Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term in power was sustained by a pattern of repression to undermine democracy and civic space, the global civil society alliance CIVICUS said today. A new CIVICUS Monitor report, published ahead of the 2024 elections, shows that the Indian government used an array of restrictive laws and policies to silence dissent by targeting critics including civil society groups, human rights defenders and independent media.

The report highlights how civil society organisations have faced an increased crackdown through the cancellation of their registrations, raids and investigations by law enforcement agencies. The authorities also blocked access to foreign funding for civil society groups, critical of the government, through the restrictive Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which the UN has deemed in contravention of international law and standards.

Human rights defenders critical of the government were also implicated and jailed in politically motivated cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a draconian anti-terror law. Under the UAPA’s draconian provisions, activists remain in detention for long periods and are often denied bail even on health grounds as exemplified in the Bhima Koregaon case. India also witnessed an increase in attacks and restrictions against independent media and journalists in recent years such as the targeting of NewsClick with raids, searches and seizures by various government agencies.

“The increasing use of restrictive laws during Prime Minister Modi’s second term to crackdown on civil society, human rights defenders and independent media, highlights a government that has become intolerable of any form of dissent. These laws have become tools for judicial harassment and are incompatible with India’s international human rights obligations as well as India’s Constitution”, said Marianna Belalba Barreto, Research Lead for the CIVICUS Monitor

CIVICUS also highlights in the report that since the 2019 elections, major protests in India have been met with arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force by the police, including protests against the discriminatory Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019 and the farmers protests.  Authorities used Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a colonial-era provision, to arbitrarily restrict or deny assemblies.  Internet shutdowns were also used to prevent people gathering in protests and fabricated charges were brought against protesters, with some still remaining in detention.

Human rights work in Kashmir has almost come to a complete standstill due to arrests of activists and continuous harassment of civil society organisations and activists through raids and interrogations. Among them include Khurram Parvez from the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society who has been detained under the UAPA for more than two years. Journalists who report on critical issues in Kashmir have also been targeted.

“The systematic crackdown on peaceful protests and the jailing of protesters for exercising their right to peaceful assembly shows the erosion of democratic space during Modi’s second term. In Kashmir, the heavy-handed repression by the Indian government against critical voices and the failure to ensure accountability has left the region in a climate of fear”, said Belalba.

CIVICUS calls on the government to drop all charges against human rights defenders, activists and protesters, and immediately and unconditionally release all those detained; review and amend India’s criminal laws to conform to international law and standards and take steps to ensure that all human rights defenders in India are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance or fear of reprisals.

Download the India research brief here.

Civic space in India is rated as Repressed  by the CIVICUS Monitor

About the CIVICUS Monitor

Over twenty organisations collaborate on the CIVICUS Monitor to provide an evidence base for action to improve civic space on all continents. Civic freedoms in 198 countries and territories are categorised as either ‘closed,’ ‘repressed ,’ ‘obstructed ,’ ‘narrowed ’ or ‘open ,’ based on a methodology that combines several data sources on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression

CIVICUS has submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the state of civic space in Indonesia ahead of its review of the state’s implementation of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on 11 March 2024.

In the submission, CIVICUS documented the ongoing restrictions, criminalisation, harassment and threats of activists and journalists including those who were charged under Electronic Information and Transaction (Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik or ITE) Law, that was passed in 2008. The law has been used to arrest, harass, prosecute and punish people for peacefully exercising their freedom of speech, including activists and journalists.  The Indonesian authorities have also used Article 106 (treason) and Article 110 (conspiracy to commit treason) of the Criminal Code to prosecute dozens of political activists for their peaceful expression.

The submission also highlights law and policies that are still used to restrict protests in Indonesia. Further, the new Criminal Code passed in December 2022 outlaws unsanctioned public demonstrations deemed to be disturbing public order. The submission also highlights incidents where the authorities have forcibly dispersed protests and arbitrarily arrested protesters. In some cases, unnecessary and excessive force and firearms were used, leading to injuries and deaths. In most cases, no one has been held accountable or only administrative sanctions have been imposed.

The submission highlights how the Law No. 17/2013 on Societal Organisations falls short of international law and standards and documents the ongoing criminalisation of human rights defenders especially in Papua. Human rights groups have faced acts of intimidation by the police including visits to their offices while civil society gatherings have been cancelled due to threats from fundamentalist groups. There have also been digital attacks against students, academics, journalists and activists to spread fear and silence critical voices.

The submission calls on the UN Human Rights Committee to make a series of recommendations including: 

• Ensure freedom of expression and media freedom by bringing all national legislation, particularly the new Criminal Code, into line with international law and standards.
• Repeal laws around criminal defamation, including Article 27 para (3) on defamation of the ITE Law and Article 156a of the Criminal Code, in order to bring them into line with ICCPR Article 19 and other international law and standards in the area of freedom of expression.
• Repeal Article 256 of the new Criminal Code and amend Law No. 9 of 1998 on Freedom of Expressing Opinions in Public and the Regulation of the Head of the State Police of the Republic of Indonesia No. 9 of 2008 in order to guarantee fully the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
• Immediately and impartially investigate all instances of extrajudicial killings and excessive force committed by security forces in the context of protests.
• Repeal restrictive provisions of the Law on Societal Organisations to remove undue restrictions on freedom of association, to bring it into compliance with the principles of due process of law and ICCPR Articles 21 and 22.
• Take measures to foster a safe, respectful and enabling environment for civil society, including by removing legal and policy measures and practices that unwarrantedly limit freedom of association.

More information

Download the Indonesia research brief here.

Indonesia is currently rated Obstructed  by the CIVICUS Monitor.

Historical report from the CIVICUS Monitor looks at seven key trends from 2019 to 2023:

1. Rise in the closure of civic space worldwide
2. Repression in Africa south of the Sahara and MENA
3. Civic space challenges in Europe
4. Detentions and arrests of protesters
5. COVID-19 pandemic and civic space
6. Prosecution of activists
7. Restrictive laws to silence dissent

READ REPORT

A model of Insein prison, where thousands of political prisoners have been detained, is seen at the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) office in Mae Sot, Thailand. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

Three years on from the Feb 2021 coup, the assault on civic space by the junta has persisted. In 2023, the CIVICUS Monitor documented the ongoing criminalization of activists and protesters, the silencing of journalists and increasing control of the media, the targeting of lawyers and torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners. Our organisation has also documented digital repression by the junta, the blocking of humanitarian workers and continued violations against the Rohingya.  As a result of this, Myanmar’s civic space rating was downgraded from ‘repressed’ to ‘closed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor in March 2023.

Criminalisation of activists

Over the year, the CIVICUS Monitor continued to document the criminalization of activists for terrorism, incitement and high treason.

In February 2023, a military court sentenced Ko Hein Htet aka Ko Po Po, a student activist of the North Okkalapa students’ union, to life in prison for ‘incitement’ and terrorism.   In the same month former student leader and democracy activist Ko Lin Htet Naing, aka Ko James was given an additional five years in prison for terrorism. On 22 March, a court inside Insein Prison sentenced Ko Kaung Sett Paing, a member of Yangon’s North Okkalapa students’ union, to life imprisonment for ‘incitement’. He was then sentenced to death on 25 April for terrorism.

In April 2023, the junta sentenced jailed protest leader Ko Wai Moe Naing (pictured above) to an additional 20 years in prison on trumped up charges of robbery, rioting and carrying a deadly weapon in a crowd. On 19 May 2023, he was sentenced to another 20 years’ imprisonment for committing high treason.

In April 2023, Kachin Baptist leader Reverend Hkalam Samson was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of terrorism, unlawful association and inciting opposition to the military regime. In May 2023, a court in Insein Prison sentenced student activist Banyar Soe Htet to an additional 10 years in prison for funding terrorism , meaning he is set to serve a total of 84 years.

In June 2023, the junta sentenced a male LGBTQI+ activist to 10 years in prison for terrorism. Justin Min Hein was the president of the LGBTQ Union in the country’s central Mandalay region,   and was a leader of several anti-junta activities. In July 2023, the Eastern Yangon District Court sentenced a student activist, Nyan Win Htet to a further five years in prison for alleged terrorism.

In October 2023, the Monywa Prison Court sentenced human rights defender Man Zar Myay Mon to 11 years in prison, on three counts under the Counter-Terrorism Law. He is an environmental and land rights defender, a leading figure of peaceful anti-coup protests in Chaung-U Township, Sagaing Region, following the military coup.

Arrest and jailing of protesters

Protesters continued to mobilise over the year despite the restrictive environment. Some faced arrests and prosecution for their activism.

In March 2023, a junta court sentenced 13 youth activists to three years of hard labour in prison each for “incitement” after they organised a flash protest in September 2022 against military rule that authorities broke up by ploughing into them with vehicles.

According to Burma Coup Watch, the junta arrested at least 165 people throughout the country for allegedly joining the “Flower Strike” to celebrate State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s 78th birthday on 19 June 2023. Among those arrested  are  women who were wearing flowers.

On 8 August 2023, civilians across Myanmar commemorated the 35th anniversary of the pro-democracy uprising as they held protests against the ruling military junta. Protesters gathered in Yangon, Sagaing, Mandalay and Tanintharyi regions holding red umbrellas, putting up posters with anti-regime slogans, and burning mock-ups of the newly issued 20,000-kyat note to mark the anniversary of “8888.” Three protesters were arrested in Sagaing Region’s Monywa Township when the junta opened fire on six young activists commemorating the anniversary.

Silencing of journalists and increasing control of the media

Journalists and media outlets have continued to be targeted by the junta. Kyaw Min Swe (picture above), the editor-in-chief of The Voice Weekly magazine was charged in April 2023 with ‘incitement’. In June 2023, the junta revoked the Ayeyarwaddy Times’ media license for allegedly breaching Article 8 of the Publishing Act, which bans disseminating information that “disrupts public peace and tranquility”.

In June 2023, the Western Yangon District Court sentenced Thaung Win, The Irrawaddy’s publisher, to five years in prison under Article 124-A of the penal code, which covers penalties for the crime of sedition. In September 2023, a military tribunal sentenced photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike of independent news outlet Myanmar Now to 20 years in prison with hard labour over his coverage of the aftermath of a deadly cyclone after convicting him on various charges, including sedition. Sai Zaw Thaike was provided with no legal representation throughout his detention. There were no court hearings or other proceedings held inside the Insein Prison compound before his conviction.

On 30 October 2023, soldiers arrested Development Media Group reporter Htet Aung while he was taking photos of soldiers making donations to Buddhist monks during a religious festival in the Rakhine State capital, Sittwe. On 11 December 2023, Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo, two Myanmar journalists from the news agency Dawei Watch, were arrested at their home in the middle of the night by several police and military officers in the southern town of Mergui. 

In November 2023, the junta took control of the authority in charge of overseeing television and radio media. It also amended the law without discussion to take control of the Broadcasting Council, the authority in charge of overseeing television and radio media.

Lawyers targeted

In June 2023, Human Rights Watch published a report  highlighting a  pattern of harassment, surveillance, arrests, and in some cases torture, of lawyers since the coup, particularly those taking on political cases.

At least 32 lawyers have been arrested and placed in pre-trial detention with little evidence supporting the charges against them. Many have been charged with incitement and terrorism in summary trials that do not meet international fair trial standards.

Lawyers also reported ill treatment or torture of detained colleagues. Inside special courts, lawyers and their clients face numerous problems, including being forbidden to privately communicate or discuss their cases prior to hearings. Lawyers said that junta officials frequently obstructed or prevented them from carrying out their professional duties, denying suspects their rights to due process and a fair trial.

Torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners

Political prisoners continued to face harsh treatment in prisons. A report by AAPPB published in July 2023 highlighted that from the moment of their arrest they are subjected to interrogation which amounts to torture and inhumane treatment. It also found that even after their release, political prisoners are often left traumatised.

In August 2023, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that prison guards at  Thayarwady prison beat 31 political prisoners for marking the country’s Martyrs’ Day, with four having to be treated for their injuries in the prison hospital. In the same month at least 20 political prisoners in Mandalay Region’s Myingyan Prison were tortured while in solitary confinement. The prison authorities also used tasers to inflict further injuries on the prisoners.

In September 2023, Myanmar Now reported that authorities had been abusing political prisoners after moving them to Mandalay’s Obo Prison from facilities elsewhere in Myanmar. After they were transferred from Monywa Prison, located 80 miles west of Mandalay, 90 male and 11 female inmates were beaten and tortured. Prison authorities allegedly kicked inmates in the face while wearing army boots, shocked them with tasers and beat them with batons. At least 50 were left with lasting injuries.

Digital repression by the junta

Activists have also been targeted online for their activism. In March 2023, UN experts said that the military junta was orchestrating an online campaign of terror, and weaponising social media platforms to harass and incite violence against activists. Women have been targeted and severely harmed. They noted that women are often targets of so-called “doxxing”, the act of publishing private information, including names and addresses, about individuals without their consent. These attacks are frequently accompanied by calls for violence or arrest by junta forces. “Doxxed” women have also been accused of having sexual relations with Muslim men or supporting the Muslim population – a common ultranationalist, discriminatory and Islamophobic narrative in Myanmar.

Some activists have also been criminalised for their online expression. In June 2023, the junta arrested and prosecuted 50 people for allegedly posting anti-regime content on social media platforms. According to junta announcements, people had been prosecuted under antiterrorism laws for comments they made on Facebook, Telegram and TikTok.

Freedom House, in October 2023 said that the Myanmar junta “continued to repress internet freedom in the face of ongoing civil disobedience, political opposition, and armed resistance during the coverage period.” The groups said that “localized internet shutdowns, data price hikes, online trolling, and arbitrary prosecutions that result in long prison terms have created a high-risk and hostile online space for the public at large.

Blocking of humanitarian workers

The junta obstructed humanitarian aid in May 2023 following Cyclone Mocha, putting thousands of lives at risk. According to HRW, junta authorities refused to authorise travel and visas for aid workers, release urgent supplies from customs and warehouses, or relax onerous and unnecessary restrictions on lifesaving assistance.

HRW interviewed aid workers and people in affected communities who described how the junta’s failed relief response has been deliberate. Many aid workers, local activists and villagers expressed the view that the junta used the cyclone response to legitimise and bolster its control.

On 8th June 2023, after weeks of appeals by humanitarian organisations for unrestricted access, the junta formalised its obstruction by issuing a blanket suspension of travel authorisations for aid groups in Rakhine State, reversing initial approvals granted in early June.

Rohingyas at risk

Human rights groups  said that the junta is continuing to ignore the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) orders to protect the Rohingya as “state policies are pushing hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of bare survival in Rakhine State”. Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) said in a new report published in November 2023 that Rohingya people 'live increasingly desperate lives amid widespread restrictions on humanitarian aid by the junta as well as their freedom of movement, access to healthcare and livelihoods. At the same time, the junta and armed groups have tortured, killed and arbitrarily detained Rohingya people'.

Actions from the international community

ASEAN has continued to fail to address the human rights violations in Myanmar. The five-point consensus agreement decided by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders in Jakarta in April 2021 has seen no tangible progress in addressing the crisis and violations by the junta. In May 2023, civil society organisations, launched a position paper to call for a review and reframing of the five-Point Consensus and the bloc’s current approach.  In September 2023, ASEAN established a troika mechanism that would allow the immediate past, current and incoming ASEAN chairs to manage the crisis.

The UN on the other hand has done more to document violations and seek to hold the junta accountable. In March 2023, a report published by the UN Human Rights Office found that the junta has created a perpetual human rights crisis through the continuous use of violence, including the killing, arbitrary arrest, torture and enforced disappearance of anti-coup opponents. In April 2023, a resolution was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council by consensus that unequivocally condemned the junta’s continuing violence against civilians and the democratic resistance. However, the resolution failed to explicitly call for a comprehensive arms embargo;

In July 2023, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Myanmar was in deadly freefall into even deeper violence. He highlighted how the voices of civil society and journalists are being strangled and that arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and torture continue unabated. In September 2023, Nicholas Koumjian, head of the investigation team of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) said "the frequency and intensity of war crimes and crimes against humanity has only increased in recent months.” In October 2023, Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, highlighted in his report to the UN General Assembly the junta’s attacks against civilians, including reports of mass killings, beheadings, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labour, and the use of human shields by junta forces. In December 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur urged UN Member States to “save lives endangered by an intensifying military conflict in Myanmar by taking immediate measures to stop the flow of weapons that the military junta is using to commit probable war crimes and crimes against humanity.”.

