Interviews

Featured

LEBANON: ‘The world seems to be starting to forget Syrian refugees’

CIVICUS speaks about the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon with Serene Dardari, Middle East Regional Communications Manager, and Mahmoud Abdullah, Lebanon Bekaa Area Manager of American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera).
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SOUTH AFRICA: ‘We want to live in an environment that respects women and recognises our human rights’

As part of the #16DaysOfActivism campaign, CIVICUS speaks with Amanda Nomnqa about civil society efforts to eradicate gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa.
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EUROPE: ‘Delays in dealing with gender-based violence cost women, children and LGBTQI+ people their lives’

As part of the #16DaysOfActivism campaign, CIVICUS speaks about civil society efforts to eradicate gender-based violence (GBV) with Eliana Jimeno and Charlotte Cramer of Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE).
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GLOBAL HEALTH: ‘On World AIDS Day we remind people that the HIV pandemic is not over’

CIVICUS speaks with Gastón Devisich, Head of Community Engagement of Fundación Huésped’s Research Department, about the role of civil society in the fight against HIV/AIDS, both at the community level and in global governance bodies.
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COLOMBIA: ‘Civil society is an important pillar in work with the migrant population’

CIVICUS speaks with Carmen Aida Faria, director of Fundación Manitas Amarillas (Little Yellow Hands Foundation), about the difficulties faced by Venezuelan migrants in Colombia and the work being done by civil society to facilitate their access to rights.
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COLOMBIA: ‘Lack of regular migration status imposes barriers to accessing rights’

CIVICUS speaks with Jessica Corredor Villamil and Lina Arroyave about the situation of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Colombia.
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MEXICO: ‘Legal change on LGBTQI+ rights does not bring instant social change’

CIVICUS speaks with Erika Venadero about the recent extension of same-sex marriage rights to all of Mexico’s states and the ongoing campaign to realise LGBTQI+ rights in Mexico.
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UK: ‘Women in ethnic minority communities are often treated like second-class citizens’

As part of the #16DaysOfActivism campaign, CIVICUS speaks about gender-based violence and civil society efforts to eradicate it with Halaleh Taheri, founder and Executive Director of the Middle Eastern Women and Society Organisation (MEWSo).
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MALAYSIA: ‘Young voters could be Malaysia’s kingmakers

CIVICUS speaks with Tharma Pillai, co-founder and Advocacy Director of Undi18.
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NAMIBIA: ‘There is only so much civil society can do when those in power support extractive companies’

CIVICUS speaks with Rinaani Musutua of the Economic and Social Justice Trust (ESJT) about thee resistance of communities in the Okavango River Basin in Southern Africa against oil and gas exploration by the Canadian company ReconAfrica.
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CIVIL SOCIETY: ‘Music can be an entry point because it’s the last thing someone could take away from you’

CIVICUS speaks with Darcy Ataman, founder and CEO of Make Music Matter, a civil society organisation based in Canada that uses the creative process as a therapeutic tool to help empower excluded groups and people.
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CUBA: ‘The only options available are prison, exile, or submission’

CIVICUS speaks with Cuban activist  Carolina Barrero, who has been in exile in Spain since February 2022, about the circumstances driving increasing numbers of Cubans out of the country.
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QATAR: ‘Labour reforms need to continue after the World Cup is over’

CIVICUS speaks about the World Cup in Qatar with Vani Saraswathi, editor-at-large and director of projects at Migrant-Rights.
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TAIWAN: ‘China will do to us what it did to Hong Kong, and what it has long done to Tibetans and Uighurs’

CIVICUS speaks about the situation in Taiwan with Min-Hsuan Wu, known as ttcat, a social movement activist and campaigner and co-founder and CEO of a Doublethink Lab.
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EUROPE: ‘The Energy Charter Treaty is having a chilling effect on climate legislation’

CIVICUS speaks with Paul de Clerck, Economic Justice Coordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe, about the implications for climate action of the Energy Charter Treaty.
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BAHRAIN: ‘This election is make-believe: its only role is to provide a veneer of democracy’

CIVICUS speaks about the election being held today in Bahrain with Jawad Fairooz, founder and director of Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (Salam DHR).
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INDONESIA: ‘Communities have the right to have their opinions heard and considered’

