Interviews

ALBANIA: 'Without protection, one of the last pristine ecosystem in Europe will be destroyed and replaced by an urban area'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the environmental threat posed by a luxury coastal resort project in Albania with Anouk Puymartin, Head of Policy for BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, a member of BirdLife International, the world's largest nature conservation partnership.

ARMENIA: 'Anti-LGBTQI+ discourse is increasingly tied to anti-democratic narratives'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses disinformation campaigns targeting the LGBTQI+ community in Armenia with Hripsime Kizogyan, Executive Director of Pink Armenia, a community-based organisation that defends the human rights of LGBTQI+ people and advocates for policy change.

TAIWAN: 'Protests are part of a rising wave, not an isolated event'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about protests against defence budget cuts in Taiwan with Brian Hioe, one of the founders of New Bloom Magazine, a regional online outlet that covers activism and youth politics across Taiwan and the Asia and Pacific region.

PANDEMICS: 'In the absence of a binding treaty, the world remains unprepared and at risk'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses ongoing Pandemic Treaty negotiations with Alexandra Finch, Project Manager for the Panel for a Global Public Health Convention, an independent coalition that works to strengthen global outbreak prevention and response.

CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY: 'We make the gap between what companies promise and what they do impossible to hide'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses corporate accountability with Mansi Kabra, Engagement Lead for Civil Society Organisations at the World Benchmarking Alliance.

GUATEMALA: 'Criminalisation seeks to instil fear so no one dares question anything'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the criminalisation of human rights defenders and journalists in Guatemala with Mario Polanco, director of the Mutual Support Group (GAM).

LEBANON: 'Lasting peace requires far more than a temporary suspension of hostilities'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses ongoing war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah and its impact on civil society with Ziad Abdel Samad, Executive Director of the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), a regional network that promotes human rights, social justice and sustainable development across the Arab region.

LABOUR RIGHTS: 'International institutions can give meaningful answers to questions affecting millions of people'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses a recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on the right to strike with Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), a global organisation that defends workers' rights through international cooperation between trade unions, campaigning and advocacy with international institutions.

MEXICO: 'Defending sovereignty is no excuse for restricting rights'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses recent constitutional changes in Mexico with Leopoldo Maldonado, regional director of the Mexico and Central America office of Article 19, an international organisation that defends freedom of expression and access to information.

BOLIVIA: 'In times of crisis, civil society can provide the calm that politics and the streets have lost'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses political crisis in Bolivia with Daniel Moreno, a political scientist, sociologist and senior researcher at Ciudadanía – Comunidad de Estudios Sociales y Acción Pública (Citizenship – Community for Social Studies and Public Action), a civil society organisation that has been generating knowledge and promoting active citizenship in Bolivia for two decades.

INDONESIA: 'We hope that those who take part in Pride events elsewhere also march for us'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the criminalisation of LGBTQI+ people in Indonesia with Lini Zurlia, Advocacy Manager at the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, a regional civil society organisation that advances the human rights of LGBTQI+ people in Southeast Asia.

ECUADOR: 'Defending rights should not be a high-risk activity'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the murder of human rights defender Monika Silva and its implications for civic space in Ecuador with Mauricio Alarcón, executive director of Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo (Citizenship and Development Foundation), Transparency International's Ecuadorian chapter.

DJIBOUTI: 'Silence is the mechanism that makes authoritarianism possible'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the repression of press freedom in Djibouti with Zineb Haddaji, an exiled independent journalist who covers Djibouti and the Horn of Africa for international outlets and documents freedom of expression violations.

WORLD CUP: 'The US government is using the event to promote its mass deportations'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the USA's immigration crackdown in the context of the World Cup with Andrea Florence, executive director of the Sport & Rights Alliance, a global coalition of human rights and labour organisations that works to ensure sports bodies and governments uphold international human rights and labour standards in and around sport.

TURKEY: 'The world has not raised its voice sufficiently against arbitrary detentions'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the current crackdown on Turkish civil society and political opposition with Berna Akkızal, Director of the Civic Space Studies Association, an independent human rights organisation that works to protect and broaden civic space in Turkey.

