Reaction to resolution on peaceful protests at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council With the adoption of a new resolution on peaceful protests, the Human Rights Council has sent a strong message that it stands by peaceful protesters who mobilise for change, and that law enforcement officials who perpetrate violence against protesters must be held to account.

Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Reaction to extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea CIVICUS welcomes the ongoing international scrutiny on Eritrea guaranteed today as the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea was extended by the Human Rights Council for another year.

Joint Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights -- Outcome Adoption for Kuwait Madame President, Since its second Universal Periodic Review, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Gulf Centre for Human Rights, MENA Rights Group and CIVICUS found that Kuwait did not implement any of the 13 recommendations related to civic space.

Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar CIVICUS welcomes the Special Rapporteur’s update, and looks forward to our future engagement.

Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi   Thank you, Madame President; CIVICUS and independent Burundian civil society organisations welcome the important work of the Commission of Inquiry, and thank the Commission for its update, noting the continued refusal of the government of Burundi to grant access to the country.

Joint Statement at the 44th session of the Human Rights Council Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Thank you, Madam President.

Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Madame President, Special Rapporteur; We thank the Special Rapporteur for his timely report.

Joint statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of association and peaceful assembly Madame President, Special Rapporteur, We thank the Special Rapporteur for his report, and for the work the mandate has done to protect freedom of assembly and association worldwide.

Joint Statement Appoint Independent Commission of Inquiry, Seek UN Assistance Today, on the fourth anniversary of the killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, we, the 30 undersigned organizations, call on the Cambodian authorities to create an independent Commission of Inquiry to conduct an effective and impartial investigation that is long overdue into Kem Ley’s death.

Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty Thank you, Madame President; Special Rapporteur.

Joint statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council   Madame President; High Commissioner.

Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council   CIVICUS and the Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights welcome the Special Rapporteur’s report.

Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights A group of governments (Ireland, Chile, Japan, Sierra Leone, Tunisia) and over 50 civil society organisations reaffirm the need for the Human Rights Council to adopt a comprehensive resolution that promotes and protect civic freedoms.

Joint Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights Madame High Commissioner, Thank you for your timely report.

Joint tatement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants Madame President; Special Rapporteur, This is a statement on behalf of CIVICUS, Solidarity Center, and the International Service for Human Rights.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Like so many, we have watched with horror as protesters seeking justice and equality in the US have been met with state-sanctioned violence and their attackers with impunity.

Joint statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council     Madame President, The Vienna Declaration recognizes the important role of non-governmental organizations in the promotion of all human rights activities at national, regional and international levels, and emphasizes the importance of continued dialogue and cooperation between Governments and non-governmental organizations.

Joint statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council   Madam President, Rapporteurs, Firstly, while we acknowledge the exceptional circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, we regret the limitations placed on inclusive and meaningful civil society participation, including in General Debates, and these circumstances should it set any precedents that would allow further restriction in the future.

In a joint paper released today, a group of 12 NGOs encourage States to more systematically use civic space indicators as objective criteria for action at the UN Human Rights Council.

Joint Letter To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council  At the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council (24 June-12 July 2019), the Council extended a hand to the Eritrean Government.

Statement by 11 NGOs ahead of informal discussion with the UN Special Procedures and UN Member States on the COVID-19 Pandemic We thank the Coordination Committee for the update on the work undertaken by the Special Procedures to date to highlight the human rights impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While recent steps taken by Indian authorities to decongest prisons in an effort to contain the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak are welcome, the Government should release all unjustly detained prisoners as a matter of priority.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Fiji's adoption of Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights Watch us deliver our statement below: PIANGO, CCF and CIVICUS welcome the government of Fiji’s engagement with the UPR process.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Iraq's adoption of Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights Watch us deliver our statement below During the 2nd Universal Periodic Review cycle, the Government of Iraq received eight recommendations relating to civic space.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Angola's adoption of Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights Watch us deliver our statement below CIVICUS welcomes Angola’s acceptance of 14 recommendations focusing on civic space in this UPR cycle.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Madagascar's adoption of Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights Watch us deliver our statement below CIVICUS welcomes Madagascar’s acceptance of 22 recommendations focusing on civic space in this UPR cycle.

Joint statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council El Salvador's adoption of Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights Watch us deliver our statement below CIVICUS and FESPAD welcome El Salvador’s engagement with the UPR process.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Watch us deliver our statement below:   Dear Madame President, Research findings by the CIVICUS Monitor show a serious and rapid decline in respect for civic freedoms in India, Lebanon, Iraq, Nicaragua, and Guinea (countries on current civic space watchlist) In India, protests against a discriminatory citizenship law have been met with excessive force and deadly violence by the authorities, with at least 50 killed, and hundreds injured.

