Interviews

Featured

Des citoyen(ne)s responsables peuvent devenir des sentinelles de la démocratie

Interviews
English En vue de la publication du Rapport sur l'état de la société civile 2018 sur le thème de « Réinventer la démocratie », nous parlons et échangeons avec des activistes et des leaders de la société civile à propos de leur travail pour promouvoir les principes et des pratiques démocratiques, sur les défis qu'ils rencontrent et les victoires qu'ils obtiennent.
Featured

‘We are an activist group that seeks to restore faith in democracy’

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘Reimagining Democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic governance, the challenges they encounter in doing so, and the victories they score.
Featured

‘People have power, even if they don’t usually feel like they do’

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘Reimagining Democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic practices and principles, the challenges they encounter and the victories they score in doing so.
Featured

‘Cuando los migrantes son ciudadanos de segunda, se degrada la democracia’

Interviews
English En vistas de la publicación del Informe 2018 sobre el Estado de la Sociedad Civil, que girará en torno del tema “Reimaginar la Democracia”, estamos dialogando con líderes, activistas y especialistas de la sociedad civil para comprender su labor en la promoción de prácticas y principios democráticos, los desafíos que enfrentan y los logros alcanzados.
Featured

‘#MeToo is a feminist movement and feminism perfects democracy’

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘reimagining democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic governance, and the challenges they encounter in doing so.
Featured

‘Democracy is not failing the American people - politicians are’

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘Reimagining Democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic governance, and the challenges they encounter in doing so.
Featured

Fed up with corruption, civil society organises Malawians to take to the streets

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Timothy Pagonachi Mtambo, a human rights defender and the ex-ecutive director of Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) in Malawi.
Featured

The Irish referendum, an exercise in deliberative democracy

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘Reimagining Democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists, leaders and others about their work to promote democratic practices and principles, the challenges they encounter and the victories they score in doing so.
Featured

‘People invested in wanting a change’ – civil society and the Malaysia elections

Interviews
Malaysia’s May election saw the ruling party defeated for the first time in 61 years, amid widespread public anger about corruption.
Featured

Silence by the international community gives Israel the green light to continue its human rights violations

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Amjad Al Shawi about the disproportionate use of force and extreme violence against peaceful protesters in Gaza and the reasons why the world cannot remain silent about these monstrous acts.
Featured

Burundi referendum a blatant violation of its Constitution

Interviews
Ahead of the controversial referendum scheduled to take place in Burundi on 17 May 2018, CIVICUS speaks to human rights lawyer and civil society activist Janvier Bigirimana about the referendum’s implications for democracy.
Featured

Case of Zambia’s 42-for-42 tests freedom of expression and assembly

Interviews
On May 17, six Zambia activists, civil society leader’s and a musician will appear before the magistrates in Court 3 in the capital Lusaka.
Featured

Syria’s CSO sector and population buckle under humanitarian crisis

Interviews
Following the chemical attack in Syria and the subsequent airstrikes on Syria by the United States, United Kingdom and France, CIVICUS interviews a representative of The Arguendo Initiative about the humanitarian crisis and human rights violations taking place in Ghouta, Syria.
Featured

Filipino activists stand firm after government adds them to list of terrorists

Interviews
The Philippines government recently listed activists and a UN Special Rapporteur as terrorists and has threatened to pull out of the International Criminal Court.
Featured

Another puzzling break-in prompts Uganda CSO to move operations to police station

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Human Rights Awareness and Protection Forum (HRAPF) executive director Adrian Jjuuko (pictured) after their offices were broken into recently.
Featured

‘La presencia de mujeres en espacios de representación política es buena no solo para las mujeres sino también para la democracia’

Interviews
English En noviembre de 2017 Argentina aprobó una ley de paridad de género con el objeto de garantizar un 50% de representación femenina en su Congreso Nacional.
Featured

‘Opaque laws, erratic application of rules and lengthy bureaucratic processes cost lives during a humanitarian response'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Jeremy Wellard, Regional Representative for Asia of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).
Featured

