During the forthcoming 29th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, CIVICUS and its partners will host a series of thematic and country-specific panel discussions highlighting pressing concerns for civil society and human rights defenders at the national, regional and international levels.

10 years removed from the massacre in Anadijan, Uzbekistan, which left hundreds of civilians killed by security forces, the country remains one of the most persistent human rights violators in the world.

Following the second UPR of Belarus, CIVICUS has produced a summary of the country's current human rights situation, associated recommendations from member states, and recent civil society advocacy activities that have taken place at the UN in Geneva.

Side Event during the 22nd UPR Session When: Monday, 4 May 2015, 12:45-14-15 Where: Palais des Nations Room  While Belarus accepted a number of recommendations on improving the environment for freedom of association during its initial UPR review in 2010, little appreciable impact has been observed in this field.

During the 28th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, 2-27 March 2015, CIVICUS and its partners made several high-level interventions to support the creation and maintenance of a safe and enabling environment for civil society across the world.

Delivered by Okwaraogoma Ononuju Silver, CIVICUS CIVICUS welcomes the decision by the Gambian government to accept several recommendations aimed at improving the environment for the respect of fundamental freedoms including those to fully protect and promote freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly for all without fear of arbitrary detention or harassment and to continue to improve the protection and promotion of human rights.

In advance of the 23rd Session (November 2015) of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR), CIVICUS has made five joint and stand-alone submissions on the rights to freedom of assembly, association, expression and the environment for human rights defenders (HRDs) in Mauritania, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman and Rwanda.

CIVICUS welcomes with horror the detailed report of the Commission and deplores once more the dire situation of the Syrian People.

The fundamental and necessary conditions which allow for the creation and maintenance of a safe and enabling environment for civil society are being systematically threatened across the globe.

CIVICUS applauds the very principled stand of the High Commissioner in addressing the challenges to human rights to counter terrorism.

CIVICUS welcomes the first report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children and congratulates her innovative road map to implement her mandate.

On March 3rd in Geneva, Switzerland at the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council, CIVICUS in cooperation with UNDP and the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner, hosted the 'Annual High-Level Panel on Human Rights Mainstreaming'.

The objective of the event organised by CIVICUS, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was to share information and discuss the potential roles of data revolution and the work of human rights mechanisms in the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs.

Dans ce document, CIVICUS fait état de ses inquiétudes concernant l’environnement dans lequel les organisations de la société civile, les défenseurs des droits de l’homme et les journalistes travaillent en Côte d’Ivoire ; CIVICUS y relève aussi les menaces auxquelles font face ces individus et organisations dans l’exercice de leur liberté d’expression, d’association et d’assemblée.

During the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, 8-27 September 2014, CIVICUS and its partners made a number of interventions to promote the creation of a safe and enabling environment for civil society and human rights defenders.

Over 40 civil society organisations have sent a joint letter to members of the UN Human Rights Council to support a landmark resolution on civil society space.

In advance of the 22nd Session of the UN Universal Period Review (UPR), which examines each countries human rights record every 4 and a half years, CIVICUS has issued six joint and standalone submissions.

CIVICUS on behalf of the Civic Space Initiative welcomes OHCHR’s Summary Report on the Civil Society Space Panel and we once again express our sincere thanks to the Panel’s organizers.

CIVICUS and its partners have produced joint and stand-alone UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on 11  countries.

27nd Session of the Human Rights Council Item 2Opening Statement of the new High Commissioner for Human RightsGeneral Debate 9 September 2014 Delivered by Renate Bloem Thank you Mr.

CIVICUS welcomes the establishment of this Special Session and applauds the Council’s proactivity in promptly addressing the grave human rights violation committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and associated groups.

During the 26th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, 9-27 June, CIVICUS organized eight joint or stand-alone panel discussions on pressing thematic and country specific human rights situations:•    Civil Society Space: Addressing the Implementation Gap•    East Africa: Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders : Regional Challenges•    Repression, Reprisals and Detained Human Rights Defenders in the Gulf Region: Kuwait and Qatar in Focus•    Rule of Law in Bangladesh•    Re-Imagining Global Governance: CIVICUS’ 2014 State of Civil Society Report•    Human Rights in Eritrea•    Voices from Uzbekistan – An Atrocious Human Rights Record and the Lack of Effective Cooperation with the UN•    Bahrain: Empty Promises, crowded prisonsCIVICUS also delivered ten joint and individual oral statements to highlight ongoing restrictions on fundamental freedoms:•    Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights to Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association•    General Debate on the Human Rights Situation in South Sudan•    Final Update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights•    Interactive Dialogue on UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women•    Interactive Dialogue on the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprise•    Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention•    Adoption of the UPR outcome report of Cambodia•    Adoption of the UPR outcome report of Eritrea•    Adoption of the UPR outcome report of Vietnam •    Adoption of the UPR outcome report of Yemen

In advance of the 21st Session of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which examines the human rights records of a country every 4.

