Opinions & Features

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The criminalisation of climate activists must stop now

Opinions & Features
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.

Strengthening Civic Space in Zambia: A Decade of Challenges and Collaborative Efforts

Opinions & Features
CIVICUS, in collaboration with our esteemed partners at the GEARS Initiative, recently convened civil society actors in Zambia to delve into the intricacies of citizen-led advocacy aimed at expanding civic freedoms through legislative and policy reform.
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2024: A Big Year for Women and Democracy

Opinions & Features
By Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS  The year 2024 is a bumper election year.
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International Women’s Day, 2024 Progress Hinges on Feminist Leadership

Opinions & Features
By Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS Investing in inclusion requires more than electing and initiating women leaders.
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Greece: Another First for LGBTQI+ Rights

Opinions & Features
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.
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Russia: Moments of Dissent after Two Years of War

Opinions & Features
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.
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Pakistan’s Election Outcomes Leave Many Unhappy

Opinions & Features
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.
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Myanmar’s Military Catastrophe: Three Years and Counting

Opinions & Features
The military must have expected an easier ride.
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Serbia’s Suspicious Election

Opinions & Features
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.

“Imagine if the Haitian revolutionaries had to write a proposal?”: Reflections from the Shift the Power Summit

Opinions & Features
By Taís Siqueira, Local Leadership lab Coordinator This quote represents what Shift the Power Summit was to me, a space to hear uncomfortable truths and to collectively reimagine solutions.
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Civil Society Trends for 2025: Nine Global Challenges, One Reason for Hope

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin and Inés Pousadela It’s been a tumultuous year, and a tough one for struggles for human rights.
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Guatemala’s Chance for a New Beginning

Opinions & Features
By Inés Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Iran, Back to the Grim Normal

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

CIVICUS at Festival de Datos: Advancing action on inclusive, timely, and accountable data processes

Opinions & Features
Julieta Zurbrigg, Civic Space Research Advisor Faith Pienaar, Impact and Accountability Officer In the dynamic realm of data innovation, global challenges call for timely and impactful solutions.
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Bangladesh: Election with a Foregone Conclusion

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin,  CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Locally-led Development: Beyond Promises to Action

Opinions & Features
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.
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Sudan’s Conflict Needs Civil Society Solutions

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin,  CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Latvia: A Vital First Step Towards Marriage Equality

Opinions & Features
 By Inés M.
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Reflecting on a Transformative Year and Priorities for the Future

Opinions & Features
A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS Dear CIVICUS members and allies, As we bid farewell to a remarkable year, I am inspired as we reflect on the growth of the CIVICUS Alliance.
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Netherlands Latest Country to Tilt to the Right

Opinions & Features
By Andew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Argentina Plunges into the Unknown

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
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Mauritius' court ruling shows southern Africa leads the way in LGBTQIA+ rights in Africa

Opinions & Features
By Sylvia Mbataru and Mawethu Nkosana The Mauritius decision is part of a wider trend of Southern African courts protecting LGBTQIA+ rights following sustained strategic litigation and advocacy by activists and civil society organisations.

Advocacy at African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, Tanzania

Opinions & Features
On the margins of the 77th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) held in Arusha, Tanzania, CIVICUS, through the Consortium for Human Rights and Media in Sub-Saharan Africa (CHARM) project hosted a side event on Environmental Rights and Human Rights Defenders in Africa on 21 October 2023.
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Gaza: Immediate ceasefire needed

Opinions & Features
Long-term solutions must also be advanced to respect human rights By CIVICUS Staff An immediate ceasefire is needed to stop the slaughter of civilians in Gaza and enable full humanitarian access to supply the essentials a besieged population needs and is currently being denied.
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UN's impact is hamstrung by scant civil society participation

Opinions & Features
Mandeep Tiwana, chief officer for evidence and engagement at CIVICUS and Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS Let’s not beat around the bush: this year’s United Nations General Assembly was a letdown.
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Intergenerational Movement For Change: CIVICUS Uniting For A Just And Sustainable Future