A number of countries have also imposed sanctions. In February 2023, the European Union issued sanctions targeting the military and associates facilitating their crimes. In March 2023, The United States Treasury Department announced additional sanctions on Myanmar to prevent supplies of jet fuel from reaching the military in response to airstrikes on populated areas and other atrocities.

In June 2023, the US imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s defence ministry and two banks while in July 2023, the EU imposed a seventh round of restrictive measures against six individuals and one entity In August, the United States allowed for sanctions to be imposed on any foreign individual or entity determined to be operating in the jet fuel sector of Myanmar’s economy.

In October 2023, the US imposed a ban on financial transactions involving the Myanmar state-owned oil company, the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). The US also announced additional sanctions on five individuals and three entities involved in the junta’s abuses, in coordination with Canada and the United Kingdom. In November 2023, the EU approved additional restrictive measures against four persons and two companies generating income for the military regime and providing arms and other equipment used by the armed forces.

Recommendations to ASEAN and the international community:

• Call upon the junta to release all individuals arbitrarily detained, human rights defenders, journalists, protesters, politicians and civil society members and refrain from using violence, halt arbitrary arrests against protesters which violates the rights to peaceful assembly under international law;
• Call on the junta to immediately end and prevent further crimes under international law and other human rights violations, including all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;     
• Raise concerns publicly in multilateral fora including the upcoming Human Rights Council, and renew the Human Rights Council resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar to maintain the crucial UN Special Rapporteur mandate;
• Refrain from any attempt to further legitimise the junta and instead engage with the National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate government of Myanmar, including in multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly;
• Urge the Security Council to immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar, refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court and impose targeted financial sanctions against senior officials suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law and serious violations;
• Exercise universal and other forms of jurisdiction to investigate any person who may reasonably be suspected of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes or other crimes under international law;
• Immediately suspend the direct and indirect supply, sale, and transfer, including transit, and brokering of arms and aviation fuel to the junta and impose targeted sanctions against individuals and entities involved in the arms and aviation fuel supply chain;
• Take proactive steps in providing humanitarian assistance, particularly in ethnic and ceasefire areas and condemn blockades by the junta;
• Provide material and diplomatic support to civil society, journalists and activists at risk and support multilateral initiatives which ensure international scrutiny on Myanmar and further accountability and justice for crimes under international law.

  Civic space in Myanmar is rated as "Closed" by the CIVICUS Monitor

Widespread arrests, attacks and legal restrictions facing LGBTQI+ activists across Africa finds new report

Johannesburg | 4 July, 2023

• Same-sex relations criminalised in at least 27 countries south of the Sahara
• Organisations shut down and offices raided for their work on LGBTQI+ rights
• Widespread bans on the publication of information on gay rights
• Anti-LGBTQI+ laws and practices disproportionately impact other excluded groups including women, children and victims of abuse 

From Uganda to Cameroon, LGBTQI+ activists face significant restrictions due to the prevailing social, cultural and legal attitudes towards homosexuality and gender identity. A new report by CIVICUS, Challenging Barriers: Investigating Civic Space Limitations on LGBTQI+ Rights in Africa, looks at some common challenges faced by activists and civil society groups in countries south of the Sahara.

Many African countries have laws that criminalise same sex activity. The laws, often remnants of colonial era legislation, can be used to target and prosecute LGBTQI+ individuals, including activists. Penalties range from fines, imprisonment to even the death penalty in some countries. 

Limited legal protection in many African countries offers little or no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This lack of protection makes it difficult for activists and civil society groups to advocate for equal rights or seek justice when they face human rights abuses. The offices and activities of civil society organisations advocating for LGBTQI+ rights have been either raided or shutdown in Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Cameroon.

Attacks against people who identify as LGBTQI+ are common in countries such as Benin, Cameroon and Kenya. In Cameroon since 2022 there have been over 30 recorded cases of violence and abuse against LGBTQI+ people, while in Kenya sexual minority groups face escalating homophobic attacks. In January 2023, following a series of killings in 2022, unknown assailants murdered and dumped the body of LGBTQI+ activist Edwin Chiloba. Chiloba’s death, which many linked to his sexual orientation sparked public outrage, with civil society groups and members of the public denouncing the murder and calling on the authorities to bring those involved to justice.

“With the escalating hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community in Africa, this report sheds light on the grave reality faced by many, and compels us to challenge prejudice, and advocate for equality - especially for the most marginalised. Governments must ensure equal protection for all people in accordance with their obligations on non-discrimination under international human rights law. We implore governments to take robust measures to safeguard the rights and well-being of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Sylvia Mbataru, CIVICUS’ Civic Space Researcher for Eastern & Southern Africa.

Censorship and restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly have contributed to a deteriorating environment for activists. In several countries, the publication and dissemination of material on LGBTQI+ issues face strict editorial controls and bans. CIVICUS also documents how protests are being suppressed, including the use of various laws to deny permits for public demonstrations, specifically targeting LGBTQI gatherings.

Despite the hostile environment in many countries, civil society groups continue to advocate for LGBTQI+ rights and score important victories. The report also documents  a number of positive developments including the decriminalization of same sex relations in Botswana and Gabon, as well as a recent Supreme Court decision in Namibia to recognise same-sex marriages concluded abroad between citizens and foreign spouses.

The report concludes by demonstrating the impact of civic space restrictions against LGBTQI+ groups, and shows how the ramifications of these restrictions also affect other excluded groups including women and children.

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CIVICUS has submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the state of civic space in Sri Lanka ahead of its review of the state’s implementation of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on 8-9 March 2023.

In the submission, CIVICUS documented the ongoing restrictions, criminalisation, harassment and threats of journalists including those who covered the mass protests in 2022. There has also been a lack of progress in holding the perpetrators of past human rights violations against journalists to account. The report also highlights the continued misuse of the ICCPR Act No. 56 – a law meant to protect human rights – to stifle freedom of expression as well as the use of a number of legal provisions to silence individuals for their criticism of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The blocking of social media sites is another ongoing concern.

The submission also notes the use of the Police Ordinance No. 16 of 1865 to deny or block peaceful protests. Excessive restrictions were imposed on protests during the pandemic with some activists being detained and forcibly taken to quarantine facilities. Families of disappeared persons in the north and northeast districts also faced systematic harassment for holding marches and protests seeking justice for serious crimes committed during the civil war. Around the mass protests in response to the economic crisis, emergency regulations were issued that lacked due process safeguards and gave unfettered powers to the security forces. Civil society groups documented arbitrary arrests, excessive use of force and allegations of torture or ill-treatment of protesters by security forces. Activists involved in the protests were also targeted including with the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The submission highlights the pattern of intensified surveillance and harassment of civil society groups. Many have been questioned by the police about their staff, donors and funding sources. The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has also highlighted practices that disproportionately impact on CSOs, particularly in north and east Sri Lanka. They include informal refusals of registration of CSOs working on issues such as disappearances, land rights, LGBTQI+ rights and transitional justice. Human rights defenders and lawyers have also faced harassment and vilification for their work and anti-terror law has been used to target political opponents and members of the minority Muslim and Tamil communities.

The submission calls on the UN Human Rights Committee to make a series of recommendations including: 

• Ensure that journalists and writers can work freely and without fear of retribution for expressing critical opinions or covering topics that the government may deem sensitive.
• Ensure that the implementation of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act No. 56 of 2007 (ICCPR Act) is consistent with international law and standards and ensure the law is not misused to stifle freedom of expression or criminalise critics.
• Amend the Police Ordinance regarding notification procedures in order to allow for the occurrence of spontaneous or urgent assemblies without risk of criminality or the requirement to negotiate the time, place or manner of an assembly with the authorities.
• Conduct immediate and impartial investigations into all instances of extrajudicial killing and excessive force committed by security forces during protests and bring the perpetrators to justice, including those with command responsibility.
• Take measures to foster a safe, respectful and enabling environment for civil society, including by removing legal and policy measures and practices that unwarrantedly limit freedom of association.
• Immediately revise the Prevention of Terrorism Act in consultation with civil society groups and ensure that it aligns with international law and standards.

More information

Download the Sri Lanka research brief here.

Sri Lanka is currently rated Obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 42 other countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where the state generally allows individuals and civil society organisations to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of association, but violations of these rights also take place (see the full description of ratings)

CIVICUS and the West African Civil Society Institute have produced a new research brief on the state of civic freedoms in Ghana. This country brief covers civic space developments in Ghana between January 2021 and October 2022. While Ghana has been lauded as a regional champion for its respect of fundamental and democratic freedoms for many years, this has recently been seriously undermined. Major civic space concerns in Ghana include the safety of journalists, the arrest of journalists under ‘false news’ regulations, a draconic draft LGBTQI+ law that criminalises LGBTQI+ advocacy and instances of excessive use of force against protesters. These concerns reflect a growing intolerance of criticism and dissenting views on the part of the authorities and politicians.

More information

Download the Ghana research brief here.

Ghana is currently rated Narrowed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 40 other countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where the state generally allows individuals and civil society organisations to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of association, but violations of these rights also take place (see the full description of ratings)

Two years ago, on 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military junta seized power in an illegal coup. The junta arrested the civilian leaders of the national and state governments and unleashed a deadly crackdown against a mass ‘civil disobedience movement’ opposing the coup.

Serious human rights violations documented in the first year of the coup have persisted. They include the arbitrary arrest and prosecution of human rights defenders and activists, the ongoing use of torture and ill-treatment as well as death sentences and executions. Civil society has been virtually wiped out, politicians jailed, while journalists continue to be targeted. The junta has also increased its crackdown on online dissent and all forms of protests with protesters facing long jail sentences.

The junta has carried out indiscriminate ground and air attacks that have resulted in numerous civilian deaths. Fighting since the coup has displaced over one million people internally, with another 70,000 refugees fleeing into neighbouring countries. In Rakhine State, new restrictions on movement and aid have affected ethnic Rohingya camps and villages.

The five-point consensus agreement decided by ASEAN leaders in Jakarta in April 2021 has seen no tangible progress. The UN has continued to document and raise concerns – including of crimes against humanity and war crimes – and several  countries have imposed sanctions, but this has yet to have a major impact on halting the violations committed by the junta.

The junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has announced plans to lift the state of emergency and to conduct elections in August 2023. The plan has been heavily criticised by the international community. Human rights groups have highlighted how the junta’s illegal election will not resolve the worsening crisis, but ‘add more violence and suffering to an already devastating situation’. Concerns have also been raised that the elections  are aimed at legitimising the junta’s rule and will further undermine the implementation of the five point consensus.

The following are some of the civil and political rights violations the CIVICUS Monitor has documented in Myanmar - which is rated as ‘repressed’  - in the second year of the coup:

Human rights defenders and activists jailed on fabricated charges 

Over the last year, civil society has documented the ongoing criminalisation of human rights defenders, lawyers, students, artists, medical workers and other activists by secret military tribunals including in the country’s most notorious Insein Prison. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPP), as of 30 December 2022, a total of 13,217 individuals were currently under detention. Many were arrested on fabricated charges and convicted in unfair trials - including for terrorism, incitement and sedition - and given harsh sentences including the death penalty. The courts appear to take orders from top divisional military commanders, reducing the chances of successfully appealing a decision.  Myanmar’s Supreme Court, though the highest civilian court in the country, cannot intervene in cases tried by military tribunals under the Defence Services Act of 1959.

Man Zar Myay Mon, a land and environmental rights defender, was sentenced to two years in prison in March 2022. He became a leading figure of peaceful anti-coup protests and in March 2021 was charged with “incitement” under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code. In August 2022, Ko Wai Moe Naing, a prominent anti-junta protest leader in Monywa, Sagaing Region was found guilty of committing multiple counts of ‘incitement’ under section 505(A) of the Penal Code, which has been routinely used by the military junta to target critics of the regime. Following the conviction, he was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.

Thae Su Naing, a member of Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), was sentenced under Section 52 (A) of the Counter-Terrorism Law to seven years in prison by Meiktila Court in Mandalay region on 30 August 2022. The 24-year-old teacher was a former chairwoman of the Meiktila University Students’ Union and taught in the local township. On 14 December 2022, prominent Myanmar LGBTQI+ activist Sue Sha Shinn Thant was sentenced to 22 years in prison by a junta court in Mandalay for allegedly violating Section 505 (b) of Myanmar’s Penal code for inciting sedition against the State, and Section 50 (j) of the Counter Terrorism Law. 

While there have been some releases of political prisoners, human rights groups have noted that this was a tactic by the junta to ease the international pressure, and some were re-arrested after they were released.

Lawyers arrested, interrogated and beaten

There have been continued reports of the arrest and detention of lawyers in recent months. According to reports as of July 2022, the junta has arrested at least 42 lawyers since the illegal coup. On 29 June 2022, lawyer U Tin Win Aung, who had defended prominent Monywa protest leader Ko Wai Moe Naing, was arrested at Obo Prison along with lawyers U Thuta and Daw Thae Su Naing, who were defending other clients. The lawyers had been attending trials in a special court in the prison. Tin Win Aung suffered multiple injuries in the interrogation that followed his arrest, including a broken arm. Fellow lawyers U Thuta and Thae Su Naing were also beaten during interrogation.

Torture or other ill-treatment of detainees

There has been ongoing reports of torture and ill-treatment of activists in detention. A report published by the AAPP in March 2022 highlights systematic violations faced by prisoners in detention including torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment. The report found that around a hundred pro-democracy activists had been tortured to death in interrogation centres, most within 48 hours of arrest. Violence against detained political prisoners begins from the moment they are arrested, and all genders are also being subjected to sexual abuse. Political prisoners also experience mental torture, most commonly isolation from the outside world. Those involved in prison strikes have been beaten and tortured, had to do forced labour and denied access to adequate medical treatment.

In August 2022, Amnesty International published a briefing showing how prison officials kicked and slapped detainees, and also beat them with rifle butts, electrical wires and branches of a palm tree. Detainees also allege they were psychologically tortured with death and rape threats to force confessions or extract information about anti-coup activities. Interrogators also committed sexual and gender-based crimes. In October 2022, RFA Burmese reported that at least 145 people have died while being interrogated by authorities.

Activists sentenced to death and executed 

As noted above, the junta has handed down death sentences against activists. According to the UN as of December 2022, 139 individuals have been sentenced to capital punishment since 1 February 2021

On 23 July 2022 the junta executed four men in the country’s first death sentences carried out in over 30 years. The men put to death were Phyo Zeya Thaw, a rapper and former lawmaker from the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, and Kyaw Min Yu, known as “Ko Jimmy,” a prominent democracy activist (pictured above). He was one of the leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group, veterans of the 1988 popular uprising against military rule. The other two were Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. All those executed were convicted after closed trials that violated international standards.

In November 2022, the junta handed death sentences to ten people, including seven university students all members of the Dagon University Students’ Union, for allegedly being involved in a shooting that killed a former military officer. The seven had taken part in anti-regime protests and participated in the resistance against the junta’s rule. Their executions were scheduled for 7 December 2022 but postponed indefinitely by the junta due to international pressure.

Attack on civil society organisations

In the first year following the illegal coup, most civil society organisations were forced to reduce or suspend their operations or close their offices. Important documents and files had to be moved to safer places in different locations, and civil society leaders fearing their lives had to go into hiding or leave the country.