We believe in citizens taking action on the issues that affect their lives, without needing vast resources

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Katherine Baird, International Projects Manager at the Change.
Featured

‘A diferencia del Brexit, la demanda independentista catalana tiene un componente democratizador’

Interviews
English CIVICUS conversa sobre la situación en Cataluña con Anaïs Franquesa Griso, abogada penalista especializada en derechos humanos y movimientos sociales y Directora de Litigio de Irídia, Centro para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos.
Featured

‘The anti-corruption protests have turned the inhabitants of Romania into a whole new generation of alert citizens’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Viorel Micescu, Executive Director of CENTRAS: The Assistance for Non-Governmental Organizations, an independent non-profit organisation aimed at contributing to the development of democracy in Romania through the strengthening of civil society.
Featured

‘Democracy is much more than street protest and institutional politics, and Hong Kong people are now resisting in all possible and impossible ways’

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘reimagining democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic governance, and the challenges they encounter in doing so.
Featured

‘Civil society won the debate on inequality but still needs to win the actual fight against it"

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Ben Phillips, Launch Director of the Fight Inequality Alliance, a growing movement of citizens from across the world uniting to take on the crisis of widening inequality, and build a world that works for all.
Featured

United States: ‘Even in challenging times, civil society needs to be proactive in setting the agenda"

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Nick Robinson, a legal advisor at the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) and lead of their United States Program.
Featured

Catalonia: ‘It might take years to rebuild the political, social and emotional bridges that the pro-independence process has blown up’

Interviews
Catalonia’s independence movement hit the headlines in 2017, and Catalonia’s future remains undecided.
Featured

Nigeria: ‘If passed, the NGO Bill will reduce the ability of CSOs to hold the government accountable and ensure that human rights are respected’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Oluseyi Babatunde Oyebisi, Director of the Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO) about the draconian NGO bill under consideration by Nigerian lawmakers and the implications that it would have for civil society.
Featured

‘Against hopelessness, we need to work not to lose the very small windows of freedom that we can find under this dictatorship’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to an Iranian woman human rights defender about the causes and significance of the recent protests in Iran, as well as the prospects for change in a country with a closed civic space and a theocratic government that maintains a firm grip on power.
Featured

‘There are signs of hope, but we are not waiting with our arms crossed but pushing for reforms that improve our lives’

Interviews
Angola saw a change at the top in 2017, when President José Eduardo dos Santos stepped down after a staggering 38 years in power, to be replaced by President Joao Lourenco.
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‘The idea that a certain group does not belong in a country is instrumental in enabling discrimination and persecution against it’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Susannah Sirkin, director of international policy and partnerships and senior advisor with Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
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‘Market discourse has captured the development agenda to a point that may be incompatible with UN mandates’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Barbara Adams, senior policy analyst at the Global Policy Forum (GPF), an independent policy watchdog that monitors the work of the United Nations and scrutinises global policy-making.
Featured

‘If citizens are not able to recognise what is going on and mobilise, Romania will very likely join the club of ‘illiberal democracies’ of the region’

Interviews
The special theme of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report will be ‘reimagining democracy’.
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‘Even the most progressive UN agencies have become vulnerable to the threat of corporate capture; fortunately, there are precedents of the UN tackling this kind of challenge’

Interviews
As the 2017 State of Civil Society Report identified, private sector influence on international governance is an increasing civil society concern.
Featured

Armenia: ‘For the quality of democracy to improve, judicial independence must be guaranteed and labour rights need further protection’

Interviews
Elections held in Armenia in 2017 resulted in the ruling party holding onto power, but were marred by allegations of fraud, including vote-buying and misuse of state resources.
Featured

Making progress, preventing regress: civil society at the Human Rights Council

Interviews
We asked Phil Lynch, Director of International Service for Human Rights, to look back at the past year’s experience of civil society engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Featured

Blocage de l'accès internet au Cameroun prive la société civile des ressources essentielles

