Dr Leila Alieva, President of the Center for National and International Studies (CNIS) in Baku, Azerbaijan, spoke to CIVICUS recently about the deteriorating civil society environment in her country and what international civil society can do to assist colleagues in Azerbaijan.

27 February 2012 Statement by David Bonbright, Board Chair, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation After four highly successful years as Secretary General of CIVICUS, Ingrid Srinath has, reluctantly, resolved to leave us in order to address pressing family matters at the end of her current contract in March 2012.

Invitation to participate in a webinarDate and time:  Thursday 1 March 2012, 12:00 -14:00 GMT Despite the existence of a vast body of national and international law guaranteeing the freedoms of association, assembly and expression, civil society organisations often find themselves impeded from carrying out their mandates.

24 February 2012 The Cassation Bench of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia is expected to hear a petition by the Human Rights Council (HRCO) on 27 February 2012 to admit an appeal against the freezing of its bank accounts.

Will business as usual trump transformational change at Rio+20? Bringing it together: organising for civil society effectiveness in Cameroon Submit an activity proposal for the 2012 World Assembly CIVICUS plays hosts to young activists for democratic change Etherington fears emergence of 'fourth sector' Belarus dissidents defy KGB and the threat of jail in latest crackdown January 2012 Violations Report Vacancy: Youth Development Officer for Rio+20 Read this issue online | Get all future issues | Explore archive of old issues

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is an international movement of civil society dedicated to strengthening freedom of association and citizen’s participation across the globe.

CIVICUS has added it is voice to those of Burundi CSOs to urge the president to release arrested anti-corruption activist and CSO leader Faustin Ndikumana, who faces a prison sentence of up to ten years.

2012: A Civil Society Agenda NGOs around the world condemn persistent crackdowns on Egyptian civil society and reject disabling draft NGO law CIVICUS advocates South Africans’ ‘Right to Know’ What does the activism surrounding SOPA reveal about the future of online organising? Democracy does not apply to Aboriginal people Human Rights Officer (application deadline 4 March 2012) Read this issue online | Get all future issues | Explore archive of old issues

Guide on Reporting Violations to UN  special procedures CIVICUS deplores sustained harassment of Belarusian NGO Freedom House: Freedom in the world in 2012? Interview with a civil society activist: Dale McKinley Myanmar: More political prisioners released Read this issue online | Get all future issues |  Explore archive of old issues

  Busan, Republic of Korea.

Responding to Increasing Demands of CSO Accountability: Reflections from Phnom Penh and Manila 2012 CIVICUS World Assembly - Registration Now Open Broadening civic space through voluntary action: Lessons from 2011 Governance advisor: Affiliate support (Application Deadline 24 January 2012) Fighting hunger & malnutrition: The HUNGaMA survey reportSystemic peacebuilding, conflict transformation & post-war recovery, and reconciliation (OCTR) Read this issue online | Get all future issues | Explore archive of old issues

Johannesburg.

What a year 2011 was! Reporting human rights violations to UN Special Procedures: An Introductory Guide Parents Forum gets Digital Book World Award Rio+20: Making it Happen Human rights defender Azimzhan Askarov goes on termless hunger strike in Kyrgyzstan Discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity Director General Oxfam Hing Kong (Application deadline 31 January 2012) Read this issue online | Get all future issues | Explore archive of old issues

CIVICUS and the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), our partner organisation in the Philippines, co-organised a two-day workshop titled, "Strengthening Accountability of the Civil Society Sector on the 14th and 15th of December 2011 in Manila.

Dear friends, partners and supporters, What a year 2011 was! Often I found myself quoting Lenin: 'Sometimes decades pass and nothing happens, then weeks pass and decades happen.

The regional workshop on democratising governance through citizen participation brought together representatives of civil society organisations, international organisations and participatory governance practitioners from Ethiopia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to share experiences in advancing participatory governance, identify key gaps in participatory governance processes at local, national and continental levels and propose solutions aimed at filling these gaps and making participatory governance effective at all levels.