SERBIA: 'Social media are more trustworthy than much of official media, a disturbing sign of state capture'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses media freedoms in Serbia with Marija Babić, a lawyer and researcher at the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS), an organisation that monitors press freedom, journalist safety and threats to independent media.

MEXICO: 'The World Cup is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the crisis of enforced disappearances'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Mexico's enforced disappearance crisis with Angélica Orozco, a member of Fuerzas Unidas por Nuestros Desaparecidos en Nuevo León (FUNDENL), a collective of relatives of disappeared people and people who support them.

DEMOCRACY: 'We now have a playbook to stop authoritarians, and it starts with listening to people and their needs'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about anti-authoritarian struggles and the Anti-Authoritarian Toolkit with Pedro Telles, Program Director at D-Hub.

HUNGARY: 'We expect the era of rights-stripping policies to end, in law and institutional practice'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses LGBTQI+ rights in Hungary with members of the organising team of the 2026 Budapest Pride Community Festival.

SOUTH AFRICA: 'Xenophobia has become a get-out-of-jail-free card for elites who have failed'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the current wave of xenophobic violence in South Africa with Ashley Green-Thompson, Director of ACT Ubumbano, a network of Southern African and European organisations that works for economic, environmental and gender justice.

GREECE: 'Children need better protection online, not to be removed from social media'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Greece's social media ban with a member of the Child Rights International Network (CRIN), an international human rights organisation that works to advance the rights of all children.

GHANA: 'This is bigger than LGBTQI+ rights – it's about the kind of society we want to be'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Ghana's anti-LGBTQI+ law with Leila Lariba, Executive Director of One Love Sisters Ghana, a community-driven organisation that advances human rights, social inclusion and wellbeing for Muslim LGBTQI+ people in Ghana.

CIVIL SOCIETY: 'Volunteering is no longer seen as a civic duty but as a form of civic dissent'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the importance of volunteering with Nichole Cirillo, Executive Director of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), a global civil society organisation that promotes civic action through volunteering.

WORLD CUP: 'FIFA has placed itself on the side of the polluters, not the rest of the planet'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the climate impacts of the 2026 World Cup with Frank Huisingh, founder of Fossil Free Football, a fan-led group that campaigns to end fossil fuel sponsorship in football and make the game more sustainable.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION: 'Restrictions are turning librarians into activists in a way they may not be prepared for'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Claire McGuire, Manager of Policy and Advocacy at the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), about the role of libraries in defending access to information, cultural rights and democracy at a time of growing civic space restrictions.

BANGLADESH: 'The deeper change is that people are no longer silent'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the Gen Z-led protests that ousted an autocratic government in Bangladesh with Tasfia Tarannum Ridita, a student activist with Transcend, an organisation that works on LGBTQI+ rights.

SENEGAL: 'The new law criminalises not only LGBTQI+ people but also anyone offering support'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Senegal's anti-LGBTQI+ law with an anonymous member of a gender diverse and trans community network established in June 2020 to support LGBTQI+ people facing arbitrary arrest, discrimination and harassment.

GLOBAL TAX TREATY: 'Without sustained pressure from organised movements, the political space to win simply doesn't open'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses a proposed United Nations (UN) tax treaty with Jenny Ricks, General Secretary of Fight Inequality Alliance, a global movement that organises to counter the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a small elite.

DATA GOVERNANCE: 'Data belongs to the public; the state simply generates and manages it'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses open data governance and AI with Natalia Carfi, executive director of the Open Data Charter, a global civil society organisation that promotes open data policies.

PERU: 'For 20 years, voters have had to choose the lesser of two evils'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the outlook ahead of Peru's runoff presidential election with David Hidalgo, journalist and executive director of OjoPúblico, a Peruvian digital investigative journalism outlet.

NORTH MACEDONIA: 'A new generation of activists now exists where none existed before'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses North Macedonia's 2025 series of protests with Viktor Buchkovski, a lawyer and coordinator at the Health Education and Research Association and co-founder of the Who's Next protest movement.