CIVICUS speaks about the recent protests triggered by rising fuel prices in Indonesia with Kahar S Cahyono, vice president of communications of Konfederasi Serikat Pekerja Indonesia (KSPI), a trade union organisation that promotes social justice and the welfare of workers.
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NORTH KOREA: ‘Many women escape to experience the freedoms they are denied’

CIVICUS speaks with Kyeong Min Shin, researcher with Korea Future, about the situation in North Korea and the challenges faced by North Korean women in exile in South Korea.
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COP27: ‘The participation of civil society is important because it represents the voices of communities’

CIVICUS speaks about civil society’s aspirations and roles in the upcoming COP27 climate change summit with Chibeze Ezekiel, coordinator of the Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND).
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COP27: ‘We shouldn’t even be discussing why civil society needs to have a seat in climate talks’

CIVICUS speaks about civil society’s aspirations and roles in the upcoming COP27 summit with Polluters Out co-founder Ayisha Siddiqa.
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COP27: ‘We doubt that we will be able to mobilise as we did around COP26’

CIVICUS speaks with Sohanur Rahman, Executive Coordinator of YouthNet for Climate Justice, about civil society’s aspirations and roles in the upcoming COP27 summit on climate change.
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HAITI: ‘Civil society must get involved because political actors cannot find a solution to our problems’

CIVICUS speaks about Haiti’s ongoing crisis and calls for foreign intervention with Monique Clesca, a journalist, democracy advocate and member of the Commission to Search for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis (Commission pour la recherche d’une solution haitienne a la crise, CRSC).
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SPAIN: ‘The main challenge is to consolidate legally recognised rights and prevent backsliding’

CIVICUS speaks with Carmen Miquel Acosta, gender lawyer at Amnesty International Spain, about the recently passed Organic Law on the Guarantee of Sexual Freedom, known as the ‘Only Yes is Yes Law’, and the role of civil society in advancing women’s rights.
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COP27: ‘Climate justice requires debt cancellation, reparations and non-debt climate finance for small island developing states’

CIVICUS speaks with Bahraini social entrepreneur Tariq Al-Olaimy about the upcoming COP27 summit on climate change.
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LEBANON: ‘The main culprits of the current crisis are bank owners and their greed for profit’

CIVICUS speaks about Lebanon’s ongoing financial crisis and the situation of depositors who are unable to access their savings with Alaa Khorchid, head of Depositors’ Outcry Association.
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BURKINA FASO: ‘For a major segment of civil society security is a more urgent concern than democracy’

CIVICUS speaks about the recent military coup in Burkina Faso with Kop'ep Dabugat, Network Coordinator of the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS).
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IRAN: ‘Mahsa Amini’s case was a spark in a flammable situation’

CIVICUS speaks with Sohrab Razaghi, executive director of Volunteer Activists (VA), about the current women-led protests, the state of civil society and the prospects for change in Iran.
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LIBERIA: ‘Anyone who committed crimes during the civil wars should be prosecuted, wherever they are’

CIVICUS speaks about the current war crime trial against former Liberian rebel commander Kunti Kamara with Adama Dempster, Secretary General of Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform of Liberia.
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MALDIVES: ‘We have come a long way, but more needs to be done to further open up civic space’

CIVICUS speaks about the situation of women’s rights in Maldives with Safaath Ahmed Zahir, founder and president of Women & Democracy (W&D).
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CAMEROON: ‘The Anglophone discontent must be addressed through meaningful discussion with all parties’

CIVICUS speaks with the Cameroonian writer and digital activist Dibussi Tande about the ongoing crisis in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions.
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MEXICO: ‘The problem of insecurity is paramount, but it cannot be solved with militarisation’

CIVICUS speaks about the militarisation of security in Mexico and its implications for civil society with Sofía de Robina, a lawyer with Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín pro Juárez-Centro Prodh.
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LESOTHO: ‘We must work hand in hand to promote democracy and hold our leaders accountable’

CIVICUS speaks about the 7 October election in Lesotho with Libakiso Matlho, executive director of Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Education Trust-Lesotho (WLSA).
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ITALY: ‘We anticipate hostility towards civil society working on human rights’

CIVICUS speaks about the recent Italian election with Oiza Q Obasuyi from the Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights (CILD).
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IRAN: ‘Mahsa’s death highlights the struggle women must face just to go about their daily lives’