ARTICLE 19 on behalf of the Civic Space Initiative* congratulates Frank La Rue on his final thematic report to the Human Rights Council.

The letter, endorsed by 11 civil society organizations from across the globe, urges the UN Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution during its 26th Session (9-27 June 2014) condemning ongoing restrictions on the rights to freedom of assembly, association and expression and ensure accountability for grave human rights violations in Egypt.

In Yemen, CIVICUS, ANND and HRITC highlight the need to ensure the full realization of explicit commitments made by the government of Yemen during its UPR examination, including implementing legislation to create a safe and enabling environment for civil society.

The undersigned NGOs remain deeply concerned by ongoing serious human rights violations in Bahrain, including the politically motivated imprisonment of high-profile opposition activists and human rights defenders after grossly unfair trials, continued reports of torture, excessive use of force, regular denial of freedom of association and assembly, and a persistent failure to hold government actors to account for violations.

We are writing to encourage your office to make the conclusions of its mission public and to clearly identify key human rights concerns that should be addressed in priority by your office and by the Government of Bahrain.

In the lead up to Ethiopia’s second examination under the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 6 May 2014, PEN International, ARTICLE 19, Freedom Now and CIVICUS are hosting a panel discussion, at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland to examine the latest human rights developments in the country.

The 25th UN Human Rights Council session, 3-28 March 2014, marked the first-ever formal panel discussion at the UNHRC on the promotion and protection of civil society space.

Civil society urges States to oppose proposed amendments that would weaken the Human Rights Council resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests (HRC/25/L.

In advance of the 20th Session of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which scrutinizes each country's human rights record every four years, CIVICUS has made four submissions on unwarranted restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly and human rights defenders in Bolivia, Egypt, Iran and The Gambia .

CIVICUS is deeply concerned about the situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), its unparalleled human rights violations, about the governments terrorization, murder, torture, mass starvation, lack of freedom of movement for its citizens both within the country as well as abroad.

CIVICUS welcomes the Human Rights Council’s report on the Seminar on effective measures and best practices to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protest.

Delivered by Renate Bloem "Thank you Mr.

During the 25th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, member organizations of the Civic Space Initiative, including CIVICUS, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL),  Article 19, and World Movement for Democracy, issued an oral statement calling on the international community and national governments to take immediate steps to further articulate and codify the creation of a free and enabling environment for civil society.

Civil society relies on physical and digital spaces to perform their functions.

As civil society from around the world we express support for those struggling for a future in Egypt based on human rights and democracy.

Over 50 people from 6 continents and representing more than 30 key platforms and organisations engaged in civil society-led campaigns relating to sustainable development gathered in Istanbul, Turkey on 23-24 February 2014.

4th February 2014  The  Government  of  Eritrea  should  accept  recommendations  to  cooperate fully with the United Nations human rights system, said Human  Rights  ConcernFEritrea,  the East  and  Horn of  Africa  Human Rights Defenders Project and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, following its examination at the Universal Periodic Review yesterday.

During the 24th UNHRC Session, 9-27 September 2013, CIVICUS facilitated the participation of a number of human rights defenders to discuss the challenges faced by civil society across a range of countries.

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and the Expert Working Group, a human rights policy organization based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan released a joint statement to the 24th Session of the HRC on the human rights session in Uzbekistan.

CIVICUS urges the Syrian government to give finally access to the Commission to hold perpetrators of crimes against humanity to account.

Maryam Alkhawaja, CIVICUS member and acting president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights speaks on the human rights sitiuation in Bahrain My name is Maryam Alkhawaja, acting president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, speaking on behalf of our partners CIVICUS and CIHRS.

CIVICUS member Nada Dhaif speaks at the 24th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation for women in Bahrain.

CIVICUS makes interventions for the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which scrutinizes each country's human rights record every four years.

Report of the Independent Expert on the promotionof a democratic and equitable international orderInteractive Dialogue, 10 September 2013 We wish to comment on the report on 'promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.

In the submission, CIVICUS argues that meaningful development cannot be achieved without the realisation of human rights as both are intertwined.