1 November was the official close of the call for submissions to the compilation document for Rio+20.

Dear Friends and Partners, From the Arab Spring to the Occupy Wall Street protests, 2011 will be remembered as the year we realised the power we hold to change the world.

A propos de l’ISC-Rapide L’auto-évaluation de la société civile contribue à renforcer les bases factuelles pour le rôle plaidoyer de la société civile, fournissant une plateforme pour la société civile pour identifier les besoins communs, et pour aider à la planification et l'élaboration de stratégies autour des défis et des opportunités communes.

Human Rights Council 18th SPECIAL SESSIONThe Human Rights Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic 2 December 2011Delivered by Renate Bloem Thank you, Mme President, CIVICUS is deeply concerned at the crimes against humanity being committed in Syria as we speak.

by Andrew Firmin, Acting Research Manager, CIVICUS International Volunteer Day, and the culmination of the 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers, offers an opportunity to emphasise the important role of volunteerism in civic life.

This joint submission from Association for Progressive Communictaion (APC), Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), CIVICUS, Gender Links Highway Africa Chair in Media and Information Society,  IDASA, ODAC, Right 2 Know, Southern African NGO Network (SANGONet), Section27 and SERI focuses on: freedom of expression; the right to information; freedom from censorship; freedom of the press; the right to privacy; and the importance of affordable access to the internet.

Since the last High Level Forum in Accra, more than 20,000 civil society organisations (CSOs) - including trade unions, women’s groups, youth groups, faith-based organisations and other social movements – in more than 90 countries, have been consulted on the process, agenda and expected outcomes of the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4) that is meeting here in Busan.

CIVICUS outlines urgent concerns related to the environment in which civil society activists and human rights defenders operate in the Philippines.

CIVICUS outlines urgent concerns related to the environment in which civil society activists and human rights defenders operate in Brazil, and about threats faced by them in the exercise of the freedoms of expression, association and assembly.

Johannesburg.

About the CSI-RA Civil society self-assessment contributes to strengthening the evidence base for civil society advocacy; providing a platform for civil society to identify shared needs; and assisting the planning and strategising of civil society around common challenges and opportunities.

The State of Civil Society 2011: Through an Artist's Lens CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is seeking the ‘design of the year’ for the cover of The State of Civil Society 2011 report.

CIVICUS and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) outline urgent concerns related to the environment in which civil society, human rights activists and ordinary citizens operate in Bahrain, and the vicious attacks by government security forces on those who dare to exercise their rights of expression, assembly and association.

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation launched its new civil society self-assessment tool, the Civil Society Index Rapid Assessment (CSI-RA) at the Africa Forum on Civil Society and Governance Assessments, 10 to 12 November 2011.

To Member States of the United Nations Human Rights Council: Joint Call by Civil Society for a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council to consider the findings of the Syrian Commission of Inquiry and ensure accountability 22 November, 2011 Your Excellency, As civil society organizations from around the world we urgently call on the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) to convene a special session on Syria immediately after the release of the report of the HRC International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (the Commission of Inquiry), which is due before the end of November 2011.

The online film festival gives Every Human Has Rights (EHHR) and Tri Continental Film Festival (TCFF) a new platform to raise awareness about human rights abuses.

The clothes have no emperor Just how much can the state restrict a peaceful protest? Call for "Snapshots" TCFF and EHHR launch online film festival CIVICUS interview with Billy Mayaya Bill is a ‘shameful moment’ for Israel Palestinian civil society launches campaign to reform international aid to Palestine in run up to Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness And much more.

Read the call in: English | French | Spanish | Russian | Portuguese Chinese ENGLISH The State of Civil Society 2011 is a new initiative of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and it will be the only annual report on the health and state of civil society, and the enabling environment for civil society, authored by the civil society sector itself.

Occupy: Reinventing leadership, governance and economic paradigms Promoting Human Rights in Uzbekistan - a Crisis Response Fund Appeal Nnimmo Bassey on what to expect from Durban climate talks On the road to Busan: Interview with Emele Duituturaga Third day of the trial against Ales Bialiatski: clear signs of a politically-motivated trial And much more.