Joint statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Our organizations express grave concern over the human rights situation in Jammu & Kashmir, where the authorities imposed severe restrictions after a decision to revoke constitutional autonomy on 5 August 2019, including one of the world’s longest internet shutdowns, which the Indian Supreme Court has said violates the right to freedom of expression.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council during Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Watch our statement below   We thank the Special Rapporteur for her final report on Myanmar (see all reports), and the outstanding work the mandate has carried out despite the lack of access granted to the country.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Watch us deliver our statement below:   Volunteer Activists and CIVICUS note with concern the continued closure of civic space through restrictive laws, arbitrary detention and a crackdown on civil society.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council during Interactive Dialogue with the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi Watch us deliver our statement below: CIVICUS and independent Burundian civil society organisations welcome the important work of the Commission of Inquiry, and thank the Commission for its update, despite the government of Burundi’s continued refusal to grant access to the country.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council The meaningful participation of people in governance is essential for securing human rights, social stability and peace.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Watch us deliver our statement below:   The report on intersessional meetings on the 2030 Agenda concluded that the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be attained without stronger, inclusive and meaningful public participation in the development and monitoring of policies.

Joint Letter at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council: UN Human Rights Council should ensure enhanced monitoring of the human rights situation in Nicaragua We, the undersigned human rights organizations, call on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to adopt a resolution during the 43rd session, renewing and further strengthening the mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to monitor and report on the human rights situation in Nicaragua, as specifically requested by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Joint statement by Earthjustice, Greenpeace, AIDA, Amnesty Internationa, CIEL, CIVICUS, CRIN, Human Rights Watch, The Global Initiative We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s report which usefully identifies a wealth of governmental good practices in recognizing and implementing a right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

Joint statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council by Amnesty International India, CIVCUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, FORUM-ASIA and FIDH As the UN Human Rights Council meets in Geneva to discuss human rights developments globally, we urge states to speak up against serious human rights violations being committed in India against peaceful protesters and other civilians.

Joint statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council CIVICUS, IMADR, International Service on Human Rights, Franciscans International, Human Rights Watch, Forum Asia, Minority rights group international We are deeply concerned by indicators of a significant backsliding on human rights in Sri Lanka, underscored by the government using their address to the Council this week to go back on the important commitments made by Sri Lanka through HRC resolution 30/1.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council CIVICUS and Eritrean partner organisations welcome the work of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea and thank you for your update.

The four-week human rights council will sit from 24 February to 20 March, and there are a number of critical human rights resolutions up for debate, and for the 47 Council members to address.

Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Watch statement delivered by youth climate activist, Paloma Costa: My name is Paloma Costa and I am from a region where the Amazon is threatened and human rights seem to mean nothing.

To: Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council Re: The UN Human Rights Council should extend the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan Excellencies, We, the undersigned national, regional, and international non-governmental organisations, write to call on your delegation to actively support the extension of the mandate of the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (“the CoHR”) during the upco- ming 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council (“the Council” or “the HRC”), which will take place from 24 February-20 March 2020.

Open Letter: UN member states must highlight Laos’s severely restrictive civic space environment at its upcoming UN human rights review Your Excellency, As you will be aware, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) will face its third review under the UN’s UPR mechanism on 21 January 2020.

The UN’s highest official principally responsible for human rights, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, should publicly denounce the Hong Kong Government for its systematic violations of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, and condemn the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by police in Hong Kong.

On 6 November 2019, Fiji’s human rights record will be reviewed by UN member states as part of the 34th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Joint statement on Maldives ahead of human rights review in 2020 Civil society groups CIVICUS and FORUM-ASIA have submitted information to the UN Human Rights Council on civic freedoms in the country ahead of its review in 2020.

CIVICUS makes joint UN Universal Periodic Review submissions on civil society space in Honduras, Malawi and Maldives CIVICUS and its partners have made joint and stand-alone UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on 3 countries in advance of the 36th UPR session (May 2020).

42nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Response to resolution on Cambodia CIVICUS welcomes the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Cambodia in a resolution which was passed by consensus today.

42nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Response to resolution on Sudan CIVICUS welcomes the resolution on Sudan passed by the Human Rights Council this afternoon.

42nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council Response to resolution on reprisals CIVICUS welcomes the new resolution on reprisals, passed by the Human Rights Council this afternoon, which detailed trends and patterns in reprisals and identified the increased risk for those most marginalized.