Interviews

ETHIOPIA: ‘The international community must stop enabling the war on Ethiopia’s Amhara people’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses conflict and human rights violations in Ethiopia’s Amhara region with Robel Alemu, Communications Director of the Amhara Association of North America (AAA), a US-based organisation working to promote human rights in Ethiopia.

UNITED KINGDOM: ‘The partial ban on UK arms sales to Israel is largely symbolic’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Martin Butcher, Policy Advisor on Arms, Conflict and International Humanitarian Law at Oxfam, about the UK’s partial ban on arms sales to Israel and Oxfam’s role in supporting a judicial review of the decision.

SUDAN: ‘Sudan is experiencing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, but remains largely ignored by the international community’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Sudan’s humanitarian crisis with a Sudanese women’s rights activist with extensive experience in peacebuilding.

BRAZIL: ‘The focus should be on holding social media companies accountable, not punishing individual users’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the recent Twitter/X ban in Brazil with Iná Jost, lawyer and head of research at InternetLab, an independent Brazilian think tank focused on human rights and digital technologies.

NIGERIA: ‘Art is the most powerful way to communicate messages that resonate deeply and inspire action’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the potential of artivism with Ezenwa Okoro, a playwright, poet and Programme Director of the Street Project Foundation, a Nigerian organisation that promotes youth political participation and active citizenship.

RWANDA: ‘Art is a universal language that transcends borders – its universality gives it immense power for change’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Hope Azeda, a playwright, director and founder of Mashirika Performing Arts and Media Company, about her use of art as a tool for peacebuilding.

INDONESIA: ‘The international community should help amplify the voices of Indonesians standing up to corrupt elites’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses recent protests following the Indonesian government’s attempt to change election rules with Alvin Nicola, Democratic Governance Program Manager at Transparency International Indonesia (TII).

SAMOA: ‘Australia must turn its climate rhetoric into action’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the recent Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) meeting in Tonga with Jacynta Fa’amau, Pacific Campaigner at 350.

AUSTRIA: ‘Politics should be about changing the conditions that cause racism, not exploiting them’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Austria’s parliamentary election with Andreas Kranebitter, Director of the Documentation Centre of the Austrian Resistance research institute (DÖW).

UN: ‘We need competitive elections so only truly committed states are elected to the UN Human Rights Council’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the upcoming election of new members of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council with Madeleine Sinclair, New York Office Director and Legal Counsel at the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR).

‘Hostile narratives and stigmatisation create a vicious cycle of repression’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the state of civic space with Gina Romero, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

GERMANY: ‘Democratic parties must take a firm stand against far-right anti-democratic and hateful politics’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses far-right successes in recent regional elections in Germany with Viktoria Kamuf, research associate at the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society, a research organisation based in the German state of Thuringia.

‘It’s easier and cheaper than ever to spread disinformation on a massive scale’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses online disinformation and hate speech, and the role of civil society in combating them, with Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).

‘Whether the Cybercrime Convention will do more good than harm will hinge on implementation and monitoring’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the recently approved United Nations (UN) Cybercrime Convention with Pavlina Pavlova, a cyber policy expert and a #ShareTheMicInCyber fellow at New America, who took part in the negotiations.

‘The Cybercrime Convention risks becoming a tool for global surveillance and cross-border human rights violations’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the recently approved United Nations (UN) Cybercrime Convention with Deborah Brown, deputy director of the Technology, Rights and Investigations division of Human Rights Watch, who took part in the negotiations.

GHANA: ‘People are frustrated with a system that has consistently blocked avenues for dissent’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses a ban on protests in Ghana with Eunice Agbenyadzi, Head of Programmes at STAR-Ghana Foundation, a Ghanaian civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes active citizenship and supports civil society to engage with government.

‘Thanks to art, climate change stops being a distant issue—it becomes personal, immediate and visceral’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Nicola Haskins, a choreographer, dancer and lecturer at South Africa’s Tshwane University of Technology Performing Arts Dance Stream, about her approach to climate activism through the arts.