Over the last year, the situation has continued to worsen. In August 2022, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) published a report stating that the military takeover has ‘taken a severe toll on civil society organisations and trade unions’ and how the “targeted persecution” of these groups, including arbitrary arrests, detentions, acts of violence, raids on homes and offices, seizure of equipment, threatening phone calls, interrogations and surveillance, have substantially limited their ability to operate. The UN agency said the risks extended to both organisations that had been banned since the coup and those not officially included on the blacklist, with authorities often arresting leaders under the pretext of “causing fear, spreading false news or agitating”.

In October 2022, the junta enacted the Organization Registration Law that makes registration compulsory for both national and international NGOs. Under the new law, which repealed the 2014 Association Registration Law, organisations that fail to comply will face punishments including jail terms of up to five years. The New rules have raised alarm among the UN and aid workers as it will impact humanitarian assistance to millions of displaced people. The International Commission on Jurists (ICJ) has stated that the law will further shackle the functioning of civil society in the country and isnon-compliant with international human rights law and standards

Jailing of politicians

Politicians and lawmakers from the National League for Democracy (NLD) have been criminalised since the coup with many sentenced to long prison terms. The country’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced for multiple charges through the year, in a series of closed trials, with no access for media or the public, and a gag order on her lawyers from revealing information about the proceedings. In April 2022 she was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to five years in jail. In August, she was sentenced to another six years on corruption charges while in September she was again found guilty of electoral fraud and sentenced to three years in jail with hard labour.  In October, she was convicted  on two more corruption charges, with two three-year sentences to be served concurrently, adding to previous convictions while in  December, a military court sentenced Suu Kyi  for corruption to a further seven years in prison, taking her overall jail time to 33 years.

Imprisonment and killing of journalists

The junta has systematically targeted journalists since the coup. Many have been charged for violating section 505(a) of the penal code, which makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that “cause fear” or spread “false news.” In December 2022, The Committee to Protect Journalists said that the junta “has doubled down on its repression of journalists” and that in its second year in power the junta handed down harsh prison sentences in a bid to silence and eliminate the country’s few remaining independent media outlets. CPJ found that at least 42 journalists were imprisoned in Myanmar for their reporting as of 1 December 2022, a repressive 40 percent rise on the number recorded by CPJ on the same date in 2021. At least 4 have been killed.

Crackdown on online dissent

Activists have also been targeted for posts on social media critical of the junta. According to a report from January to the end of November 2022, 817 people were arrested or prosecuted for posting in support of the National Unity Government (NUG), the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) on social media platforms.

Protesters arrested and criminalised

Protests have persisted across the country despite the threat of arrest, torture and deadly attacks against protesters. Between 13 and 15 June 2022, at least 40 people who took part in anti-coup flash mob protests in Yangon were arrested. Some were arrested while military troops were checking overnight guest registrations in some townships. In July 2022, The junta arrested eight protesters in Kachin’s Hpakant Township. They were returning home after attending a public protest. On 2nd August 2022, multiple arrests were made in Yangon following calls for a public show of support for Myanmar’s resistance movement in the wake of the execution of four activists.

Many protesters have been given long sentences. A student leader who took part in anti-junta protests in Magway region was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a court in Kayin State on 1 December 2022 under Section 49(a) of the Counter-Terrorism law. Kaung Set Naing was the student leader of Magway city’s Medical University when the junta seized power. On 20 December 2022, Lu Phan Kar, a published poet,  who led anti-regime protests in Ayeyarwady region’s Pathein city, was sentenced to two years in prison for ‘incitement’ against the military. Lu Phan Kar is who began leading anti-junta demonstrations in Ayeyarwady region following the coup. He was previously sentenced for sedition and treason.

The ineffective regional and international response

Human rights groups have continued to criticise Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for its ineffectiveness in seriously addressing the human rights violations in Myanmar.

In August 2022, following the execution of four activists (see above), the human rights groups urged ASEAN to step up pressure on the military junta including imposing targeted sanctions and travel bans on junta leader Min Aung Hlaing and other officials and publicly engage and recognise the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG). However, there has been a lack of action.

A special ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat on 27 October 2022 decided to persist with the failed peace plan. The ministers emphasised the need to ensure the time-bound implementation of a five-point consensus agreed to with the Burmese junta in April 2021.

In a rare move, in November 2022, Southeast Asian heads of governments issued a warning to Myanmar to make measurable progress on the peace plan or risk being barred from the bloc's meetings. The leaders concluded a need for "concrete, practical and measurable indicators with a specific timeline." To stave off pressure from ASEAN, Myanmar has organised prisoner releases.

At the UN Level, in March 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights  said in a new report in to the UN Human Rights Council that the international community ‘must take concerted, immediate measures to stem the spiral of violence in Myanmar, where the military has engaged in systematic and widespread human rights violations and abuses – some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity’. The High Commissioner also supported the referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. In March 2022, The Human Rights Council adopted by consensus a resolution to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further year and maintain monitoring and reporting by the High Commissioner, with a focus on accountability.

In June 2022, Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar released a report which found that the military junta has brutally attacked and killed children and systematically abused their human rights. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, said in August 2022 that crimes against humanity continue to be systematically committed in Myanmar, with ongoing conflicts severely impacting women and children

In December 2022, the UN General Assembly’s credentials committee deferred action on the military’s request to take over the country’s seat at the UN. While the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on 21st December 2022, denouncing the Myanmar military’s rights violations since the coup. The landmark resolution was passed with 12 yes votes and 3 abstentions. The Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, however, affirmed that ‘’expressing deep concern’ and demanding that certain actions be taken without any use of the Security Council’s Chapter VII authority, will not stop the illegal Myanmar junta from attacking and destroying the lives of the 54 million people being held hostage in Myanmar.

Some countries have continued to increase sanctions on the junta over the year. In February 2022, the European Union adopted a fourth round of sanctions. The new listings target 22 persons and 4 entities, including government ministers, a member of junta and members of the Union Election Commission, as well as high-ranking members of the military. The restrictive measures come in addition to the withholding of EU financial assistance directly going to the government and the freezing of all EU assistance that may be seen as legitimising the junta.

In November 2022, the British government announced sanctions on the Office of the Chief of Military and Security Affairs; The 33rd Light Infantry Division (33 LID) of the Myanmar Army and the 99 Light Infantry Division (99 LID) of the Myanmar Army because of its responsibility for the use of torture, including sexual violence, against human rights and democracy activists who are illegally detained in Myanmar. In December 2022, Canada imposed sanctions on Myanmar military jet fuel suppliers, designating Asia Sun Group, a Myanmar conglomerate. Asia Sun Group is a local partner of the Myanmar military and is involved in procuring, storing and distributing jet fuel. On 20 December, both houses of the United States (US) legislature passed the Burma Act to provide non-military aid to the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and its affiliate organisations, including the National Unity Consultative Council, the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and ethnic armed organisations (EAO). The Burma Act also authorises measures to prevent the military regime from acquiring weapons and expands sanctions against junta businesses.

Recommendations to ASEAN and the international community:

• Call upon the junta to release all individuals arbitrarily detained, human rights defenders, journalists, protesters, politicians and civil society members and refrain from using violence, halt arbitrary arrests against protesters and call for the total lifting of the broad ban on gatherings, which violates the rights to peaceful assembly under international law;
• Call on the junta to immediately end and prevent further crimes under international law and other human rights violations, including all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;     
• Denounce and reject the proposed elections by the junta, which only further legitimise the crimes the military has committed and will prolong the suffering of the people of Myanmar under the junta;
• Raise concerns publicly in multilateral fora including the upcoming Human Rights Council, and renew the Human Rights Council resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar to maintain the crucial UN Special Rapporteur mandate;
• Refrain from any attempt to further legitimise the junta and instead engage with the National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate government of Myanmar, including in multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly;
• Urge the Security Council to immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar, refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court and impose targeted financial sanctions against senior officials suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law and serious violations;
• Exercise universal and other forms of jurisdiction to investigate any person who may reasonably be suspected of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes or other crimes under international law;
• Immediately suspend the direct and indirect supply, sale, and transfer, including transit, and brokering of aviation fuel to the junta and impose targeted sanctions against individuals and entities involved in the aviation fuel supply chain;
• Take proactive steps in providing humanitarian assistance, particularly in ethnic and ceasefire areas;
• Provide material and diplomatic support to civil society, journalists and activists at risk and support multilateral initiatives which ensure international scrutiny on Myanmar and further accountability and justice for crimes under international law.

  ---

 Civic space in Myanmar is rated as "Repressed" by the CIVICUS Monitor

In October 2019, student protests in Santiago over a public transport price increase gave rise to a mass, nationwide display of discontent over social inequality and discrimination. Over the course of several weeks, millions of people joined protests in what is commonly referred to as Chile’s ‘estallido social’ (social unrest or uprising). At the time, protesters raised historical demands, including the recognition of Indigenous peoples’ collective rights, decent pension guarantees and access to water, quality housing, education and healthcare.

This was a transformative period in Chile’s history which exposed deep-rooted dissatisfaction with the enduring legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship that governed Chile from 1974 to 1990, showing that structural changes are long overdue. Many called for a new social pact founded on human dignity and pluralism, pointing to the need to change the current constitution, which dates back to the country’s military regime.

A process to develop a new constitution emerged as a key demand of the protests and in October 2020, Chilean voters approved the creation of a directly elected Constitutional Convention, which began its work in July 2021. The body was praised for its diverse composition, with guaranteed gender parity and reserved seats for Indigenous representatives. While the process was launched with high hopes, confidence in the Convention gradually eroded and support for the progressive draft constitution it developed declined over time. On 4 September 2022, an overwhelming majority of Chileans rejected the adoption of the proposed constitution.

While this leaves the country in uncertainty as to how this process will continue, authorities in the government and the National Congress have asserted that they still intend to find a path forward for a new constitution.

This research brief summarises the situation of civic space in Chile between August 2020 and August 2022, reviewing emblematic cases, the main violations and positive developments regarding freedoms of peaceful assembly, association and expression. This period encompasses the final years of the government of President Sebastián Piñera, from March 2018 to March 2022, and the first months of the administration of President Gabriel Boric, since March 2022.

More information

Download the Chile research brief here.

Chile is currently rated Obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 42 other countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where the state generally allows individuals and civil society organisations to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of association, but violations of these rights also take place (see the full description of ratings)

In December 2020, the USA’s civic space rating was downgraded from narrowed to obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor, signalling significant increased restrictions on the exercise of civic freedoms. This reflected the militarised and repressive response to mass protests for racial justice throughout that year, as well as the long-term trend of civic space regression through anti-protest legislation, a hostile climate for the press and surveillance, among other factors.

On 21 January 2021, Joe Biden took office as president – only two weeks after rioters stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn his election. The unrest on 6 January followed weeks of incendiary rhetoric from outgoing president Donald Trump and allies, rousing supporters to reject election results. This attack exposed the depth of the crisis in US democracy, which has impacted on the space for civil society.

While the Biden administration has sought to improve on his predecessor’s relationship with the media and stressed the importance of democratic institutions, some of these trends endure. Lawmakers, particularly those at the state level, have continued to propose and enact restrictions on protest. Recent months have also seen a slew of state-level bills limiting free speech in classrooms. Attacks on journalists are ongoing and distrust toward the press remains high. Protesters continue to face incidents of excessive force and arbitrary arrests.

This research brief covers restrictions, violations and trends affecting freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression in the USA between January 2021 and September 2022.

More information

Download the United States research brief here.

United States is currently rated Obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 42 other countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where the state generally allows individuals and civil society organisations to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of association, but violations of these rights also take place (see the full description of ratings)

Protesters detained in over 90 countries from the past year finds new global report

• Demonstrations in over 130 countries
• Protest restrictions occurred in authoritarian states to mature democracies
• The cost of living, pandemic restrictions, and corruption have been some of the common drivers

From Iran to Italy, people have taken to the streets to demand political and social change. A range of restrictions face protesters and activists, finds a new global assessment by the CIVICUS Monitor, an online research platform that tracks fundamental freedoms in 197 countries and territories. The 2022 Global Assessment on Protest Rights, shows that violations to protest rights, as covered by international law, occur in over 75% of countries where protests have been recorded.

The CIVICUS Monitor data shows that restrictions to freedom of peaceful assembly have occurred in at least 100 countries from October 2021-September 2022. The research documents a timeline of frequent violations that take place before, during and after protests. In numerous countries, restrictive laws or emergency regulations have been deployed to make it difficult for people to protest, including the need for permits and levying fees. Authorities have also used outright bans to prevent protests from happening, often using grounds such as disturbing public order, security concerns, or public health reasons.

The detention of protesters is the most prevalent violation. Those exercising their fundamental freedoms have been detained in at least 92 countries over the past year. The detention periods can range from hours to indefinite. Peaceful protesters against the war in Ukraine, the solidarity for women’s rights in Iran and activists in Sri Lanka demanding a change of government, have all faced lengthy stays in detention.

Excessive force has also been a recurring theme of this year’s protests. Demonstrators have been met with water-cannons, batons, tear-gas and other acts of brute-force in over 40% of the countries recording protests. Police violence at protests has been the most prevalent in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific.

Most disturbing of all has been the unlawful killing of protesters, which has occurred in at least 24 countries. From Myanmar to the United States, protesters have died during protests. In too few of the countries, have independent investigations been conducted by the authorities and the perpetrators of the killings held accountable.

“In most regions this year, the story on protest rights is bleak. At a time when civic rights are needed more than ever to hold governments accountable, the space to protest is being heavily restricted. We need governments to respect the right to peaceful assembly, investigate abuses by security forces and work closely with civil society moving forward to halt this downward spiral and push back against the authoritarian forces at work,” said Julieta Zurbrigg, Research Advisor, CIVICUS Monitor.

ABOUT
Over twenty organisations collaborate on the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform, which tracks restrictions to civic freedoms across the globe. The research coalition tracks a total of 33 different restrictions related to freedom of association, freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly. The data also provides the basis for national civic space ratings, countries can be categorised as either closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed or open.

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CIVICUS has produced a new research brief on the state of civic freedoms in Latvia. Freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression are guaranteed in Latvia in law and in general in practice. While restrictions to freedom of peaceful assembly were put in place during the state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were gradually removed with the easing of restrictions and finally terminated when the state of emergency ended.

There are processes and frameworks for the participation of civil society in decision-making, which are followed by institutions and administrations. However, civil society – most notably Civic Alliance – Latvia (CAL) – the largest network of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the country – believes that engagement with local and national decision-makers needs to be more structured, deliberative and meaningful.  

CSOs face difficulties in achieving and maintaining financial sustainability, which has an impact on the type and breadth of activities they can carry out, as well as on their public visibility. Nevertheless, the strong advocacy work carried out by CSOs means that over the years, funding and partnerships between state institutions and CSOs have been steadily increasing. 

The pandemic has contributed to increasing government transparency, with meetings being conducted online and accessible to civil society and other external actors. This practice has continued after the end of the state of emergency: meetings are broadcast live, offering the opportunity to follow and participate in debates.  

Press freedom, confidentiality of journalistic sources and access to public information are guaranteed by law. However, during the pandemic, misinformation has been spread on social networks, and the overall trustworthiness of the media and information have been undermined. Journalists who cover topics perceived to be controversial, such as vaccines, migration, or same-sex relations, are routinely subjected to hate or harmful speech online.  

Several media channels broadcasting from Russia, considered to be agents of misinformation that pose a threat to Latvia’s security, have been banned. The spreading of misinformation is criminalised under the charge of ‘hooliganism’ and criminal proceedings have been brought against several Latvian people for spreading COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories. 

There have been slight improvements in the rights for LGBTQI+ people, including a draft Civil Union Law, which – despite considerable opposition from the most conservative parts of society – is due for its final reading in the parliament by the end of 2022. In May 2022, an Administrative District Court recognised ‘the existence of a public legal relationship’ for a same-sex couple. The judgment recognised that the state has an obligation to provide a same-sex couple with the opportunity to strengthen their family relationship legally and to be recognised as a family by the state. 

More information

Download the Latvia research brief here.