Dear members and partners, We would like to kindly remind you that CIVICUS, as Operating Partner of the NGO Major Group facilitating the Rio+20 process, is very much interested in receiving your contributions to the Zero draft of the Rio+20 outcome document by the November 1st deadline (5pm Eastern Standard time, close of business in New York).

CIVICUS is joining fellow civil society organisations to urge G20 leaders to put human rights norms and principles at the centre of their decision-making on financial regulation and climate change during their upcoming Summit in Cannes, France.

Opening Plenary: The Global Context for Civil Society by Ingrid Srinath Where do we, civil society, find ourselves as we near the end of 2011? The heady optimism of the 1990s following the fall of the Berlin wall and its promise of a global wave of democracy and freedom, and the growing power of citizen action symbolized by the protests at the WTO in Seattle were quickly followed by a decade of the “war on terror” used as an excuse by many governments around the world to restrict freedoms of information, expression, and assembly.

Uganda was reviewed recently by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.

People power for aid effectiveness CIVICUS Secretary General at Commonwealth People's Forum Joint Open Letter on Bahrain Cuba 'Ladies in White' founder Laura Pollan dies Bahrain: Repression against workers and attacks against Trade Union Rights are still going on G20 finance ministers face growing public anger for failing to reform financial system Civil Society at a Crossroads? Read this issue online now.

Dear Commonwealth Heads of Governments, This letter follows an earlier letter on this subject that many of us jointly wrote to Commonwealth Foreign Ministers, prior to their meeting in New York on 22 September 2011.

Opening Up Uganda’s Civil Society Space at the United Nations Human Rights Council Together with our colleagues from Uganda, Civicus organized a side event at the United Nations Human Rights Council on October 10, 2011, focusing on Civil Society Space in Uganda.

CIVICUS Secretary General Ingrid Srinath is travelling to Perth, Australia, from 25-28 October 2011, to take civil society messages to Commonwealth decision-makers.

The Conference on Volunteer Action for Development will be taking place from the 17 – 19 of October at the FNB Learning Centre, Sandton, Johannesburg.

Authoritarian regimes, co-opted institutions, the absence of enabling legislation and a persecuted civil society are some of the central factors holding back the fulfilment of the fundamental rights of freedoms of many an African citizen.

South Africa fails an ethical test: Dalai Lama cancels planned visit Q&A: Africa's legislated civil society crackdown Comments and proposals on the second draft of the Busan draft outcome document Civic Engagement Measurement System Bahrain medical staff sentenced for treating protesters Civil society comes of age in Jamaica World Bank-IMF annual meetings 2011 Online Consultation on the CFS Global Strategic Framework Read this issue online.

Following the publication of the revised Busan Outcome Document (BOD), CIVICUS has raised several concerns regarding the  global trend of the increasing dis-enabling environment for CSOs that affects their effectiveness and role as independent development actors.

Trying to use a water pistol to stop a charging rhino IMF-World Bank civil society town hall meeting Joint letter to Secretary of State Clinton regarding Uzbekistan Busan CSO pre-event; Register now Africa's energy future heading down a dark tunnel Sentencing to prison of lawyer Moses Richards, a chilling message to the Gambian human rights community Read this issue online or subscribe to receive future issues in your inbox

Cyril Ritchie* The  world  is  today  a  poorer  place,  following  the  immensely  regretted  death  of  Wangari  Maathai,   an  outstanding  woman,   an  outstanding  humanist,   an outstanding  innovator,   an outstanding  civil  society  activist,   an  outstanding  leader.

Remarks by Laila Iskandar, Chairperson, CID Consulting (a social enterprise in Cairo, Egypt), Board Chair, Spirit of Youth NGO in Cairo (situated in the garbage collectors’ neighbourhood of Manchiyet Nasser), and Member, Global Recyclers without Borders Network Thank you for the invitation to this Town Hall meeting.