laws used to repress all forms of dissent

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CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the Hong Kong government to halt the continued use of security laws to target activism and create a chilling effect in the territory.

Cambodia: Overturn the conviction of the Mother Nature environmental defenders

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CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, along with the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and Front Line Defenders calls on the appeals court to overturn the conviction of five Mother Nature Cambodia environmental defenders.

Egypt: Rights Groups Call for the Release of Filmmaker Omar Salah Marei and Immediate Access to Medical Care

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Read in Arabic We, the undersigned organisations, strongly condemn the continued detention of Egyptian filmmaker and screenwriter Omar Salah Marei.

78 Years Since the Nakba: Ongoing Displacement, Denied Return, and Enduring Resistance

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Today we mark the Nakba, the ‘catastrophe’, and remember the more than 750,000 Palestinians forcibly expelled from their homeland in 1948, some 530 villages destroyed and the families forced to live in an exile that has never ended.

Mexico:The recent closure of the federal cases against human rights defender Kenia Hernández opens an opportunity to deliver justice and secure her release

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The undersigned organisations call for a solution for the imprisonment of Kenia Inés Hernández Montalván, an amuzga indigenous woman and human rights defender who has been detained since October 2020.

CIVICUS at the 87th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

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The 87th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) will be held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 11 to 20 May.

IRAN: Release Narges Mohammadi and Provide Urgent Cardiac Care

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CIVICUS global civil society alliance calls for the immediate release and urgent medical care for Iranian woman human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.

BAHRAIN: Civil society urges world leaders to act against citizenship stripping and related human rights violations

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Arabic Dismayed by the Government of Bahrain’s (GoB) continued violations of its international human rights obligations, on 1 May 2026, 12 human rights organisations appealed directly to the UN, the European Union, and the UK government to take action to address citizenship stripping and related abuses.

Andrea Bolaños Vargas appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders by the UN Human Rights Council

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CIVICUS welcomes the appointment of Andrea Bolaños Vargas as the new UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

Bahrain: Call to Release Political Prisoners and End Prison Abuses

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The undersigned organisations urge the European Union and other regional bodies and agencies to address the human rights situation in Bahrain, in particular the ongoing crackdown on protests, incidents of torture and the inadequate provision of medical care for political detainees.

Global Civil Society Calls for Ending Violence and Protecting Civilians in the Middle East

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  A coalition of 342 civil society organisations calls on all parties to immediately cease attacks on civilians in the Middle East and uphold international law.
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Pakistan: Civic space situation has regressed two years since the elections

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CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, calls on the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government to halt the continued harassment of activists and journalists and crackdown on protests.
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CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist: March 2026

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  The March 2026 Watchlist from the CIVICUS Monitor highlights five countries where civic freedoms are deteriorating at an alarming pace: Ecuador, Georgia, Iran, the Philippines and Benin.

Civil society organizations raise concerns about the lack of transparency and public participation in the appointment of the heads of the Attorney General’s Office and the Ombudsperson’s Office in Venezuela

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The process for appointing the top officials of the Attorney General’s Office and the Ombudsperson’s Office in Venezuela has raised concerns due to the lack of transparency and public participation, which are essential safeguards for appointing independent, qualified, and ethical individuals to key positions that ensure access to justice and the protection of human rights.

Belarus Releases Viasna Human Rights Defenders Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovich

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  The global civil society alliance CIVICUS welcomes the release of Belarusian human rights defenders Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovich, featured in its Stand As My Witness Campaign, following the Belarusian authorities’ decision to free 250 political prisoners in exchange for sanctions relief.

Pakistan: Release human rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch

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CIVICUS calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Pakistani human rights defender Dr.

Indonesia: Investigate attack on human rights defender Andrie Yunus

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  To: General Listyo Sigit Prabowo  Chief of Indonesian National Police Indonesian National Police Headquarter  Jl.

Joint Call for the Immediate Release of Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace

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CIVICUS joins 17 organisations in calling for the release of human rights defenders, Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace.

Bangladesh: New Prime Minister must address human rights challenges

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Nine civil society groups including CIVICUS have written a letter to Bangladesh’s prime minister, Tarique Rahman, who was elected in February 2026 to use this opportunity to bring lasting protections of human rights.
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Global elites threaten democracy, but a new generation is fighting back

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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.
© REUTERS - Johanna Alarcon
© REUTERS - Johanna Alarcon

Ecuador: international organizations alert of the rapid deterioration of the human rights situation

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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.

IRAQ: Assassination of WHRD Yanar Mohammed, Emblematic Figure of the Feminist Movement, Condemned

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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 Global Campaign Urges the Release of Mother Nature Cambodia Activists 

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  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.

UN Human Rights Council at 20: Rights and Civil Society under attack

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

Pakistan: Overturn Conviction and Release Human Rights Lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha

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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.

Myanmar: Military Junta has Crushed Civic Space Five Years Since its Takeover

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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.

Venezuelan Civil Society and International Human Rights Organisations Present Ten Urgent Demands for a Genuine Democratic Transition 

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Venezuela faces a new and complex political juncture.

UN Budget Cuts – Hurts Human Rights Around the World

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

UGANDA: Reverse the suspension of five human rights organisations and urgently lift internet shutdown

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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.

Venezuela/United States: CIVICUS Urges Respect for International Law and Human Rights Principles

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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.

One year since the arrest of Abdulrahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi: a year of complicity, enforced disappearance, and diplomatic failure

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Today, 28 December 2025, marks one year since the arrest of Egyptian–Turkish poet and opposition figure Abdulrahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi in Lebanon.
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Iran: Joint statement on the detention of Narges Mohammadi

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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.
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Belarus: The release of Viasna defenders Ales Bialiatski and Uladzimir Labkovich 

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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.

NIGER: Reverse the Suspension of Civil Society Organisations

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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).

The Pacific: States Must Strengthen the Protection of Civic Freedoms

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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.

India: Arbitrarily Detained Without Trial for Four Years - Khurram Parvez Must be Released

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

1,000 Civil Society Leaders Come Together, Demand Democracy and Civic Freedoms from Governments and Institutions

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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.

The African Commission must Confront the Widespread Closure of Civic Space Across Africa

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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.

Authoritarians Embrace ‘Foreign Agent’ Laws to Crush Civil Society

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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.

CIVICUS at the 85th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

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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.

Morocco: End the Crackdown on Peaceful Protests and Uphold the Right to Demands Social Justice

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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.

Tajikistan: Lawyer Wrongfully Held for a Decade

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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.

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