Latvia is currently rated Narrowed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 40 other countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where the state generally allows individuals and civil society organisations to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of association, but violations of these rights also take place (see the full description of ratings)

CIVICUS has produced a new research brief on the state of civic freedoms in Morocco. Freedom of expression is strictly limited and those who criticise the government or the monarchy, or question Morocco’s territorial integrity, are likely to be arrested and imprisoned. Laws related to the COVID-19 public health emergency have been used as a pretext to further restrict freedom of expression.

Three leading journalists, Taoufik Bouachrine, Omar Radi and Souleiman Raissouni, are currently imprisoned on trumped up sex-related charges, a move intended to isolate them and tarnish their reputations. Morocco’s last independent publication, Akhbar Al Yaoum, was forced to end its activities in March 2021, after being denied aid and after its founder and leading reporters were judicially harassed and imprisoned.

Social media commentators and bloggers have been prosecuted and imprisoned for publishing content on Facebook or YouTube critical of the government or the monarch.

Morocco has been implicated in Amnesty International’s investigation into Pegasus spyware, sold to states by Israel’s NSO group. Several journalists have been targeted with the surveillance tool, both inside and outside Morocco.

LGBTQI+ rights are restricted and homosexuality and consensual same-sex relations are criminalised. Recently, a book on LGBTQI+ issues was withdrawn from the Rabat Book Fair following a social media campaign.

Morocco exercises even stricter control over Western Sahara, also known as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Most of this disputed area is under de facto Moroccan administration. Sahrawi activists, human rights defenders and journalists are brutally harassed, arrested and imprisoned, often for long spells and in inhumane detention conditions.

More information

Download the Morocco research brief here.

Morocco is currently rated Obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see the full description of ratings).

CIVICUS has produced a new research brief on the state of civic freedoms in Uzbekistan. Despite much-publicised steps by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to improve Uzbekistan’s image in the eyes of the international community, civic freedoms in the country remain severely restricted.  

Mass protests in Karakalpakstan 

Mass protests rarely take place in Uzbekistan, reflecting the restrictive environment for the exercise of freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression. 

However, the presidential announcement of proposed constitutional amendments that affected the autonomous status of Karakalpakstan led to mass protests in the republic on 20 June 2022 and on 1 and 2 July 2022, when thousands of people gathered in Karakalpakstan’s capital Nukus and other cities to peacefully express their discontent with the proposed amendments. On the evening of 1 July 2022, the authorities reportedly dispersed protesters with rubber bullets, stun grenades, smoke bombs and water cannon. There were also unconfirmed reports that some people were killed by law enforcement officers during the dispersal. 

Bloggers and journalists targeted 

Individuals have faced retaliation for blogging on corruption and other issues considered sensitive by the authorities. In accordance with amendments to the Law on Informatisation adopted in March 2021, the owners of online resources, including bloggers, are required to ensure that their resources are not used for the dissemination of ‘knowingly false’ information, ‘defamatory’ information, or other information defined as impermissible through vaguely worded language. The failure to promptly remove such information, if detected, might result in restrictions in accessing the online resources in question.

CSOs denied registration  

Although the government publicly claims that there are over 10,000 CSOs now operating in Uzbekistan, closer examination reveals that the majority of these organisations are in fact government-organised non-governmental organisations (GONGOs). The Uzbekistan Independent Institute for Formation of Civil Society reported that 66 per cent of groups are GONGOs, with almost half of them established by government decree. In comparison, the process of registering genuine new CSOs remains fraught with difficulties, particularly when they focus on human rights. Although human rights defender Nikolay Kungurov successfully registered his organisation in September 2022, several independent CSOs have repeatedly been denied registration on grounds that appear to be politically motivated. 

More information

Download the Uzbekistan research brief here.

Uzbekistan is currently rated Closed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 25 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where there is complete closure - in law and in practice - of civic space. An atmosphere of fear and violence prevails, where state and powerful non-state actors are routinely allowed to imprison, seriously injure and kill people with impunity for attempting to exercise their rights to associate, peacefully assemble and express themselves. Any criticism of the ruling authorities is severely punished and there is virtually no media freedom. The internet is heavily censored, many websites are blocked and online criticism of power holders is subject to severe penalties (see the full description of ratings). 

As the climate crisis worsens, so does the violence against those protecting our environment, including climate-critical forests. To achieve real climate justice, we need to address the situation of those working on the frontlines to demand climate action. Around the world, environmental defenders working on climate justice are increasingly targeted with violence, harassment, and criminalisation. Most of these attacks are related to land conflicts involving climate-damaging industries–from deforestation by agribusinesses to mining – yet corporate accountability for such harm is lacking.

In this brief for policymakers attending the United Nations Climate meeting in Egypt (COP27), civil society organisations: EarthRights, Global Witness, Natural Justice, Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental, CIVICUS, and the International Land Coalition share their recommendations for protecting those on the frontlines of the climate crisis and enabling the diverse, safe, and effective participation of civil society observers during COPs and other international climate negotiations.

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• Killings, torture, and arrests of pro-government protesters
• Women activists and protesters targeted through sexual violence 
• Journalists detained and media outlets raided 

Since the October 2021 coup, violations of civic freedoms have continued unabated, with 117 protesters killed during protests. Others have faced detention, sexual violence and torture. 

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the 25th October coup, a new research brief by CIVICUS, released today, looks at violations on civic freedoms taking place during the coup and in its aftermath.

Ongoing tensions between military and civilian factions in the government resulted in the 25th October 2021 coup d’etat by military leadership which sparked mass protests. Protests have been met with excessive and lethal force, with torture and ill-treatment of protesters documented in detention. 

The crisis was only compounded by internet disruptions and shutdowns, which created an information blockade, affecting the ability of the public to get accurate and up-to-date information.

One concerning development is how women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and women protesters have been targeted by sexual violence in an effort to silence them. As of 22 March 2022, 16 women were reportedly raped during protests in Khartoum. In one example, on 18th March 2022, an 18-year-old woman protester was gang raped by three members of the Central Reserve Forces, who threatened to kill her if she moved or screamed. 

“Sudanese civil society groups are facing increased restrictions on civic space and rising repression - equal to the conditions during the former regime. The increasing militarisation of the state is threatening the work of WHRDs in particular, as the coup leaders systemically use sexual and gender-based violence to crackdown on the pro-democracy movement,” said Nazik Kabalo, WHRD from Sudan.

Press freedom has also come under attack, with journalists facing detention and physical violence, while media outlets have been raided by security forces. For example, El Musalmi El Kabbashi, Sudan Bureau chief for Al-Jazeera in Khartoum was arrested and later released by security forces after they raided his home overnight. In another incident, three women journalists were subject to arrest, intimidation and sexual violence.

“Sudanese military leaders should end arbitrary arrests, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment against pro-democracy protesters and respect the right to peaceful assembly. They should foster a peaceful transition with civilian authorities that would lead to democratic elections and restore hope for democracy in the region,” said Aarti Narsee, Civic Space researcher, CIVICUS.

Sudan is currently rated ‘Repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see the full description of ratings).

More information

Download the Sudan research brief here.

Sudan is currently rated ‘Repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see the full description of ratings).

CIVICUS has submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the state of civic space in Philippines ahead of its review of the state’s implementation of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on 10 October 2022.   

In the submission, CIVICUS documented use of defamation and sedition laws to stifle dissent as well as ongoing harassment and attacks against journalists in the Philippines. A number of laws in the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines have been used to criminalise the freedom of expression and as such are inconsistent with the ICCPR. They include Article 154 (unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances), Articles 353 to 355 (libel), Article 357 (slander) and Article 139 (sedition).  Section 4(c)(4) of the 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Act criminalises online libel. 

There has also been closure of media outlets. Former President Duterte had been at odds with critical media outlets for reporting on his administration’s ‘war on drugs’. ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ top broadcaster, was forced off the air in May 2020 after it was ordered by the media regulator to stop operations as the network’s congressional franchise had expired and it was refused a new licence. CIVICUS has also documented cases of arrests, threats and the killing of journalists with impunity. 

The submission also notes that 1985 Public Assembly Act is still inconsistent with international law and standards and a proposed new law regulating public assemblies which was adopted by the House of Representatives in February 2018 and is currently before the Senate could allow for unlawful restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly. CIVICUS has also documented a number of cases where the right to protest was restricted by the police arresting protesters and using unnecessary or excessive force again them. 

The phenomenon of ‘red-tagging’ – labelling individuals or groups as communists or terrorists – poses a serious threat to civil society and activists. ‘Red-tagging’ has been used for decades in the Philippines but according to human rights groups, ‘red-tagging’ became deadlier when Duterte became president in 2016. This label puts activists at grave risk of being targeted by the state and pro-government militias.  

Restrictions on foreign funding for NGOs have been documented. The authorities have also targeted activists directly by arresting and detaining them, often on fabricated charges. There have also been reports of evidence being planted by the police and military forces to justify arrests or violence against activists.  

CIVICUS has documented the extrajudicial killings of human rights defenders and activists. Accountability for these actions have been virtually non-existent. The draconian 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act includes a worryingly broad definition of terrorism and grants the Philippines police and military wide powers to detain suspects and relaxes accountability for law enforcement agents who violate the rights of suspects, particularly those in detention. 

The submission calls on the UN Human Rights Committee to make a series of recommendations including:  

• Reform or repeal defamation legislation, immediately drop all charges or quash convictions against journalists and conduct prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigations into the killings, threats and harassment of journalists and bring the perpetrators to justice.  

• Amend the 1985 Public Assembly Act in order to guarantee fully the right to the freedom of peaceful assembly in accordance with international law and standards and adopt best practices on the freedom of peaceful assembly, as put forward by the 2012 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association. 

• Immediately end the red-tagging and vilification of CSOs and activists, ensure that HRDs are able to carry out their legitimate activities without fear or undue hindrance, obstruction, or legal and administrative harassment. Establish mechanisms to protect human rights defenders, including by adopting and implementing the Human Rights Defenders Bill and conduct prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigations into the killings of human rights defenders and activists and bring the perpetrators to justice. 

Philippines is currently rated Repressed  by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries and territories in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see full description of ratings).  

More information

Download the Philippines research brief here. 

Interviews

CIVICUS:

ARABIC

Civic freedoms in Palestine continue to deteriorate with an escalation of attacks on civil society organisations, journalists and Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) by the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF).

Ahead of the United Nations Human Rights Council debate on Item 7, “Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, a new research brief by CIVICUS provides an overview of recent civic space restrictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) perpetrated by both IOF and OPT authorities.

Violations documented as a result of Israel’s institutionalised regime of apartheid include the harassment and killing of journalists, protesters and HRDs, censoring Palestinian voices online and offline, and the forcible closure of civil society organisations (CSOs).

Israel’s targeting of CSOs escalated in 2021 after six leading Palestinian human rights organisations were designated as “terrorist organisations” under the Counter-Terrorism Law. On 18 August 2022, the IOF forcefully entered, raided, and sealed the entries to the offices of seven CSOs^[1], confiscating and damaging property in some of the offices. Following the raid, the director of Al-Haq, one of the organisations targeted, was intimidated and threatened that he would pay a ‘personal price’ if Al-Haq continued its work.

To date, there has been no accountability for the killing of Palestinian-US Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed over four months ago, in May 2022, while reporting on an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, despite wearing a helmet and flak jacket marked “PRESS”.

Violations of Palestinians' digital rights are commonplace, with major social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Tik Tok complicit in silencing Palestinian voices. For example, during the Sheikh Jarrah protests, where families faced forced eviction and imminent threat by Israeli settler organisations, social media was one of the most important vehicles to share evidence of human rights violations. However, users were systematically silenced on an egregious scale, including by deletion of content, blocking or closing of accounts, hiding hashtags, and reducing content reach. Offline, Palestinians who continue to express their discontent by staging protests are often met with violence from the IOF and settlers.

In addition, violations of civic space and Palestinian human rights are committed by Palestinian authorities. Both Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank are responsible for harassing, detaining and attacking activists, journalists and protesters.

“The deterioration of civic freedoms in Palestine due to increasing attacks by Israeli Occupying Forces can no longer be ignored. It's time for democratic governments to break their silence and condemn Israel's apartheid regime of systematic racial domination and oppression over the Palestinian people as a whole and to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on Israel,” said Aarti Narsee, Civic Space Research Officer. 

More information

Download the Palestine research brief in English | Arabic

^[1] The seven CSOs are: Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), Health Work Committees (HWC), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC).

Palestine is currently rated ‘Repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see the full description of ratings).

As the state of civic space in Cambodia continues to regress, CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, calls on the authorities to halt its persecution of activists, trade union activists, the opposition and others and end all restrictions on fundamental freedoms. The organisation also calls on the international community to increase its pressure on the Hun Sen regime to respect and protect human rights through the UN Human Rights Council and also directly in the country, ahead of the crucial 2023 elections

A new CIVICUS brief on restrictions to civic freedoms in Cambodia published today shows that following the Human Rights Council’s resolution adopted on 11 October 2021 there have been no tangible human rights improvements on the ground. Despite ongoing engagement and reporting by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia and multiple resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council and recommendations, the Cambodian government has shown no political will to undertake democratic or and civic space reforms.

Cambodian human rights defenders and activists continue to face repression. Over the past year, vaguely worded charges of ‘incitement’ have been systematically used to harass and convict them. Highly politicised courts mean that those arbitrarily detained and charged are often held for prolonged periods in pretrial detention and have no chance of getting a fair trial. In May 2022, the Phnom Penh Appeal Court upheld the baseless September 2018 convictions of four members of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), all of whom were previously imprisoned and convicted on spurious charges of bribery.

Hundreds of workers from the Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU), a casino workers’ union  continue to face repression for their activism since December 2021. Dozens have been arrested and at least 11 people have been charged. The authorities have blocked roads and dragged strikers, sometimes violently, onto city buses and driven them to the outskirts of the city, dropping them off. This action has been entirely arbitrary without any legal justification or reasoning. There have been incidents of strikers being violently pushed to the ground by the authorities, punched in the face by a uniformed officer and targeted with sexual harassment. Strikers have been detained at quarantine centres on charges of violating COVID-19 protocols.

Press freedom remains under attack in Cambodia. Radio stations and newspapers have been silenced, newsrooms purged, and journalists prosecuted, leaving the independent media sector devastated. A report published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 3 August 2022 found that journalists in Cambodia are increasingly being subjected to various forms of harassment and pressure, as well as violence.

Further, the restrictive 2015 Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO) continues to be used to restrict civil society groups. In January 2022, the Prey Lang Community Network and the Prey Preah Roka Forest Community Network were forcibly prevented from engaging in forest patrols to document and prevent illegal logging as they are not ‘registered’, a requirement under LANGO.

“Cambodia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which imposes obligations on states to respect and protect civic space. Despite the multiple resolutions at the Human Rights Council the authorities have instead continued to target human rights defenders, union activists and journalists with impunity. The government must drop all charges against them immediately as well as take steps to amend or repeal provisions in the Criminal Code that have been used to criminalise dissent” said Josef Benedict, Asia Pacific researcher for CIVICUS

The brief also highlights the ongoing politically motivated criminal charges faced by former members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). On 17 March 2022, the courts convicted 21 opposition politicians and activists on unsubstantiated charges of ‘incitement’, ‘inciting military personnel to disobedience’ and ‘plotting’. The courts convicted another 51 opposition politicians and CNRP activists on 14 June 2022 of ‘incitement’ and ‘conspiracy.’

Ahead of June 2022 commune elections, Cambodia’s National Election Committee (NEC) removed more than 100 candidates from the opposition Candlelight Party from the list of those standing. Members and activists of the Candlelight Party faced political harassment from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia noted various irregularities in the process. In July 2022, Candlelight Party Vice President Son Chhay was charged with defamation after he criticised the commune elections and the NEC.