‘We first thought hosting COP29 could ease the pressure on local civil society – but we were wrong’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the human rights situation in Azerbaijan as the country prepares to host the COP29 climate summit with Emin Huseynov, an Azerbaijani journalist and human rights activist in exile.
Featured

‘We urge governments not to authorise, sponsor or subsidise deep-sea mining’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the role of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and the implications of the agency’s new leadership with Juressa Lee, Deep-Sea Mining Campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, New Zealand’s national office of the global environmental organisation Greenpeace.
Featured

‘Civic space is closed and prospects for change are limited, if not non-existent’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses a new wave of closures of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nicaragua with the team from the Central American Association for Development and Democracy (ACDD).
Featured

‘The government’s response to the protests followed a predictable pattern of repression’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses anti-corruption protests in Uganda with Mohammed Ndifuna, Executive Director of Justice Access Point (JAP), a civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes human rights and the rule of law.
Featured

AFGHANISTAN: ‘The Taliban have effectively silenced women’s voices’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses deteriorating women’s rights in Afghanistan with Mohammad Mohmadi, the director of the Afghanistan Human Rights Center, a civil society organisation working to promote and defend human rights.
Featured

COLOMBIA: ‘The Chiquita case shows it’s possible to hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses a recent court victory that held multinational banana company Chiquita accountable for human rights violations in Colombia with Gabriela Valentín Díaz, a member of the EarthRights International legal team that represented victims in the case.
Featured

TIMOR-LESTE: ‘Restrictions on solidarity protests are unconstitutional’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses restrictions on civil society activism in Timor-Leste with human rights activist Nelson Roldão.
Featured

ZIMBABWE: ‘The government is using widespread intimidation to silence pro-democracy voices’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the challenges for civil society in Zimbabwe with Tapiwanashe Chiriga, Advocacy and Communications Officer at Heal Zimbabwe Trust, a local human rights organisation.
Featured

TOGO: ‘The international community must send a clear message that power grabs won’t be tolerated’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the crackdown on civil society in Togo with a human rights defender who asked to stay anonymous for security reasons.
Featured

GUATEMALA: ‘Corrupt elites see defenders of justice as a threat to their interests and try to silence them’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the state of civic space and justice in Guatemala with former anti-corruption prosecutor Virginia Laparra.
Featured

INDIA: ‘Civil society organisations are at the forefront of the fight against gender-based violence’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the recent wave of protests against gender-based violence (GBV) in India with Dr Kavitha Ravi, a member of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Featured

VENEZUELA: ‘The government wants a civil society aligned with its interests, tamed and silent’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the ‘anti-NGO law’ recently passed in Venezuela with Alí Daniels, Co-Director of Acceso a la Justicia, a civil society organisation (CSO) dedicated to monitoring justice administration and the rule of law in Venezuela.
Featured

PHILIPPINES: ‘Increased US military aid will worsen the already dire human rights situation’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the human rights impacts of US aid to the Philippines with Cristina Palabay, Secretary General of Karapatan.
Featured

Climate Activists Target Culture Greenwashing

Interviews
Civil society is working on all fronts to tackle the climate crisis.
Featured

BULGARIA: ‘This new law disguises the suppression of LGBTQI+ rights as a measure to protect children’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses LGBTQI+ rights in Bulgaria with Manuela Popova, co-director of the Bilitis Foundation, the country’s oldest active LGBTQI+ organisation.
Featured

OLYMPICS: ‘This was supposed to be a unifying event, but the reality is always more complicated’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the political, economic, social and human rights implications of the recent Olympic Games with UK-based academic, journalist and author David Goldblatt, whose latest book is The Games: A Global History of the Olympics.
Featured

VIETNAM: ‘Human rights conditions will likely worsen as the country descends into a police state’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses recent leadership changes in Vietnam with David Tran, coordinator of the Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy, a civil society platform that promotes democracy in Vietnam and the region through international cooperation and the strengthening of local civil society.
Featured