Opinions & Features
By Secretary General, Lysa John and Chief Officer of Evidence and Engagement Mandeep Tiwana Defending people power and striving to promote excluded voices — this is the mission of CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world.
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The UN’s Own Relevance Is at Stake at This Year’s General Assembly

Opinions & Features
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Officer for evidence and engagement + representative to the UN headquarters at CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance This September, world leaders and public policy advocates from around the world will descend on New York for the UN General Assembly.
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Niger coup – military intervention by Ecowas could prove costly for human rights

Opinions & Features
By David Kode, CIVICUS' Advocacy and Campaigns Lead  Mohamed Bazoum’s ascension to the presidency in 2021 in a rare political transition was a major boost for Niger’s democracy.
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Lessons from our work across 2017 to 2022 and implications for our current strategic action

Opinions & Features
  A message from Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS    Dear CIVICUS members and allies At the close of our 2017-2022 Strategic Plan period, we committed to review the most significant outcomes achieved and lessons learnt from its implementation.
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The Civic Space Crisis in Africa and How Civil Society Responds

Opinions & Features
Introduction The state of civic space globally and the environment for civil society continues to deteriorate.
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Cloud Lingers over Sierra Leone’s Election

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Guatemala Clings to Democratic Promise

Opinions & Features
by Inés M.
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MYANMAR: MILITARY JUNTA GETS A FREE PASS

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Climate Change Gets Its Day in Court

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
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Thailand: Time for Democracy

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Chile: New Constitution in the Hands of the Far Right

Opinions & Features
By Inés Pousadela, Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
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Celebrating our #1 position on the FAIR SHARE of Women Leaders Monitor

Opinions & Features
Dear members and allies,  CIVICUS has just been recognised as the top-ranking organisation in the annual FAIR SHARE for Women Leaders Monitor.
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Civil society in a world of crisis: An overview of the 2023 State of Civil Society Report

Opinions & Features
Mandeep S.
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Agenda 2030: Why civic participation is key to meeting UN sustainability targets

Opinions & Features
Mandeep S.
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Uzbekistan: A President for Life?

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin Where will you be in 2040? For Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the answer is: in the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace.

Localisation: A Paradigm Shift Towards Local Leadership in the Global South

Opinions & Features
By Deborah Mowesley, Innovation For Change InternIn recent years, words like “localisation” and “locally-led” have garnered significant attention.
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Fiji: Deeper Democracy or Continuing Danger?

Opinions & Features
 It’s been a time of significant change in Fiji following the country’s December 2022 election.
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Sudan conflict marks failure of transition plan

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report On one side is the army, headed by Sudan’s current leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
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Global solidarity needed to address Taliban’s attacks on women’s rights

Opinions & Features
By David Kode, Advocacy and Campaigns Lead at CIVICUS  Matiullah Wesa’s crime was to try to ensure young people got an education in Afghanistan.
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Cuba: elections without choices

Opinions & Features
By Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist The uncertainty that’s the hallmark of a democratic election was absent on 26 March, the day Cubans were summoned to appoint members of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the country’s legislative body.

Strengthening Citizen Engagement and Participation in the Civic Space: Challenges and Recommendations

Opinions & Features
By Deborah Mowesley, Innovation For Change InternAs an intern at CIVICUS for the past two months, I have had the opportunity to gain valuable insight into the workings of civic engagement and participation.
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Bahrain’s botched whitewashing attempt

Opinions & Features
By Inés M.
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Civil Society a Vital Force for Change Against the Odds

Opinions & Features
By Andrew Firmin and Inés M.
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Georgia: danger averted, for now

Opinions & Features
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.
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Civic space – the bedrock of democracy – is scarce and contested

Opinions & Features
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief of Programmes, CIVICUS On 29 and 30 March, the US government, in partnership with Costa Rica, Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia, will co-host the second virtual Summit for Democracy.

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