Members of the ‘Friday Women’ movement who have been protesting since June 2020 against the jailing of their husbands, brothers and other relatives who were affiliated with the CNRP have been subject to heavy-handed tactics including being beaten, kicked, dragged along the ground and, in many cases, arrested. Those who have avoided jail are often followed by the police and subject to surveillance by local authorities.

“The criminalisation of the opposition in the last five years and recent efforts to harass and undermine new political parties during the commune elections is a signal of things to come next year, when the general elections are held. If the international community wants to see a free and fair elections in Cambodia it must step up efforts to call the government out on these violations and initiate stronger action at the Human Rights Council. Failure to do so will see the one-party regime further entrench itself in years to come,” added Benedict.

An interactive dialogue will be held at the Human Rights Council on 5 October with the Special Rapporteur on Cambodia, who recently set out a 10 points rights agenda to improve the human rights situation in Cambodia, including to open up civic and political space and to end prosecution of the political opposition and human rights defenders. CIVICUS calls on States to raise the above concerns in the dialogue.

More information

Download the Cambodia research brief here.

Cambodia is currently rated ‘Repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see the full description of ratings).

• Authorities increasingly categorise civil society personnel and groups as extremist, in a bid to invalidate and criminalise their work, and subject them to prosecution and banning
• Over 765 CSOs liquidated since August 2020 as authorities leverage legislative changes to issue liquidation orders
• More amendments to domestic laws made to create new offences that criminalise civil society and its work
• Prosecution for 2020 election protests continues with the total number of political prisoners rising to 1,254 by 19 July 2022

CIVICUS has produced a new research brief on the state of civic freedoms in Belarus. The repression of Belarusian civil society that followed disputed presidential elections in August 2020 continues relentlessly. Over the past year, the authorities have continued to charge and imprison thousands of protesters, designate civil society as ‘extremist’, disband civil society organisations (CSOs) and media outlets and amend laws to allow prosecution of activists who are outside Belarus.

Civil Society Actors Targeted as Extremists

Over the last year, the authorities in Belarus have used a range of tactics to intimidate and criminalise the work of civil society. As has been documented in several CIVICUS Monitor updates, the categorisation of civil society personnel and groups as 'extremist', in a bid to invalidate and criminalise their work, has become an increasingly common practice. Activists, journalists and independent media have been targeted with this classification, which subjects them to prosecution and being banned.

765 CSOs Liquidated Since 2020

The process of liquidating CSOs has continued over the past year in Belarus. As government authorities continue to accuse CSOs of extremist actions, as discussed above, they have leveraged legislative changes to issue liquidation orders. By May 2022, the number of liquidated CSOs reached 765. Of these, 448 were forcibly liquidated by the authorities and 317 decided to self-liquidate.

Amendments to Law Further Rein in Activists

Amendments to domestic law have been made over the last two years by the authorities in order to create new offences that criminalise civil society and its work. In May 2022, an amendment to the Criminal Code was tabled in parliament, which if passed will make it possible to prosecute people outside the country’s national borders.

More information

Download the Belarus research brief here.

• Civil society groups criminalised
• Protests systematically repressed by authorities
• National Security Service (NSS) officials on the spot for systematic harassment
• Blatant attacks on journalists by state and non-state actors continue

CIVICUS has produced a new report on the state of civic freedoms in South Sudan. Since the 2015 Peace Deal, restrictions to freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of association have persisted.

Freedom of Peaceful Assembly

Arbitrary arrests and violence against protesters

Arbitrary arrest, intimidation and use of force against protesters has characterised the authorities’ response to peaceful protests. Over the last year, there have been reported recurring incidents of law enforcement officials violently dispersing protests and intimidating and arbitrarily arresting protesters.

Freedom of Expression

Arbitrary arrests and harassment of journalists and media outlets

During the past year, cases of harassment, raids on media outlets and arbitrary arrests and detention of journalists by NSS officials, often without charges, were reported. These practices seem solely intended to disrupt media work and intimidate journalists.

Freedom of Association

Criminalisation of civil society organisations and their activities 

On 17 July 2021, the National Security Service (NSS) raided and disbanded an event organised by the South Sudan Civil Society Forum to discuss the constitutional history of South Sudan. According to the NSS, ‘only parliament is authorised to discuss the constitution’.

More information

Download the South Sudan research brief here.

Report highlights assault on civic space by the Taliban and need for more action from the international community

On 15 August 2021, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Over the last year, the Taliban has overseen a systematic assault on civic space, which is rated as repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor

This new CIVICUS report “The Taliban’s assault on civic space, a year on from its takeover”, shows that human rights defenders have lived in a climate of fear since the Taliban takeover and have faced harassment and threats. While some human rights defenders have been able to leave the country, the lack of adequate documents and the impossibility of obtaining visas for many countries make it extremely difficult for them to leave and forcing them into hiding.

Activists have also been arbitrarily arrested and detained for their criticism of the Taliban. Some have also been killed. There has also been abductions of women human rights defenders by the Taliban with impunity.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are being targeted for their work and restricted by the Taliban. According to reports by human rights groups, there have been raids and searches of CSO offices by the Taliban and some have had their bank accounts frozen. Women’s rights programmes have also been halted by the Taliban and most CSO offices have closed, fearing reprisals.

Following the Taliban takeover, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the Taliban and demand their rights. In Kabul and other cities, the Taliban responded with excessive force, gunfire and beatings to disperse crowds, leading to deaths and injuries of peaceful protesters.

The Taliban have also sought to repress protests, especially by women’s rights activists over the year, disrupting their protests by firing shots into the air, detaining, interrogating and ill-treating them. In some cases, teargas and batons were used. The Taliban also assaulted journalists and confiscated their equipment to stop them covering the protests. Some of the women’s rights activists have also been intimidated and coerced to air so-called confessions in which women say activists based outside the country had told them to protest.

Journalists are at increased risk following the Taliban takeover. Scores have been arrested, detained, tortured or ill-treated, or attacked for covering the situation on the ground.

The Taliban has also shut down key institutions. Following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs was shut down, depriving women’s rights groups of a key channel for survivors of gender based-violence seeking protection and services. In October 2021, the Taliban seized the offices of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and in May 2022, dissolved the commission saying it was ‘not considered necessary’. It has also taken over Afghanistan’s Independent Bar Association (AIBA).

Activists who have fled Afghanistan, particularly those in Central Asia, Pakistan and Turkey, are experiencing various challenges, including running out of funds, expiration of their visas and a lack of programmes for resettlement.

The international community has taken some steps in response to the situation in Afghanistan. The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in October 2021 to appoint, for one year, a Special Rapporteur to monitor the status of human rights in Afghanistan. In May 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, appointed in April 2022, undertook his first visit to the country. In July 2022, the Human Rights Council passed a consensus resolution affirming its commitment to equal rights for women in Afghanistan and called for representative participation in an organised dialogue on the issue at the next Council session.

The UN General Assembly, in December 2021, indefinitely postponed international recognition of the Taliban government. The resolution adopted by consensus effectively held off any decision on recognition for at least 10 months. In March 2022 the UN Security Council decided to extend the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for one year.

However, all these efforts have fallen short of the calls made by Afghan civil society activists over the year for the UN to establish a fact-finding mission or similar independent investigative mechanism on Afghanistan, end all exemptions for sanctioned Taliban leaders if there is no progress on human rights and increase efforts to provide urgent support and protection for all Afghan human rights defenders, including those in exile.

In the report, CIVICUS makes a number of recommendations to the international community:

• Call on the Taliban to ensure all people in Afghanistan can exercise their rights to the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression, and end the harassment, abuse, arbitrary arrest and detention of all protesters.
• Take proactive steps to provide immediate practical support and protection to human rights defenders, journalists and civil society activists at risk, including those in exile.
• Call on the Taliban to reinstate the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
• Support efforts to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and other serious human rights violations, including gendered dimensions of such violations and abuses, by all parties in Afghanistan, via the establishment of an independent investigative mechanism, such as a fact-finding mission or commission of inquiry, mandated by the UN Human Rights Council.
• Call on the UN Security Council to facilitate inclusive, intra-Afghan peace talks with the effective representation of human rights defenders, particularly women and representation from all ethnic groups, and include guarantees of safety and effective and equitable representation of views.
• Ensure that political recognition and representation is not extended to Taliban-affiliated authorities.

Afghanistan is currently rated ‘Repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see the full description of ratings).

More information

Download the Afghanistan research brief here. 

Interviews

CIVICUS:

• Excessive force used against protesters
• Twitter accounts shut down over calls to lower prices of food & basic commodities
• Attacks on freedom of speech & political interference with media and judiciary

As Kenyans head to the polls on 9 August to elect a new president, a new report by global civil society alliance, CIVICUS and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) highlights the decline in civic rights in the country and urges the authorities to respect fundamental freedoms during this crucial period. Protest restrictions, attacks on journalists and the misuse of laws are of particular concern. 

According to the new research brief, Kenyan authorities have used excessive force to clamp down on protests and suppress dissent in the run-up to the election. Recent demonstrations to protest the rising cost of food under the hashtag #Njaa-Revolution (‘Hunger Revolution’) have been met with unlawful arrests, detention and brutal force; in April, human rights defender Julius Kamau was violently assaulted outside the National Treasury after protesting rising food prices.  Lethal and crowd control weapons such as live ammunition, teargas and rubber bullets are commonly used by police to disperse gatherings. 

CIVICUS and the KHRC are also concerned about the misuse of laws to undermine peaceful protest. The Public Order Act, a law from the British colonial period, requires activists to notify authorities of protests at least 3 days in advance. However, there have been cases of authorities tearing up notification letters and refusing to receive them. 

Also, police have mistakenly understood the provision as a requirement for protests to be approved or denied, using it as an excuse to deem protests ‘unpermitted’, as was seen on 28 June 2022 when a letter notifying police about an intended protest by the Social Justice Centre, a Nairobi-based grassroots group, was rejected without explanation. Although the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed in Kenya’s constitution, it is continually undermined.
 
“The right to peacefully protest is fundamental in any functioning democracy. Authorities and law enforcement bodies must respect and ensure citizens can exercise their civic rights, this is critical in ensuring inclusive participation in the electoral process,” said Sylvia Mbataru, East Africa Researcher, CIVICUS.
 
As the space for street protests becomes more closed and restricted, activists have turned to social media to air their grievances. The #NjaaRevolution attracted a huge online following with its calls to control soaring prices and other basic commodities. In May, the movement was silenced by Twitter with over 20 accounts being suspended for ‘violating Twitter Rules’ and acting ‘suspiciously’ - no further justification was given. Suspending the online accounts of major activists in the run-up to elections is tantamount to censorship.
 
Attacks on freedom of speech extend to journalists. Incidents and violations against the press are on the rise ahead of elections, including the assault of two journalists covering an event at Raila Odinga’s party headquarters in March 2022. In a separate incident a Citizen TV journalist, Martin Kosgey, was threatened via text after airing a story implicating a governor's bodyguard in a murder case. Kosgey also reported that he had received intelligence that there was a plan to harm him over the story.  
 
The apparent political capture of the country’s media regulatory body has also contributed to a decline in press freedom. In November 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed a new head of the Communications Authority, seemingly consolidating the ruling party's power over a strategically important body that is supposed to be non-partisan.  
 
The possibility of political interference undermines the body's mandate to serve as a watchdog for public media and to monitor the operations of the state news agency. In theory, the authority is responsible for ensuring fair and impartial reporting for the upcoming elections, but there is a risk that it will be used to limit the space for independent media.
 
Political interference in Kenya’s democratic institutions also extends to the judiciary. Most notably, in 2021 when the president defied the constitution by refusing to swear in six judges nominated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). Judicial Officers have also been subjected to numerous attacks from the political elite and the executive.
 
Kenya was placed on the CIVICUS Monitor’s human rights ‘Watchlist’ in June 2022. The Watchlist highlights countries where there has been a recent and steady decline in civic freedoms, including the rights of free speech and peaceful assembly.

Kenya is currently rated Obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are 42 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where power holders heavily contest civic space and impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see the full description of ratings).

More information

Download the Kenya research brief here. 

Interviews

CIVICUS:

CIVICUS has submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the state of civic space in Hong Kong ahead of its review of the state’s implementation of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on 7 July 2022.  

In the submission, CIVICUS documented an alarming deterioration of the right to freedom of expression in Hong Kong since 2018, including the use of restrictive laws to silence dissent and criminalise human rights defenders and journalists. Specifically, the National Security Law (NSL) which punishes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with “foreign forces”. all carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison. These offences are vaguely defined and have easily become catch-all offences to prosecute activists and critics with heavy penalties.  

Press freedom is under assault in Hong Kong. Media outlets have been targeted with raids and forced to closed and journalists have been criminalised. Foreign reporters have also been subjected to new restrictions under the NSL. 

Academic freedom has come under serious threat since 2020. Several pro-democracy scholars have had their employment terminated by universities in Hong Kong, while school administrators have been told to help ‘prevent and suppress’ acts that could violate the NSL. Academic research is being closely monitored in Hong Kong, and there has been a crackdown on student organisations. 

The submission also notes how the Hong Kong authorities have also continued to prosecute and convict peaceful protesters involved in demonstrations, including pro-democracy leaders. They are often charged for organizing, inciting participation or participating in an ‘unauthorised assembly’ under the Public Order Ordinance, which requires organisers to notify police of demonstrations involving more than 30 people at least seven days in advance, and requires organisers to get a ‘notice of no objection’ from the government before proceeding. The charge of ‘unauthorised assembly’ carries up to five years in prison. 

Police officers have been recorded beating and using pepper spray and teargas on people during protests in 2019, including those subdued on the ground; shooting and blinding several individuals; unnecessarily tackling protesters to the ground, including pregnant women, children and older people; and giving patently improbable and outright false explanations about their actions in press conferences. According to human rights groups, no police officers alleged to have committed abuses during the 2019 protests have been held accountable.  

The submission highlights how the right to freedom of association, has been undermined by the introduction of the NSL in 2020. This dramatically changed the environment for civil society in Hong Kong, greatly impeding the ability of civil society to carry out their work. The entire staff of some organisations quit on the eve of the law’s introduction. While some civil society organisations (CSOs) and pro-democracy movements have disbanded or shut their offices, others have instead exercised greater caution in their activities. Unions have also been forced to disband. The authorities are also investigating CSOs about their fundraising. The chilling effect of the crackdown on civil society cannot be overstated. 

The submission calls on the UN Human Rights Committee to make a series of recommendations including: 

• Take steps to repeal the National Security Law as it is not compliant with the ICCPR and drop all criminal proceedings against human rights defenders, activists, journalists, political figures and others who have been targeted solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to the freedom of expression and ensure that those already detained are immediately and unconditionally released. 

• Abolish provisions in Part III of the Cap. 245 Public Order Ordinance relating to the need for permission for protests and bring the ordinance in line with the ICCPR and establish a fully independent, impartial, effective and prompt investigation into all cases of excessive use of force by police, arbitrary arrest and detention of peaceful protesters; 

• Take measures to foster a safe and enabling environment for civil society, including by removing legal and policy measures that unwarrantedly limit the freedom of association and refrain from acts leading to the closure of CSOs or the suspension of their peaceful activities.  

Hong Kong is currently rated Repressed  by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries and territories in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see full description of ratings). 

More information

Download the Hong Kong research brief here. 

Interviews

CIVICUS:

• ‘Biased and unbalanced news coverage’ during election favouring the ruling party
• Civil society face orchestrated smear campaigns 
• Government passes decree which bans independent journalists from accessing hospitals

Global alliance CIVICUS and the Civil Liberties Union for Europe are concerned about civic freedoms in Hungary following Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz Party’s landslide victory in April’s parliamentary elections, which were declared free but not fair. 

A new research brief provides a snapshot of the recent decline in civic freedoms under the Orbán government which has repeatedly targeted civil society, independent journalists and LGBTQI+ rights.

The government has politically captured key media regulatory bodies resulting in diminishing space for independent media to operate, with the public media sector now a de facto mouthpiece of the government.  The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found that the elections were not fair as there was “biased and unbalanced news coverage” in favour of the ruling party.