Interviews
English Le Cameroun a vu l'État imposer toute une série de restrictions aux droits fondamentaux de la société civile en 2017, notamment une fermeture d'Internet de quatre mois dans les régions anglophones du pays en réponse aux protestations contre la marginalisation de ces régions.
Featured

‘Threats to women’s and LGBTI rights are threats to democracy; any retrogression is unacceptable’

Interviews
Recent years have seen an apparently growing tendency for anti-rights groups to seek to claim the space for civil society, including at the intergovernmental level.
Featured

‘Civil society must increase the pressure so even countries that aren’t part of the Arms Trade Treaty feel compelled to abide by it’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Anna Macdonald, Director of the Control Arms Secretariat, which leads a global civil society coalition comprising over 300 partners in all regions of the world working for international arms control.
Featured

‘The democratic revolution is currently in hibernation; from a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate Egypt’s democracy as below zero’

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘reimagining democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic governance, and the challenges they encounter in doing so.
Featured

‘Solo un gobierno auténticamente democrático podrá enfrentar seriamente el problema del cambio climático’

Interviews
English CIVICUS conversa con Enrique de León, dirigente del Comité Nacional de Lucha Contra el Cambio Climático (CNLCC), una organización de la sociedad civil dominicana que lucha por la desaceleración del calentamiento global.
Featured

México: En una democracia, no es posible que desaparezcan 43 estudiantes y todo siga igual

Interviews
English CIVICUS conversa con Ana Cristina Ruelas, Directora de la oficina de ARTICLE 19 para México y Centroamérica.
Featured

‘It is for civil society to step in and fill the void on human rights and good governance issues’

Interviews
Ahead of the publication of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report on the theme of ‘reimagining democracy’, we are interviewing civil society activists and leaders about their work to promote democratic governance, and the challenges they encounter in doing so.
Featured

‘Dutch citizens feel a major disconnect from politics’

Interviews
The special theme of the 2018 State of Civil Society Report will be ‘reimagining democracy’.
Featured

Nobody has made any attempt to shield Yemeni civil society organisations from impact of armed conflict

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Radhya Almutawakel, chairperson of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, an independent Yemeni human rights organisation.
Featured

Closure of civic space constitutes an existential threat to independent civil society in Bahrain

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Michael Payne (left), Director of Advocacy, and Sam Jones (right), a researcher at Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB).
Featured

‘All governments agree – at least nominally - that a world without nuclear weapons is a desirable goal; it’s time to hold them to their words’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Daniel Högsta, Network Coordinator with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a broad, inclusive campaign focused on mobilising civil society around the world to promote the negotiation of a global nuclear weapon ban treaty.
Featured

‘The government is in fact listening to civil society, just not to the progressive side of it’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Horace Levy, the director of Jamaicans for Justice, a non-profit, non-partisan, non-violent citizens’ rights action organisation that advocates for good governance and improvements in state accountability and transparency.
Featured

Kenya’s fresh election lights up Africa with hope

Interviews
On 26 October 2017, Kenya returns to the polls after the Supreme Court declared the election held on 8 August 2017 null and void.
Featured

‘La sociedad civil trabaja por una democracia no solo más representativa sino también más participativa’

Interviews
English CIVICUS conversa con Ramiro Orias, abogado y defensor de derechos humanos boliviano.
Featured

South African NGO scores legal victory in limiting the influence of ‘big money’ on democracy

Interviews
A South African NGO My Vote Counts recently won a court case in which it asked that political parties must be compelled to publicly reveal their sources of funds.
Featured

Les manifestants se transforment en milliers de personnes qui battent la fermeture d'Internet

Interviews
Read the interview in English  CIVICUS parle avec KEPOMEY Koffi Dela Franck de l'organisation non gouvernementale Concertation Nationale de la Société Civile au Togo des récentes manifestations dans le pays sur les limites du mandat présidentiel.
Featured

The Political Parties Bill is ‘poison for Zambia’s ailing democracy’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks to Zambian human rights defender McDonald Chipenzi.

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