Op-Eds

Featured

International community: Speak up now about Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians

Op-Eds
By Jesselina Rana, Human rights lawyer and UN adviser at the New York Hub of CIVICUS Every week, the evidence mounts that Israel is committing grave war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip that likely amount to genocide.
Featured

Solidarity is the missing link to a stronger civil society ecosystem

Op-Eds
Ecosystem is a widespread term today, having grown in popularity in recent years.
Featured

When the truth becomes a lie: What Trump’s election means for the world as we know it

Op-Eds
By Mandeep S.

Mohammad Yunus can go down in history as the architect of a new Bangladesh

Op-Eds
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief of evidence and engagement and Representative to the United Nations at CIVICUS After mass protests forced long-term Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country in early August, Bangladesh found itself in a unique moment of opportunity to chart a path towards true democracy.

Can the UN Human Rights Council Protect Rights While Abusers Sit at the Table?

Op-Eds
States with abysmal human rights records seek election to the UN Human Rights Council not to advance human rights but to block their realization.

Honduras: Environmental Defenders Still under Siege

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela, Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

The UN Cybercrime Convention: A New Repressive Tool in Disguise?

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela,  Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

Tunisia: A Hollow Victory in a Non-competitive Election

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin Tunisia’s 6 October presidential election did what it was designed to do: prolong autocratic incumbent Kais Saied’s stay in power.

The Future of Civic Freedoms: Lessons from My Time at CIVICUS

Op-Eds
By Lysa John, outgoing Secretary General of CIVICUS.

Georgia’s Dangerous Anti-LGBTQI+ Law

Op-Eds
Georgia’s ruling party has put LGBTQI+ people firmly in the firing line ahead of next month’s election.

A UN 2.0 Needs Robust People’s Civil Society Participation

Op-Eds
By Jesselina Rana, UN advisor at CIVICUS and Mandeep Tiwana, chief of evidence and engagement at CIVICUS plus representative to the UN in New York A cascade of crises endangers our world.
Featured

New Zealand: Māori Rights in the Firing Line

Op-Eds
A New Zealand bill that would roll back Indigenous rights is unlikely to pass – but it’s emblematic of a growing climate of hostility from governing politicians.
Featured

Rwanda: Authoritarian Leader Secures Another Term

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report No one can pretend to be surprised.
Featured

Venezuela Struggles to Hold on to Hope

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Cambodia’s Young Environmental Activists Pay a Heavy Price

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report It’s risky to try to protect the environment in authoritarian Cambodia.
Featured

Eswatini: Jailing of Politicians the Latest Act of Repression

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report Two politicians have just been sentenced to long prison terms in Eswatini.
Featured

The UK’s Chance for Change

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report The political tide has turned in the UK – and civil society will be hoping for an end to government hostility.
Featured

HLPF 2024: Protecting Civic Space Critical for SDGs Success

Op-Eds
By Jesselina Rana, CIVICUS UN Advisor at UN Hub in New York City.
Featured

Namibia: LGBTQI+ Rights Victory amid Regression

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela,  CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report In June, the Namibian High Court struck down two sections of the country’s Sexual Offences Act that criminalised consensual sexual relations between men, finding them unconstitutional.
Featured

Myanmar: International Action Urgently Needed

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin,  CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report Myanmar’s army, at war with pro-democracy forces and ethnic militias, must know it’s nowhere near victory.
Featured

Thailand’s LGBTQI+ Rights Breakthrough

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report At the height of 2024 Pride season, decades of civil society campaigning came to fruition in Thailand.
Featured

New Caledonia: Time to Talk about Decolonisation

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Haiti: Transitional Administration Faces Stern Test

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report There’s been recent change in violence-torn Haiti – but whether much-needed progress results remains to be seen.
Featured

Venezuela’s Opportunity for Democracy

Op-Eds
 By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

India’s Election: Cracks Start to Show in Authoritarian Rule

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Panama’s Elections: Has Impunity Prevailed?