Threats to LGBTQI+ rights have continued unabated, with the government passing several laws that restrict and target these rights. Although the results of the government’s referendum on its ‘anti-LGBTQI+ propaganda’ law, which took place at the same time as the election, was declared invalid, 16 LGBTQI+ rights CSOs who campaigned against the referendum have been fined by the National Election Committee. 

In the build up to the elections, Magyar Nemzet, a leading pro-government daily online site,  published secret recordings of interviews which were aimed at discrediting civil society and independent media and reshared by the Hungarian government. Similar methods were used to  smear civil society activists critical of the government during the previous general elections.  

“During his victory speech, the Prime Minister took a moment to pinpoint his enemies which include civil society, bureaucrats in Brussels and the Ukrainian President. This is a clear signal that Orbán and his party will only continue to diminish civic freedoms. There is no doubt that attacks on civil society, independent journalism and LGBTQI+ rights will worsen in the coming years,” said Aarti Narsee, Civic Space Research Lead, Europe, CIVICUS.

The government has also continuously attempted to intimidate civil society. Although it repealed the Lex-NGO foreign funding law, which was found in violation of EU law, it introduced a new bureaucratic measure which requires the State Audit Office to report annually on the financial status of certain NGOs. 

Surveillance of journalists is a tactic used by the government in an attempt to silence dissent, while denying independent media access to press conferences and information has become commonplace. The government recently went over a Supreme court ruling to pass a decree so that it can decide on press and media accreditation for journalists to access hospitals. It has repeatedly used the pandemic as a pretext to restrict access to information on COVID-19 for independent media. 

“A pluralistic media landscape and a healthy  civil society guarantee citizens' access to reliable information about public matters. The Orban government has been doing everything in its power to undermine or eliminate both. By dominating most of the media landscape and trying to silence independent voices, the governing Fidesz party hopes to cement its power for the coming decades to dismantle democracy and cover up widespread corruption,” said Orsolya Reich, senior advocacy officer, Civil Liberties Union for Europe.

The European Commission has triggered its new rule of law conditionality mechanism which could see it cutting funds to Hungary. We call on the commission to act swiftly against Hungary through this mechanism. 

“The European Union must stand up for the rights and principles enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and introduce strategies and legislation capable of reversing the democratic decline in Europe. It must design a well-thought-through European Media Freedom Act with strong guarantees and enforcement mechanisms, and a European civic space strategy capable of empowering democratic voices,” said Reich.

Hungary is currently rated Obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 43 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see full description of ratings). Hungary is one of two countries in the European Union with an Obstructed rating, the other is Poland.

More information

Download the Hungary country research brief here. 

Interviews

CIVICUS:
Civil Liberties Union for Europe :Orsolya Reich,  

SLOVENIAN

New research on the state of civic freedoms ahead of Slovenia's parliamentary elections - journalists & civil society facing restrictions

• The ruling SDS party has interfered & undermined the work of the Slovenian Press Agency and the largest public broadcaster, RTVSLO
• Budget cuts have targeted organisations and media critical of the Prime Minister’ Janez Janša’s government
• COVID-19 used as a pretext to restrict protest rights & the work of civil society

Global civil society alliance CIVICUS and the European Civic Forum are concerned about the ongoing decline of civic freedoms in Slovenia under Prime Minister Janez Janša’s government.  

Ahead of Parliamentary elections on 24 April, the government has stepped up its political interference in the public broadcaster, while anti-government protesters and independent journalists continue to  be harassed.

Our latest research brief released today highlights how in the last two years under Janez Janša’s government, civic freedoms are deteriorating. In December 2020 the CIVICUS Monitor downgraded the country’s civic space rating from ‘open’ to ‘narrowed’ signalling the  decline. In June 2021 the country was also placed on the rights index's periodic Watchlist, a roundup of countries where a rapid decline in civic freedoms has occurred. The fundamental civic and democratic rights of freedom of peaceful assembly, expression, and association are under attack ahead of the elections.

Since Janša came to power in March 2020, Slovenians have staged weekly, spontaneous cycling anti-government protests. The government has responded by intimidating protesters, with the State Prosecutors Office bringing cases against so-called organisers of unannounced or unregistered protests to recover the costs of police intervention. Jaša Jenull, a prominent protester at the anti-government protests is facing fines amounting to over 40,000 Euros.

“These repressive practices have wider repercussions beyond targeted activists. For example, administrative courts are now kept busy with reviewing these unlawful fines, reducing their capacity to work on other cases. State resources which are being deployed to enforce disproportionate pandemic restrictions and silence dissent could have been used to address people’s needs which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and initially triggered ongoing protests,” said Giada Negri, Research and Advocacy coordinator for the European Civic Forum.

The current government has ramped up its political interference at public broadcaster RTV Slovenia (RTVSLO). In March 2022 RTVSLO staff staged protests over the appointment of Igor Pirkovič as acting editor of the public broadcaster’s web portal Multi Media Centre (MMC), who was previously paid by the government as a screenwriter of state celebrations. The MMC’s editorial board claims that Pirkovič is biased in favour of the ruling SDS party and believes that he was brought in to change the portal's pre-election reporting in favour of the ruling coalition. Last year, the appointment of Director General Andrej Grah Whatmough at RTVSLO sparked a series of editorial and programming changes, which were approved by RTV SLO’s Programme Council, an editorial decision-making body which has been infiltrated by the ruling SDS Party. 

Prime Minister Jansa has used the current Ukraine crisis as an excuse to attack RTVSLO’s political debate channel Tarča for its coverage of the war against Ukraine, accusing it of playing “Putin’s Agenda”. This led to the Programme council reprimanding RTVSLO journalists and announcing that it would now only be using BBC News coverage on the Ukraine crisis. 

“While Jansa has condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, at home he is adopting Putin style tactics through repeated political interference at the public broadcaster RTVSLO and vilification of independent journalists. His government has increasingly harassed peaceful protesters and slashed funding to civil society. The European commission must take action to ensure that repressive measures against journalists and civil society are redressed,” said Aarti Narsee, Civic Space Research Lead Europe, CIVICUS.

Slovenia is rated "Narrowed" on the CIVICUS Monitor. 40 other countries have this rating including Romania, Italy and South Korea (see all). The narrowed rating means that while the state generally allows individuals and civil society organisations to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of association, violations of these rights also take place.

More information

Download the Slovenia country research brief here. Also available in Slovenian here.

Interviews

To arrange interviews, please contact Aarti Narsee, CIVICUS European & Central Asia Civic Space Researcher  and 

On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military junta seized power in a coup. The junta arrested the civilian leaders of the national and state governments and declared a state of emergency.

The junta unleashed a deadly crackdown following mass mobilisation by a ‘civil disobedience movement against the coup. In the last year, peaceful protests have been violently disrupted. The junta arbitrarily arresting or prosecuting activists, students, protesters and journalists, and political prisoners have been tortured or ill-treated. The junta have shut off various communications services – including mobile services and internet access, blocked humanitarian aid and attacked entire villages, forcibly displacing tens of thousands.

The UN and numerous countries condemned the coup, and some members of the international community have imposed sanctions. But regional efforts to address the crisis or halt the grave human rights violations have been minimal. The five-point consensus agreement decided by ASEAN leaders in Jakarta in April 2021 has seen little tangible progress.

Nearly a year after the coup, serious violations are still being reported daily – some of which may amount to crimes against humanity - and the human rights and humanitarian crisis continues unabated in Myanmar.

Lethal crackdown on protests

Mass protests and strikes took place across Myanmar against the coup. Under the banner of the civil disobedience movement (CDM), doctors, teachers and other civil servants mobilised alongside students and the workers’ movement.

In response, the Myanmar security forces intensified their crackdown on protests using violent crowd dispersal techniques. The use of water cannon, tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound grenades escalated to battlefield weapons, including assault rifles, light machine guns, sniper rifles and live grenades. Large numbers of battle-hardened troops were deployed into towns and cities to quell the protests. The human rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) has reported 1,493 individuals killed as of 25 January 2022.

Facing increasing violence from the security forces, demonstrators attempted to protect themselves with homemade shields and construct barricades across roads. Despite this, hundreds have been killed and thousands injured. Nevertheless, protests have persisted.

Arrest and criminalisation of activists and protesters

According to AAPPB, a total of 8788 individuals are currently in detention. They include human rights defenders, lawyers, trade unionists, student activists, LGBTQI+ activists, poets, writers, filmmakers and monks. Some were taken in terrifying night-time raids. Others were abducted off the streets, held in secret facilities out of contact with their families and denied access to lawyers. Hundreds of political prisoners have been held in Insein Prison, one of Myanmar’s most notorious jails, on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.

In  February 2021, the military regime announced amendments to the Penal Code to stifle dissent. Following the coup, a new ‘incitement’ provision, section 505A, was added to criminalise comments that could “cause fear,” spread “false news, [or] agitates directly or indirectly a criminal offence against a Government employee” – which would include any comments on the illegitimacy of the coup or the military government. Violation of the section is punishable by up to three years in prison.

The junta also significantly broadened the “treason” provisions in section 124 of the Penal Code. Section124A already criminalised comments that “bring into hatred or contempt” or “excite disaffection against” the government. This was expanded to include comments relating to the defence services and defence services personnel, effectively criminalising any criticism of the military or military personnel. Violation of the section is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Following the coup, these provisions and other trumped-up charges have been brought against activists and protesters. In further attempts to spread fear, Myanmar’s junta have arrested family members of dissidents in an effort to pressure the dissidents to turn themselves in.

Journalists at risk

The junta has systematically targeted journalists since the coup. Over 100 journalists have been arrested, and at least 26 are still imprisoned as of 1 December 2021. Many were detained during newsroom raids or while covering anti-coup street protests. The junta published lists of journalists wanted for providing information about the pro-democracy protests; unsurprisingly, a number of journalists have gone into hiding or have had to flee the country.

Many have been charged for violating section 505(a) of the penal code, a new provision that makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that “cause fear” or spread “false news.” Other charges brought against journalists include alleged violations of the Telecommunications Act, the Immigration Act, the Unlawful Association Act, the Insubordination Act and the Natural Disaster Prevention Law.

In October 2021, it was reported that three journalists jailed by the junta are now facing terrorism charges that could see them sentenced to several years in prison. The journalists are Win Naing Oo, a senior Channel Mandalay reporter, D Myat Nyein, a reporter with the now-defunct Zayar Times in Sagaing Region, and Pyae Phyo Aung, who worked for the same outlet.

Civil society organisations affected

The coup has also had a negative impact on civil society organisations due to the legal, financial, and other threats civil society groups are facing. According to a report commissioned by the PROTECT Consortium, one immediate impact of the coup was that many CSOs were forced to reduce or suspend their operations or close their offices. Important documents and files had to move to safer places in different locations, and civil society leaders fearing their lives had to go into hiding or leave the country.

There are also concerns about the renewal of registration of CSOs, which is granted on a five-year basis and which allows them, among other things, to open organisation bank accounts in the country and receive funding from international donors. Requirements to regularly report on organisational activities is another security concern for registered organisations, as it will be dangerous to share full details about their work. CSOs are also concerned about long term funding given the completely different operating environment in the country post-coup.

Crackdown on politicians and lawmakers

Since the junta took control, more than 600 elected lawmakers and officials from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party have been detained in different parts of the country. According to recent reports, more than three-quarters remain in detention.

In April 2021, the junta declared the National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel government  formed by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – deposed lawmakers, who had been elected in November 2020 – as an “illegal organisation.” In May 2021, the CRPH and NUG were designated as ‘terrorist groups’. The declaration means that anyone arrested on suspicion of affiliation with the groups would face 10 years to life imprisonment if convicted, according to the country’s Counterterrorism Law.

The ousted de facto leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been found guilty of incitement against the military under Section 505 (b) and for alleged breaches of COVID-19 measures under Section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law and for possessing “illegally imported” walkie-talkies. She faces other politically-motivated charges, including corruption and election fraud, which carry a total potential sentence of more than 100 years in prison.

Torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners

There have been continued reports of torture or ill-treatment of political prisoners by the military junta in various prisons and detention centres and, in particular, in Insein Prison, one of Myanmar’s most notorious jails, situated on the outskirts of Yangon.

In May 2021, it was reported that political prisoners were tortured during interrogation at the hands of authorities. Many were tortured in military compounds, where fellow inmates also suffered abuse while blindfolded throughout intake interrogations. Prisoners were forced to eat from the concrete floor with hands cuffed behind their backs. In June 2021, it was reported that 32 young activists who were arrested for opposing the military coup were tortured during the interrogation process in the Tanintharyi Region. They were made to kneel and were beaten with belts, sticks, metal pipes and chains.

A report by the Associated Press (AP) in October 2021 found that the junta has been torturing those it has detained in a methodical and systemic way across the country. While most of the torture has occurred inside military compounds, the military has also transformed public facilities such as community halls into makeshift interrogation centres, with multiple military units and police involved in interrogations. The military has taken steps to hide evidence that it has tortured prisoners, with several prisoners saying interrogators brutalised only the parts of their bodies that could be hidden by clothes. Most inmates slept on concrete floors, packed like sardines. Some became sick from drinking dirty water only available from a shared toilet. Cockroaches swarmed over their bodies at night. There was little to no medical treatment.

The All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) said in January 2022 that it had evidence that three of its members had been tortured by having bamboo sticks thrust inside their rectums in the notorious Mandalay Palace interrogation centre. All three have been denied treatment for their injuries.

Teachers and health workers targeted

Civil servants in Myanmar have been involved in the civilian disobedience movement from the start and have been targeted by the junta for their resistance. In May 2021, it was reported that the military junta had suspended more than 125,000 schoolteachers and 19,500 university staff for joining the movement.

Health workers have been targeted for participating in the protest movement and providing medical care to injured civilians. A report by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR) in August 2021 found that there had been at least 252 attacks and threats against health workers, facilities and transport. 190 health workers were arrested, 37 health workers were injured, and 25 health workers were killed. Hospitals were raided at least 86 times and occupied by the junta at least 55 times.

Communications blockade

As the military coup was underway in February 2021, internet and phone outages were imposed in several parts of the country. Data from the internet monitoring service Netblocks shows disruptions on network operators, including state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and an international operator, Telenor.

Over the year, the junta has attempted to block various forms of communications to interfere with protestors organising and make it harder for citizens, journalists, and human rights activists to broadcast what was happening on the ground to the rest of the world.

Multiple telecoms companies have been ordered to shut off various communications services, including mobile data, roaming and public wi-fi, for varying lengths of time.

In March 2021, the junta amended the Electronic Transactions Law to prevent the free flow of information and criminalise the dissemination of information through cyberspace, including expression critical of the coup or the acts of the junta. They include provisions

that provide criminal penalties for “unauthorised” access to online material and for the creation of “misinformation or disinformation with the intent of causing public panic, loss of trust or social division on cyberspace.”

In May 2021, the junta added a ban on satellite television to existing restrictions on the internet which appeared to be targeted at independent Burmese language broadcasters such as the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and Mizzima.

Internet users in at least seven townships in the Sagaing and Mandalay regions experienced limited or no service since 14 September 2021. This came a week after Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) announced the start of a “resistance war” against the regime. On 23 September 2021, the junta cut off mobile internet access and most wi-fi services to 11 townships in Chin State and the Magway Region war-torn areas.

Restrictions and attacks on humanitarian groups

The junta has continued to shell, conduct airstrikes, and raid and torch villages across the country, targeting the resistance movement and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAO) - which have taken public positions against the coup - and displacing tens of thousands of civilians. According to the UN, as of 27 December 2021, an estimated 320,900 people remained internally displaced across Myanmar due to clashes and insecurity since the coup.

In December 2021, Human Rights Watch reported that the junta had imposed new travel restrictions on humanitarian workers, blocked access roads and aid convoys, destroyed non-military supplies and attacked aid workers. The junta’s interference in relief operations has disregarded calls for unhindered aid delivery by the UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council, Security Council, the European Parliament, and donor governments.

