By David Kode  On Saturday 5th October, police in Democratic Republic of Congo reportedly used tear gas and armoured vehicles to break up a demonstration organised by members of the opposition, who were gathering in spite of an official ban on protest in place since 22 September.

Many US citizens may instinctively believe they still live in the land of the free, but a new global rights rating system shows the country is far less tolerant than they may think.

After two years of deep thinking and hard work, the global civil society alliance CIVICUS has launched the beta version of the CIVICUS Monitor – the first ever online tool specifically designed to track and rate respect for civic space, in as close to real-time as possible.

World over, girls are faced with enormous challenges, and each continent has its specific issues which perpetuate these vulnerabilities.

Prime Minister Solberg is becoming an international development superstar.

Civil society has been described as the oxygen of democracy by no less than UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

For the last three years, Australia’s foreign aid budget has been in free-fall.

Last year, it was estimated that there were 20 million refugees and 244 million migrants around the world.

In many ways 2015 marked a watershed for civil society.

In 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), counted 65 million people around the world forced to leave their homes.

We are about to elect a new secretary-general for the United Nations.

The first World Humanitarian Summit has come and gone.

Human rights and social justice focused organisations in the global south are facing double trouble.

After being detained for 50 days, World Vision’s operations manager in the Gaza Strip, Mohammad Halabi, has been charged by the Israeli authorities with channelling millions of dollars of charitable funds to Hamas.

The phrase "leaving no one behind" is used no fewer than six times in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development agreed by global leaders as a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity.

As the world tunes into the Rio 2016 Olympics, I feel ambivalent: torn between hoping the Games will deliver for Rio and for Brazil and knowing that, without radical reform, the selection processes for Olympic host cities will continue to have serious negative consequences, often for the most disadvantaged in our societies.

With more and more governments narrowing space for dissent and activism, the UN has emerged as a key platform to air concerns about acute rights violations and develop protections for civil society and other vulnerable groups.

Mexico is experiencing a monumental human rights crisis.

When the Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) Regional Coalition for Middle East and North Africa met this past week in Beirut, one seat was noticeably empty.

In recent years there has been an explosion of attention and focus on young people.

By Fideline Mboringong and Angga D.

Most of today’s intergovernmental institutions – the UN included – were designed in the 1940s and 50s, with the pre-eminence of states in their blueprint and post-War hierarchies at their heart.

We live in an age of multiple paradoxes.

Every generation has its iconic struggle for equality, from the civil rights movement to the push towards gender parity.

I hear lots of talk – sometimes in public and often in private – about the role of big NGOs in development.

French | Spanish Dear friend, Six decades after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, creating a global covenant affirming the fact that ‘all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights,’ the vision lies in tatters, made worthless by the ever-increasing chasm between haves and have-nots.

This article captures the background and events of November 2013 in Kenya.

Mozynah is currently participating in CIVICUSs UN learning Exchange program for citizens of an African country.

On 28th January 2014, I attended the 18th Session of the United Nations Universal Period Review (UPR) on Cambodia.

On 29 January 2014, I attended the side meeting on Yemen, organized by CIVICUS and its partners, as well as the 18th Session of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Yemen.