UK: ‘Social media platforms have become breeding grounds for far-right ideologies’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the causes and consequences of recent far-right riots with Kulvinder Nagre, Research and Policy Officer at Race On The Agenda (ROTA), a UK-based civil society organisation working to tackle racial inequality and promote social justice.
Featured

UK: ‘Many in the climate justice movement are finding creative and imaginative ways to protest’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Chris Garrard, co-founder and co-director of Culture Unstained, about the campaign to end fossil fuel sponsorship of cultural institutions, which oil companies use to try to present a positive public image.
Featured

NIGERIA: ‘The government must respect people’s right to protest and listen to our demands’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses protests in Nigeria with youth activist Hassan Nurudeen.
Featured

BANGLADESH: ‘A government that commits crimes against humanity shouldn’t stay in power under any circumstances’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about protests, their repression and the changes they’ve brought about in Bangladesh with civil society activist Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman, also known as Zaman Ashraf.
Featured

MALAWI: ‘Many will interpret the court ruling to mean there’s no place for LGBTQI+ people in our country’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the Malawi Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold the criminalisation of homosexuality with members of the Nyasa Rainbow Alliance, a civil society organisation that has supported LGBTQI+ people and promoted LGBTQI+ rights for a decade, despite facing significant legal and societal challenges.
Featured

CAMBODIA: ‘We face repression because we disrupt projects that benefit powerful people and corporations'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Lisa Saad of Mother Nature Cambodia about the criminalisation of environmental activism in Cambodia.
Featured

GEORGIA: ‘The ‘anti-LGBT’ bill would make life nearly impossible for LGBTQI+ people’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses proposed legislative changes that target LGBTQI+ people in Georgia with Tbilisi Pride director Tamar Jakeli.
Featured

VENEZUELA: ‘We had hoped the election would lead to a negotiated transition’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Venezuela’s recent election with Luz Mely Reyes, Director General of the Venezuelan digital media outlet Efecto Cocuyo.
Featured

BANGLADESH: ‘The interim government must ensure justice for the wrongs of the past regime’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about protests, their repression and the changes they’ve brought about in Bangladesh with human rights defender and student leader Nahid Islam.
Featured

SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE: ‘We fear the pact will be yet another document with high ideals but little practical impact’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the upcoming Summit of the Future with Ophelia Kemigisha, United Nations (UN) Program Officer at Outright International, a global organisation that works to improve LGBTQI+ rights around the world.
Featured

GLOBAL: ‘There are multiple paths to justice and accountability for violations of international law’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Rebecca Shoot, Executive Director of Citizens for Global Solutions, about the advisory opinion recently issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Featured

SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE: ‘Our influence depends on states’ willingness to adopt a progressive agenda’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the upcoming Summit of the Future with Jennifer Rauch, Global Advocacy Officer at Fòs Feminista, a global feminist organisation that promotes sexual reproductive health and rights around the world.
Featured

SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE: ‘Civil society has been vocal in urging that the summit address the real needs of people’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the upcoming Summit of the Future with Julie Murray, Advocacy Advisor at Save the Children International, a global organisation advocating for children’s rights and interests worldwide.
Featured

ECUADOR: ‘We demand that the violation of the rights of nature be recognised and reversed’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Darío Iza Pilaquinga, president of the Kitu Kara People of the Kichwa nationality of Ecuador, about a historic court ruling that applied a constitutional provision recognising the rights of nature.
Featured

KENYA: ‘The government must work with civil society to eradicate gender-based violence’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Fridah Wawira, gender specialist and acting Executive Director of the Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW), about gender-based violence (GBV) in Kenya and civil society efforts to eradicate it.
Featured

CAMBODIA: ‘The more effective your activism, the more likely you are to be targeted by the government’

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses environmental activism in Cambodia’s heavily repressed civic space with Naly Pilorge, Outreach Director of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO).

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