CIVICUS speaks with Kylie Moore-Gilbert about the current women-led protests in Iran, sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in the custody of the so-called ‘morality police’.
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CAMEROON: ‘The international community hasn’t helped address the root causes of the Anglophone conflict’

CIVICUS speaks with Cameroonian feminist researcher and writer Monique Kwachou about the ongoing crisis in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions.
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EGYPT: ‘We are dealing with an extremely elaborate, very creative repressive machinery’

CIVICUS speaks with Egyptian activist Mona Seif about the international campaign for the release of  her brother, British-Egyptian political prisoner Alaa Abdel Fattah, ahead of the COP27 climate summit  taking place in Egypt in November.
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AFGHANISTAN: ‘The seizure of sovereign assets will worsen the world’s worst humanitarian disaster’

CIVICUS speaks with Arash Azizzada, co-founder and co-director of Afghans for a Better Tomorrow, about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
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AFGHANISTAN: ‘Lack of dialogue and punishing sanctions are undermining the promotion of human rights’

CIVICUS speaks about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan with Hadiya Afzal, programme coordinator of Unfreeze Afghanistan.
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SOUTH AFRICA: ‘We were denied the right to give or refuse our consent, so we took Shell to court – and won’ 

CIVICUS speaks about civil society’s recent court victory against Shell in South Africa with Sinegugu Zukulu, programme manager of Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC).
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BRAZIL: ‘If Bolsonaro continues as president, it is a threat to the Amazon and therefore to humanity’

PORTUGUESE  CIVICUS discusses the state of environmental activism in Brazil with Daniela Silva, a socio-environmental educator and co-founder of the Aldeias Project, an education, art, culture and environment project for children and young people in the municipality of Altamira, in the Brazilian state of Pará.
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MYANMAR: ‘The ruling military junta uses fear as a domination tool’

CIVICUS speaks about the human rights situation and prospects for democracy in Myanmar with a civil society activist based in Myanmar, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.
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UNITED NATIONS: ‘Getting a strong Ocean Treaty across the line would be nothing short of historic’

CIVICUS speaks with Ellie Hooper of Greenpeace Aotearoa about civil society’s role in the ongoing negotiations towards the development of a United Nations Ocean Treaty.
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UNITED NATIONS: ‘Ocean Treaty negotiations are largely a backroom discussion that excludes civil society’

CIVICUS speaks John Paul Jose about civil society’s role in the ongoing negotiations towards a United Nations (UN) High Seas Treaty.
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ANGOLA: ‘Much effort was put into excluding people from the electoral process’

PORTUGUESE CIVICUS speaks about the recent Angolan election and its aftermath with Catarina Antunes Gomes and Cesaltina Abreu from the Social Sciences and Humanities Laboratory of the Catholic University of Angola (LAB).
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SIERRA LEONE: ‘Civil society needs international support to monitor the implementation of the new land laws’

CIVICUS speaks with Berns Lebbie, lead campaigner and national coordinator of Land for Life (LfL) in Sierra Leone, about two new laws aimed at improving the ability of communities to protect their land rights and the environment.
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UNITED NATIONS: ‘From now on, states should adopt a human rights approach to environmental regulation’

CIVICUS speaks with Victoria Lichet, executive director of the Global Pact Coalition, about the resolution recently passed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) recognising the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right.
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ANGOLA: ‘Chances for real democracy in Angola are quite low’

Portuguese  CIVICUS speaks about the recent presidential and National Assembly election in Angola with Pascoal Baptistiny, Executive Director of MBAKITA – Kubango Agricultural Benevolent Mission, Inclusion, Technologies and the Environment.
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CHILE: ‘The million-dollar question is how society will react if a new constitution does not come out of this’

CIVICUS speaks about Chile’s impending constitutional referendum with Julieta Suárez Cao, PhD in Political Science and Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at the Catholic University of Chile.
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PALESTINE: ‘Colonial powers of the global north have normalised murder and devastation in the global south’

CIVICUS speaks with a Palestinian civil society activist, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, about the use of online activism to raise awareness about the situation in Palestine and seek international support.
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PANAMA: ‘Protests reflect structural inequalities and frustration at blatant corruption’

CIVICUS speaks about recent protests in Panama with Eileen Ng Fábrega, Executive Director of the Panamanian Chamber of Social Development (CAPADESO).

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