GAZA: 'If civilians can get this close to establishing a humanitarian corridor, then governments can do it'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla on its mission to bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza with Musa Roshdy, a humanitarian activist who took part in the flotilla.

MEXICO: 'The protests meant the public emergence of Gen Z as a force with a voice of its own'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Mexico's Gen Z-led November 2025 protests with Rafael Amézquita Castellanos, a lawyer and young activist from Guadalajara.

TOGO: 'A generation that had largely stayed away from public engagement has crossed a threshold'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in Togo with Ahouefa Sossou, a human rights defender, lawyer and member of the Centre for Documentation and Training on Human Rights (CDFDH).

MALTA: 'Young people see the value in protecting women's health over enforcing religious doctrine' %

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the Women on Waves campaign to expand access to abortion with Dr Natalie Psaila Stabile, a reproductive rights advocate and member of Doctors for Choice Malta, an organisation that campaigns for the decriminalisation of abortion and access to reproductive healthcare.

JAPAN: 'Popular sovereignty means little if Japan is bound by US military decisions'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses anti-war protests in Japan with Koichi Nakano, professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo and a leading analyst of Japan's post-Second World War pacifism.

NIGER: 'Every external critical voice is exploited as evidence of imperialism'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses civic space repression under military rule in Niger with a political analyst with decades of experience in human rights advocacy, who has asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

LEBANON: 'The postponement of the election can't be treated as a break from democratic responsibility'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Lebanon's postponed parliamentary election with Dayana El Baba, Executive Director of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), a secular civil society organisation that monitors elections and advocates for electoral reform.

PERU: 'If authorities once again ignore the popular will, accumulated discontent could trigger a new outbreak'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in Peru with an activist with a decade of experience in public mobilisation who has asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

TOGO: 'The connection between economic hardship and politics drove people to the streets'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Togo's Gen Z-led protests with Esso-Dong Kongah, a young Togolese lawyer and human rights defender who took part in the protests.

ESWATINI: 'US deportees remain locked up in a maximum-security prison without due process'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses US deportations to Eswatini with Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, a human rights lawyer involved in defending deportees.

GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: 'A strong Secretary-General could revive the UN, but a weak one could oversee its destruction'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the candidates for the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General position with Aditi Gorur, coordinator of the 1 for 8 Billion campaign, a global movement that's pushing for a fair, open and inclusive process to appoint the first woman UN Secretary-General.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION: 'China feels emboldened to globalise its political red lines'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the cancellation of RightsCon 2026 with Barbora Bukovská, Senior Director for Law and Policy at ARTICLE 19, a human rights organisation that works on freedom of expression and information around the world.

HUNGARY: 'Civil society's role is to ensure democratic restoration is genuine and inclusive'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses a change of government in Hungary with Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organisation that monitors democratic backsliding and defends the rule of law in Hungary.

BAHRAIN: 'The death penalty is being used as a tool of political suppression'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Bahrain's crackdown on dissent with Sayed Yusuf Almuhafdha, a human rights advocate and researcher affiliated with Salam for Democracy and Human Rights and the Human Rights Movement for MENA.

ISRAEL: 'The new death penalty law sorts people into separate legal universes'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Israel's new death penalty law with Carol Daniel-Kasbari, Senior Associate Director of the Conflict Resolution Program at The Carter Center, a non-partisan organisation focused on conflict prevention and human rights.

BANGLADESH: 'Our biggest achievement was showing young people's voices matter'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the protests that ousted an autocratic government in Bangladesh with Lutfa Pathan, a young community activist involved in community organising, democracy work and volunteering.

PERU: 'The adult public and the mainstream press ridiculed our protests'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in Peru with Jackelinne Ponce Paredes, an activist and lawyer specialising in human rights.

WELLBEING ECONOMY: 'The question is no longer how much we grow but how well we live'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the building of wellbeing economies with Simon Ticehurst, Head of Advocacy and Movement Engagement at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll), a global alliance founded in 2018 to drive the transformation of economies towards wellbeing.

USA: 'The challenges have never been greater, but civil society's capacity to respond has never been higher'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Lauren Prather about declining trust in US elections and the role civil society can play in defending democratic integrity ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.

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