Two Save the Children’s staff members were among at least 35 people, including women and children, who were killed on 24 December 2021 in a brutal attack by the Myanmar military in Kayah State, in the east of the country.

The regional and international response

Human rights groups have continued to criticise ASEAN for its failure to address the human rights violations in Myanmar and for shielding the Myanmar military from international pressure and accountability.

Immediately following the coup, ASEAN was divided on a collective response. On 24 April 2021, a regional ASEAN summit was held in Jakarta. A statement released after the summit said ASEAN leaders and foreign ministers had finally reached a consensus on five points. They included asking for an immediate cessation of the violence and opening a dialogue between the military and civilian leaders, with the process overseen by a special ASEAN envoy who would visit with a delegation. The group also offered humanitarian assistance. However, the statement made no mention of the thousands who have been arbitrarily detained by the military, including activists, peaceful protesters and journalists and offered no timeline for these actions to be taken or an implementing mechanism. The summit also failed to acknowledge the National Unity Government (NUG).

On 4 August 2021, ASEAN finally appointed Erywan Yusof, the second foreign minister of Brunei Darussalam, as its special envoy to Myanmar more than 100 days after the Jakarta meeting. Myanmar civil society groups rejected the appointment and expressed “deep disappointment with ASEAN and their lack of inclusive decision-making process”.

In an unprecedented move, ASEAN agreed in October 2021 to bar Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing over his failure to implement the five-point consensus. Southeast Asian leaders voiced disappointment at the Myanmar junta during the first day of their annual meeting. In November 2021, however, Cambodia took over the chairmanship of ASEAN Expectations of any further positive steps have been low.

In early January 2022, civil society groups slammed as ‘rogue diplomacy’ the visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, on behalf of Cambodia and as Chair of ASEAN, to Myanmar to meet with the junta representative, General Min Aung Hlaing. They called on ASEAN to refrain from further actions that legitimise the junta and effectively implement the five-point consensus. The visit was conducted without consensus from other ASEAN member states, as leaders were divided on this matter.

At the international level, the UN Security Council has called for an immediate cessation of violence across Myanmar and efforts to ensure the safety of civilians. It has failed to impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar as demanded by civil society groups. China and Russia, which hold veto power on the Security Council and neighbouring India, are the major arms providers to Myanmar. The UN Human Rights Council has also deplored the removal of the elected government, called for the unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained, and highlighted the need for accountability.

Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States have imposed various targeted sanctions against Myanmar’s top military officials and military-controlled companies. However, no governments have imposed sanctions or other economic blocks on the junta’s oil and natural gas revenues, its single largest source of foreign currency.

Recommendations to ASEAN and the international community:

• Call upon the military junta to release all individuals arbitrarily detained human rights defenders, journalists, protesters, politicians, civil society members and refrain from the use of excessive force and firearms against protesters
• Urge the military junta to allow unfettered Internet access, including on all mobile phone networks, lift all restrictions on access to media sites social media platforms and refrain from imposing any further restrictions against the use of the internet.
• Raise concerns publicly in multilateral fora including the upcoming Human Rights Council, and renew the Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar to maintain the crucial UN Special Rapporteur mandate
• Engage with the National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate government of Myanmar, including in multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly.
• Urge the Security Council to immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and cooperate fully with UN mandates.
• Cooperate with international mechanisms to meaningfully implement the ASEAN five-point consensus and to hold the junta accountable for its crimes
• Take proactive steps in providing humanitarian assistance, particularly in ethnic and ceasefire areas.
• Provide material and diplomatic support to civil society, journalists and activists at risk.

DOWNLOAD THE ADVOCACY BRIEF

This report is a written output of a nine-month long applied research project in association with The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is the foremost body when it comes to human rights. One of its mandates is to address human rights emergencies, which it does through special sessions and urgent debates. This ‘urgent action’ mechanism allows the Council to address emerging human rights crises rather than merely dealing with their aftermath. Yet, the UNHRC addresses human rights emergencies unevenly, giving some regions and situations much more attention than others. In order to understand why, this research seeks to identify “unofficial” triggers that lead to urgent action.

The identification of triggers influencing urgent action at the Council was pursued through the investigation of two cases, namely human rights violations in Myanmar and Ethiopia. Throughout this research, seven triggers were identified:

1. Intra-council Procedures
2. Issue Emergence
3. Transnational Advocacy Networks
4. Regional Blocs
5. Geopolitics
6. Regional and Parallel Human Rights Mechanisms
7. Communication and Media

Donwload the report 

9 out of 10 people live in countries where civic rights are severely restricted.

New #PeoplePower2021 report launched today shows where civil society conditions are improving and getting worse. A closer look at top violations & trends 🔴🟡🟢: https://t.co/HVcGbsUTg1 pic.twitter.com/9j6DGTONUr

— CIVICUS Monitor (@CIVICUSMonitor) December 8, 2021

2021 global data report from the CIVICUS Monitor

• 9 out of 10 people live in countries where civic freedoms are severely restricted 

• Country downgrades include Poland, Singapore, Nicaragua, Jordan and South Africa

• Detention of protesters is the top violation of civic freedoms in 2021

• COVID-19 continues to be used as a pretext to restrict rights across the globe

The fundamental rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association continue to deteriorate year after year worldwide, according to a global report released today by the CIVICUS Monitor, an online research platform that tracks fundamental freedoms in 197 countries and territories. The new report, People Power Under Attack 2021, shows that the number of people living in countries with significant restrictions on civic rights, including the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, amount to almost 89% of the population this year.

The CIVICUS Monitor data shows that year after year, there is significantly less space for people to exercise fundamental freedoms: only 3.1% of the world’s population lives in countries rated as ‘open’.

Nearly two billion people live in countries with the worst rating, ‘closed’, where the authorities are routinely allowed to imprison, injure and kill people for attempting to exercise their fundamental freedoms. China, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and 21 other countries fall under this category - Nicaragua and Belarus joined their ranks this year. 

It is nearly two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the virus is having a dire impact on civic freedoms globally, one that will have lasting impact if remedial action is not taken. Our research shows the detention of protesters and the use of restrictive laws to muzzle dissent are becoming more prevalent, as governments use the pandemic to introduce or implement additional restrictions on civic freedoms. 

“Governments across the world are setting a very dangerous precedent by using the health emergency as a smokescreen to crack down on protests and enact or amend legislation that will further limit peoples’ rights. Specifically, disinformation legislation is being enacted and used to criminalise speech, a concerning practice that could become the new norm to crush dissent,” said Marianna Belalba Barreto, Civic Space Cluster Lead. 

This year, 13 countries have been downgraded and only one improved their rating.  The CIVICUS Monitor is particularly concerned about civic space restrictions in Europe, where four countries dropped a rating: Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, and Poland. Europe has the greatest number of ‘open’ countries, but year after year we continue to see signs of serious deterioration.

Also alarming is the deterioration of civic space conditions in Africa, where South Africa, Botswana, Mali and Mozambique all dropped ratings. In the Americas, Nicaragua joined Cuba in our worst category, ‘closed’. The Middle East and North Africa retained its status as the region with the worst civic rights record, with Jordan being downgraded to ‘repressed’. In Asia, Singapore also fell into the ‘repressed’ category, as a persistent clamp down on dissent and opposition voices continues. 

“What we are seeing is not a proportional reaction to a health emergency, where restrictions are meant to be extraordinary measures to deal with a crisis that is temporary. On the contrary, governments are using the pandemic as a pretext to further accelerate the crackdown on human rights that we have been documenting over the past years.” 

Although only one country - Mongolia - improved its rating in 2021, it is important to highlight the resilience of civil society. Governments have not been successful in silencing alternative voices or limiting their activism. Despite increasing restrictions, civil society has found ways to continue to speak up and claim their rights.  

Over twenty organisations collaborate on the CIVICUS Monitor, providing evidence and research that help us target countries where civic freedoms are at risk. The Monitor has posted more than 550 civic space updates in the last year, which are analysed in People Power Under Attack 2021. 

Civic freedoms in 197 countries and territories are categorised as either closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed or open, based on a methodology that combines several data sources on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.
 

SEE RATINGS & READ REPORT

New research brief from the CIVICUS Monitor examines the crackdown of environmental activism and profiles important victories civil society has scored in the fight for climate justice.

• Environmental protests are being criminalised and met with repression on all continents
• State authorities and private companies are common perpetrators of violations to civic freedoms
• Despite the risks and restrictions, activist groups continue to score important victories to advance climate justice.

As world leaders meet in Glasgow for the UN Climate Change Negotiations (COP26), peaceful environmental activists are being threatened, silenced and criminalised around the world. The host of this year's meeting is one of many countries where activists are regularly facing rights violations.

New research from the CIVICUS Monitor looks at the common tactics and restrictions being used by governments and private companies to suppress environmental movements. The research brief “Defenders of our planet: Resilience in the face of restrictions” focuses on three worrying trends: Bans and restrictions on protests; Judicial harassment and legal persecution; and the use of violence, including targeted killings.

As the climate crisis intensifies, activists and civil society groups continue to mobilise to hold policymakers and corporate leaders to account. From Brazil to South Africa, activists are putting their lives on the line to protect lands and to halt the activities of high-polluting industries. The most severe rights abuses are often experienced by civil society groups that are standing up to the logging, mining and energy giants who are exploiting natural resources and fueling global warming.

As people take to the streets, governments have been instituting bans that criminalise environmental protests. Recently governments have used COVID-19 as a pretext to disrupt and break up demonstrations. Data from the CIVICUS Monitor indicates that the detention of protesters and the use of excessive force by authorities are becoming more prevalent.

In Cambodia in May 2021, three environmental defenders were sentenced to 18 to 20 months in prison for planning a protest  against the filling of a lake in the capital. While in Finland this past June, over 100 activists were arrested for participating in a protest calling for the government to take urgent action on climate change. From authoritarian countries to  mature democracies, the research also profiles those who have been put behind bars for peacefully protesting.

“Silencing activists and denying them of their fundamental civic rights is another tactic being used by leaders to evade and delay action on climate change” said Marianna Belalba Barreto, Research Lead for the CIVICUS Monitor. “Criminalising nonviolent protests has become a troubling indicator that governments are not committed to saving the planet .”

The report shows that many of the measures being deployed by governments to restrict rights are not compatible with international law. Examples of courts and legislative bodies reversing attempts to criminalise nonviolent climate protests are few and far between.

Despite the increased risks and restrictions facing environmental campaigners, the report also shows that a wide range of campaigns have scored important victories, including the closure of mines and numerous hazardous construction projects. Equally significant has been the rise of climate litigation by activist groups. Ironically, as authorities take activists to court for exercising their fundamental right to protest, activist groups have successfully filed lawsuits against governments and companies in over 25 countries for failing to act on climate change.

DOWNLOAD REPORT

Do you know your rights when it comes to Peaceful Assembly?

Produced by CIVICUS and VUKA!, the Know Your Rights guide answers over 20 common questions on which activities related to peaceful protests are protected under international law. It covers important issues such as legal policing practices, accountability mechanisms for violations, as well as practical information on equipment and location considerations for peaceful assemblies. This FAQ guide is based on the United Nations General Comment #3, which details the responsibilities of states in upholding the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

This guide is available in four languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic 

Do you know who to reach out to in case you need support?

This Vuka! Protest Support Phonebook is a support directory for protestors. In the Phonebook, protesters (and their allies) can find various types of support from nearly 30 international and regional civil society organisations to protect themselves and elevate the impact of their protests, including:

• Urgent support for protesters (e.g. legal aid, medical aid, trauma healing, relocation, family support, etc) 
• Urgent support for journalists covering protests (e.g. legal aid, medical aid, trauma healing, relocation, family support, etc) 
• Amplifying your movement's messaging through global campaigns networks Strategic litigation support 
• Digital and physical security support 
• Human rights monitoring, reporting, and outreach to the United Nations and other international governance forums 
• Funding, training, and strategizing for creative actions, campaigning, and frontline protesting 

CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, continues to call on the UN Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism to address human rights violations and abuses in the Philippines to further accountability and justice. A new brief published today, shows that one year on from the adoption of a profoundly weak resolution at the Council, serious civic freedoms violations continue to occur, creating a chilling effect within civil society.

The CIVICUS Monitor has documented the arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights defenders and activists on fabricated charges. In a number of instances, the activists have been vilified and red-tagged – labelled as communists or terrorists – in relation to their work prior to their arrest. There have also been reports of evidence planted by the police and military forces to justify arrests or violence against activists.

Activists have been killed over the last year, both by the security forces and by unknown individuals. In many instances, activists were killed after being red-tagged. In virtually none of the cases has anyone been held accountable for the killings. In one incident, nine community-based activists were killed in coordinated raids, known as the ‘Bloody Sunday’ killings, which took place across four provinces in the Calabarzon region on 7 March 2021 by members of the Philippine security forces. The killing of journalists as well as judicial harassment against them has also persisted.

In July 2021, the Philippine government and the UN formalised a human rights programme which includes strengthening domestic investigation and accountability mechanisms; improved data gathering on alleged police violations; civic space and engagement with civil society and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to be implemented.

“The current actions by the UN Human Rights Council have failed to deter the criminalisation and attacks against activists and journalists, which has continued over the year, with impunity. The new joint programme seems to be just more window dressing by the Duterte regime to evade accountability. It is time for the international community to listen to civil society voices and establish an independent investigation to hold the perpetrators to account”, said Lisa Majumdar, CIVICUS UN advocacy officer.

Human rights groups have also documented an assault on the judiciary. An investigative report by the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) found that at least 61 lawyers, judges and prosecutors have been killed under the Duterte administration since 2016. There have been no convictions so far in any of the deadly attacks recorded. 

The new brief outlines other tactics used to silence civil society that have ranged from freezing their accounts to launching  smear campaigns against them. In June 2021, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) froze the bank accounts of Amihan, an organisation of peasant women, which the authorities alleged were linked to communist rebels. Bank accounts of eight other nongovernmental organisations and civil society groups based in Mindanao were also covered by the order.

Human rights alliance Karapatan has been subject to  a spate of cyberattacks since July 2021 against its website, amid an online solidarity campaign #StopTheKillingsPH, which calls on the government to stop attacks against human rights defenders. Earlier attacks against Karapatan and alternative media outlets were traced by Qurium - Sweden-based media foundation - to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence of the Philippine Army as well as the Department of Science and Technology.

“Civil society groups have been at the forefront of monitoring violations perpetrated by authorities around the deadly war on drugs, and their assaults on activists. Despite the threats and litany of attacks against them, they have refused to be silenced. The international community owes them support and protection,” said Majumdar.

Following tireless research and advocacy efforts by civil society, in June 2021, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda requested judicial authorisation to proceed with an investigation into crimes committed in the Philippines from 1 November 2011 - the date the Philippines became an ICC member - until 16 March 2019. On 15 September 2021, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court granted the Prosecutor’s request to commence the investigation in a landmark development.

In December 2020, the CIVICUS Monitor, a global research collaboration that rates and tracks respect for fundamental freedoms in 196 countries, downgraded the Philippines from ‘obstructed’ to ‘repressed’ in its People Power Under Attack report 2020. 

More information

Download the Philippines research brief here.

Interviews

To arrange interviews, please contact Josef Benedict, CIVICUS Asia-Pacific Civic Space Researcher and

New research on the state of civic freedoms in Hong Kong - a look at restrictions over the past year

CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, is extremely concerned about the alarming regression of civic freedoms in Hong Kong. One year one from the passage of the draconian National Security Law, our research shows it has been weaponised to target dozens of pro-democracy activists and has created a chilling effect within civil society.

The National Security Law (NSL) punishes four types of activities: secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with “foreign forces”, all carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison. These offences are vaguely defined and can easily become catch-all offences to prosecute activists and critics with potentially heavy penalties.