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela Regional experts called it Panama’s most important election since the 1989 US invasion that deposed de facto president General Manuel Noriega.
Featured

Solomon Islands: A Change More in Style than Substance

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

EU’S ‘Foreign agent law’ is misguided

Op-Eds
By Tara Petrovic, leads research on Europe and Central Asia for the CIVICUS Monitor.
Featured

Civil Society Scores LGBTQI+ Rights Victory in Dominica

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela,  CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

South Africa’s post-apartheid democracy is sustained by protest

Op-Eds
By Safia Khan and Tarryn Booysen  On April 27, South Africa marks the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid, when we, South Africans, finally won the fight for all to be recognised as equal citizens.

The Climate Alarm Is Ringing – It’s Time to Stop Silencing It

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin The heat records keep tumbling – 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history.
Featured

Senegal’s Democracy Passes Crucial Test

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report The fact that Senegal’s election took place on 24 March was in itself a triumph for civil society.
Featured

Fixing the rules-based order: Start with the UN

Op-Eds
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Officer - Evidence and Engagement at CIVICUS U.
Featured

Gender Rights: Resistance Against Regression

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

The criminalisation of climate activists must stop now

Op-Eds
Andrew Firmin is the co-author of the State of Civil Society report and Editor-in-Chief at CIVICUS, where he leads research into climate activism around the world.
Featured

2024: A Big Year for Women and Democracy

Op-Eds
By Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS  The year 2024 is a bumper election year.
Featured

International Women’s Day, 2024 Progress Hinges on Feminist Leadership

Op-Eds
By Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS Investing in inclusion requires more than electing and initiating women leaders.
Featured

Greece: Another First for LGBTQI+ Rights

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report After almost two decades of civil society campaigning, Greece’s parliament has passed a law enabling same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.
Featured

Russia: Moments of Dissent after Two Years of War

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked its second anniversary on 24 February.
Featured

Pakistan’s Election Outcomes Leave Many Unhappy

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report Pakistan’s 8 February election has resulted in an uneasy compromise that few wanted or expected.
Featured

Myanmar’s Military Catastrophe: Three Years and Counting

Op-Eds
The military must have expected an easier ride.
Featured

Serbia’s Suspicious Election

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Guatemala’s Chance for a New Beginning

Op-Eds
By Inés Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Iran, Back to the Grim Normal

Op-Eds
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Bangladesh: Election with a Foregone Conclusion

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin,  CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Locally-led Development: Beyond Promises to Action

Op-Eds
By Clara Bosco (CIVICUS), Anita Kattakuzhy (Movement for Community-Led Development (MCLD)) and Gunjan Veda (NEAR) Over the last couple of years, we have seen an unprecedented number of commitments by funders and philanthropists to support locally-led development, increase direct funding to local actors and promote a more enabling environment for civil society.
Featured

Sudan’s Conflict Needs Civil Society Solutions

Op-Eds
By Andrew Firmin,  CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Latvia: A Vital First Step Towards Marriage Equality

Op-Eds
 By Inés M.
Featured

Netherlands Latest Country to Tilt to the Right

Op-Eds
By Andew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
Featured

Argentina Plunges into the Unknown

Op-Eds
By Inés M.

Sign up for our newsletters

Our Newsletters

civicus logo white

CIVICUS is a global alliance that champions the power of civil society to create positive change.

brand x FacebookLogo YoutubeLogo InstagramLogo LinkedinLogo

 

Headquarters

25  Owl Street, 6th Floor

Johannesburg
South Africa
2092

Tel: +27 (0)11 833 5959


Fax: +27 (0)11 833 7997

UN Hub: New York

CIVICUS, c/o We Work

450 Lexington Ave

New York
NY
10017

United States

UN Hub: Geneva

11 Avenue de la Paix

Geneva

Switzerland
CH-1202

Tel: +41 (0)79 910 3428