The NSL establishes new national security bodies which are partially or fully controlled by People’s Republic of China (PRC) officials, in violation of the Basic Law. It gives Hong Kong police sweeping new powers including to conduct warrantless searches and covert surveillance, and to seize travel documents of those suspected of violating the security law. The law also contravenes the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary and undermines the right to a fair trial by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, guaranteed under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

"The national security law has become the most dangerous threat to civic freedoms in Hong Kong and has allowed for any form of dissent to be criminalised. The law has increased the climate of fear in Hong Kong and has been weaponised to target government critics, including people who are merely expressing their views or protesting peacefully”, said David Kode, Head of Advocacy at CIVICUS

More than a hundred people have been arrested under the National Security Law including pro-democracy activists, former lawmakers, lawyers, journalists and students. Activists have been accused of inciting or abetting secession or subversion just for showing leaflets and banners with reference to Hong Kong Independence or for their social media posts. 

In January 2021, 55 people, including pro-democracy activists, opposition candidates, former lawmakers and lawyers, were arrested and detained under law for ‘subversion’ for holding and participating in primary elections held by Hong Kong’s pro-democratic party in July 2020. 47 of the activists have been charged.

The NSL has also dramatically changed the environment for civil society in Hong Kong, greatly impeding the ability of civil society to carry out their work. Some have quit on the eve of the law’s introduction while others have exercised greater caution in their activities. The chilling effect of the crackdown on the entire sector cannot be overstated.

The law has also been deployed against the media. Media owner Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily, a major pro-democracy newspaper, has been detained since December 2020. He is facing multiple charges, including ‘colluding with foreign forces’. In May 2021, authorities announced they had frozen assets belonging to Lai under the national security law marking the first time a company has been targeted by the controversial legislation.  On 17 June, six of the newspaper’s staff and executives were arrested for their role in the publication of more than 30 articles that called on foreign countries to impose sanctions. All were charged under the NSL. Apple Daily ceased operations on 26 June.

“The use of the national security law to silence activism is a violation of international law. The repression against pro-democracy activists and other critics has led to the dismantling of civil society in Hong Kong, forcing many to flee the territory. The international community must not remain silent in the face of such abuses but must stand up and stand in solidarity with those defending human rights” said David Kode.

Since 2019, the Hong Kong authorities have also deployed other laws to criminalise peaceful protests in particular the Public Order Ordinance which has been used to charge activists holding and participating in an ‘unauthorised assembly’, It carries a maximum five-year sentence.  The UN Human Rights Committee has criticised the law, saying that “it may facilitate excessive restriction” to basic rights. 

Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to 13 and a half months in December 2020 for a mass protest outside a police station in June 2019. Wong’s long-time fellow activists Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were also sentenced to 10 and seven months in prison for ‘incitement,’ referring to their use of a megaphone to shout slogans during the protest. 

In April 2021, the courts sentenced ten pro-democracy activists to between eight and 18 months in prison for gatherings that were part of a series of mass protests triggered by the proposed Extradition Bill. In May 2021, eight activists were sentenced for organising a protest in October 2019. More recently, On 4 June 2021, the authorities banned the annual Tiananmen massacre vigil for a second straight year and arrested barrister and activist Chow Hang Tung for breaching section 17A(1D) of the Public Order Ordinance by ‘promoting an unauthorised assembly’. 

More information

Download the Hong Kong research brief here.

Interviews

To arrange interviews, please contact Josef Benedict, CIVICUS Asia-Pacific Civic Space Researcher  and 

New research brief from the CIVICUS Monitor finds:

• New censorship controls have been implemented during the pandemic
• The pandemic has expanded the use of laws criminalising misinformation - new or amended measures in over 35 countries
• Journalists detained in over 30 countries for their reporting on the pandemic

Over a year has passed since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. During this period, the CIVICUS Monitor has documented ongoing and unjustifiable restrictions to civic freedoms. The latest research brief focuses on the state of freedom of expression and violations committed as a direct response to the pandemic.

The research covers the period from January 2020 to February 2021 and highlights where governments are using COVID-19 as a pretext to censor the media and silence dissent. In some countries, governments have passed laws and regulations which impose undue restrictions on press freedom and access to information.

Censorship and the detention of journalists are some of the violations covered in the research brief. From Tanzania to Turkmenistan, governments have banned and blocked media for their COVID-19 related coverage. While in Chile and China, governments have put journalists in jail for their reporting on the pandemic.

The research brief how of journalists, media workers and civil society organisations have been the target of government overreach and provides over 60 country case studies that illustrate three trends:

• The use of restrictive legislation to silence critical voices, including the use of misinformation legislation
• Censorship and restrictions on access to information, including the suspension of media outlets due to their COVID-19 coverage
• Attacks on journalists over their reporting of the pandemic, including physical attacks and arrests

READ ANALYSIS

Joint research report on the state of civic freedoms in Malaysia

The Perikatan Nasional government has undermined and obstructed the exercise of fundamental freedoms during its first twelve months in power, said ARTICLE 19 and CIVICUS in a new report published today. The government has not only failed to reform or repeal laws that restrict the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association but has initiated baseless criminal proceedings against government critics, human rights defenders, journalists, and individuals expressing critical opinions.

The report, “Rights in Reverse: One year under the Perikatan Nasional government in Malaysia”, highlights the Perikatan Nasional government’s record during its first year in power against its obligation to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. The report highlights the government’s sustained use of repressive laws and provisions to silence dissent amid a global pandemic, when press freedom and civil society is needed more than ever to ensure reliable information and to hold the state accountable.

“The Perikatan Nasional government has been extremely secretive about its legislative agenda but has been crystal clear about its intention to continue using repressive laws to target critics and dissenters,” said Nalini Elumalai, ARTICLE 19’s Malaysia Programme Officer. “A healthy environment for public discourse cannot be achieved until dissenting and unpopular opinions are respected and protected instead of silenced.”

Over the past year, authorities have aggressively applied the Sedition Act 1948 and Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) to investigate, arrest, charge, and convict individuals who have criticized government officials or Malaysian royalty, or who have shared opinions about sensitive issues such as race and religion. Between March 2020 and February 2021, ARTICLE 19 and CIVICUS recorded 66 cases involving 77 individuals who have been investigated or charged under the two laws because of their exercise of the right to freedom of expression. Over this period, at least 12 people were convicted under the CMA.

Press freedom has also declined sharply during the Perikatan Nasional government’s first year in power. This trend was highlighted by Malaysiakini’s conviction on contempt of court charges in relation to third-party comments made on its website, the unprecedented witch-hunt against Al Jazeera journalists investigating the treatment of migrants workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the targeting of journalists reporting on the actions and statements of government officials. The harassment and intimidation of journalists further demonstrates the shrinking space for free and independent media in Malaysia.

In addition to journalists, the authorities have harassed, investigated, and arbitrarily detained human rights defenders, peaceful protesters, women’s rights activists, and union leaders in an effort to silence civil society voices.

The legal framework governing the exercise of freedom of assembly and association remains highly restrictive and excessively burdensome.

The Peaceful Assembly Act falls shorts of international law and standards and denies the right to protest to children and non-citizens. It also fails to allow for spontaneous assemblies. The last year saw peaceful protesters being investigated and arrested, including health workers protesting their lack of access to adequate personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Societies Act has continued to stand in the way of enjoyment of the right to freedom of association, which is critical in a democracy. The Registrar of Societies has excessive powers and has erected barriers to registration for new opposition political parties such as Muda and Pejuang and civil society groups while simultaneously fast-tracking the registration of the Perikatan Nasional.

“The Perikatan government has attempted to silence peaceful protesters and impede the formation of political parties to keep itself in power,” said Josef Benedict, CIVICUS Researcher. “Its attempt to join the Human Rights Council cannot be taken seriously unless it takes immediate steps to remove undue restrictions on assembly and association,” Benedict added.

ARTICLE 19 and CIVICUS urge the Malaysian government to undertake a comprehensive and inclusive process of legislative and institutional reform in order to promote and protect fundamental rights and freedoms. To this end, authorities must ensure that all processes are fully transparent and facilitate full and effective participation of all concerned stakeholders, including civil society.

Malaysia’s reform process must be informed by relevant international human rights standards. The Perikatan National government should take concrete steps towards the ratification of core human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

For further information:

• Nalini Elumalai, ARTICLE 19 Malaysia Program Officer,
• Josef Benedict, CIVICUS Civic Space Researcher,

More information

The space for civil society in Malaysia is rated as ‘Obstructed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that tracks civic space in every country. An Obstructed rating for civic space means that democratic freedoms – such as the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association – face a combination of legal and practical constraints in Malaysia.

As the UN Secretary-General has highlighted, ‘the 2030 Agenda, underpinned by human rights, provides a comprehensive blueprint for sustainable recovery from the pandemic’.

The Sustainable Recovery Lab, which took place on 14th January 2021, discussed how to operationalise this blueprint for Sustainable Recovery.

There has been a rapid decline in civic freedoms and democratic norms in Francophone West Africa with ruling presidents evading term limits and muzzling their opposition and pro-democracy groups, CIVICUS said ahead of presidential elections in Guinea (18 October) and Côte d’Ivoire (31 October).

Over the next six months a series of elections will take place across Francophone West Africa. Voting kicks off in Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire later this month, followed by elections in Burkina Faso (November), Niger (December-January) and Benin (April). Togo already had a contested presidential election in February 2020.

In Togo, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, violence and political tensions are being fuelled by presidents refusing to step down. In Benin, recent changes in eligibility requirements mean that members of the opposition may not be able to run for presidency, while Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Burkina Faso are confronting or emerging from violent armed conflicts which are being used to justify repressive laws and policies. In addition, the restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and armed groups spilling over from the Sahel to the Gulf of Guinea are making the political situations more volatile.

In this tense political environment, the new report “Civic space backsliding ahead of elections in Francophone West Africa” examines the tools of repression being used to undermine opposition groups, human rights defenders, activists and journalists. with a focus on Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Niger and Togo.

It documents recent Internet disruptions, the arrest of hundreds of pro-democracy activists and journalists and the killing of dozens of peaceful protesters in demonstrations organised over the last three years. Governments are using restrictive laws, over-complicated registration processes, judicial harassment and excessive use of force to clampdown on civil society, particularly when dissent is expressed online or during protests.

“Instead of working with civil society groups to create an enabling environment for free and fair elections, authorities across Francophone West Africa have resorted to muzzling human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists. In the hope of stamping out all opposition, they have created a climate of fear which fuels political violence, erodes the rule of law and undermines regional stability,” said François Patuel, senior researcher on West Africa and author of the report.

In Guinea, where President Alpha Condé will run for a third term on 18 October 2020, over fifty people were killed since October 2019 in protests organised by the political opposition and pro-democracy group Front National de Défense de la Constitution (National Front for the Defence of the Constitution, FNDC). In March 2020, the constitutional referendum which opened the way to Alpha Condé running for a third term was marred with a social media shutdown and intercommunal clashes in the Guinea Forest region which left over 30 people dead. Dozens of FNDC supporters and journalists have been detained since the creation of the movement in April 2019.

In Côte d’Ivoire, at least 12 people were killed in protests and clashes between political supporters following President Alassane Ouattara’s decision to run for a third term for the presidential election scheduled on 31 October 2020. Public protests have been banned since August 2020. The authorities have adopted laws criminalising false news and used them to target journalists, bloggers and politicians expressing dissent, including members of parliament such as Alain Lobognon who remains in detention since December 2019. In gross contempt to regional institutions, Côte d’Ivoire has been ignoring orders from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to release pro-Soro supporters and allow Guillaume Soro and Laurent Gbagbo to stand for elections.

“Local human rights groups do not take up sensitive political cases for fear of reprisals. Even lawyers are scared.” --Woman human rights defender, Abidjan, 15 May 2020.

“On paper, the right to freedom of expression is supposed to be protected. But in practice, journalists are intimidated when they write on sensitive topics such as land rights, police brutality and corruption.” -- Interview with a human rights defender, Lomé, 14 May 2020.

With civic freedoms backsliding across West Africa Francophone, civil society organisations need support from regional and international partners to remain safe, to ensure their voice is heard in international and regional fora and to increase the pressure on national authorities for positive human rights change. ECOWAS and the African Union, in particular, must step-up their response to the authorities’ disregard for regional standards and instruments, including their efforts to undermine the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Interviews

To arrange interviews, please contact: 
François Patuel, Consultant & Senior Researcher on West Africa for CIVICUS, , +221 77 693 78 46

The year 2020 marks 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA), heralded as the most progressive blueprint in achieving full human rights for all women and girls. Yet, 25 years on the ambitions of the BDPfA have not been achieved. In fact, the process takes place at a time of ever increasing challenges for women’s rights. 

• Report highlights judicial harassment of activists, targeting of journalists and crackdown on protesters 
• Modi government has continued to use state resources to sustain its persecution of activists and critics during COVID-19 pandemic 
• CIVICUS calls for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained human rights defenders

The Indian government is using a variety of restrictive laws - including national security and counter-terrorism legislation - to arrest and imprison human rights defenders, peaceful protesters and critics.

More than a year into  Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term in office, the CIVICUS report, “Punished for speaking up: The ongoing use of restrictive laws to silence dissent in India,” shows an increasingly repressive environment for civic freedoms, such as the freedoms of expression, association and assembly.  The report highlights the arrest, detention and prosecution of activists, the targeting of journalists, and the unprecedented and brutal crackdown on protests against the discriminatory Citizenship (Amendment) Act. CIVICUS is also concerned about increasing violations in Indian-administered Jammu Kashmir.

Further, India’s slide towards authoritarianism has led to the conflation of dissent with anti-nationalism, often with disastrous results for human rights defenders and activists who have been subjected to damaging smear campaigns.

The activists profiled in the report represent a small fraction of the arbitrary arrests, prosecutions and imprisonments taking place across India, providing a snapshot of the challenges facing the country’s human rights defenders.

The report also highlights a series of vaguely worded and overly broad laws being used by the Indian authorities to deprive activists of bail and keep them in ongoing detention. These include the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, (UAPA), which is India’s primary counter-terrorism law; section 124A on ‘sedition’ of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era relic; and administrative detention laws such as the National Security Act (NSA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA), which applies only in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir

“The Indian government must stop using restrictive national security and counter-terrorism laws against human rights defenders and critics. The authorities must also drop the baseless and politically-motivated criminal charges against activists and release them immediately and unconditionally,” said Josef Benedict, CIVICUS Asia-Pacific Civic Space Researcher.

“The laws are incompatible with India’s international human rights obligations as well as India’s Constitution. Not only are the laws themselves inherently flawed, but their implementation makes it clear that they have become tools for judicial harassment, rather than for preventing or addressing criminality.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Modi government has continued to use state resources to sustain its persecution of human rights defenders and critics, many of whom have underlying medical conditions or are at risk of contracting COVID-19 in overcrowded and unsanitary prisons. CIVICUS is also concerned about the judicial harassment of individuals and journalists who criticise the authorities’ handling of the pandemic. 

“It is appalling that human rights defenders are locked up in overcrowded prisons and continuously denied bail despite calls by the UN to decongest prisons and release political prisoners during the pandemic. Holding them at this time puts them at serious risk of contracting COVID-19 and adds another layer of punishment for these activists, who have been detained just for speaking up for human rights,” said Benedict.

Despite the hostile environment, human rights defenders and civil society organisations in  India are pushing back against oppression. The benefits of a vibrant civil society, and of human rights defenders who are free to do their work, are tangible. This has been evident in civil society’s crucial response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, in providing vital help to communities in need, defending rights, and holding governments accountable.

“As India’s political and economic influence increases, developments in the country are being closely followed by the global community. India’s quest to play a critical role on the international stage would be better served by committing to upholding democratic values and recognising the validity of people’s struggles,” said Benedict.

In the report, CIVICUS makes a number of recommendations to the Indian authorities, including:

• Drop all charges against human rights defenders, activists and protesters, and immediately and unconditionally release all those detained;
• Review and amend India’s criminal laws to conform to international standards for the protection of fundamental freedoms;
• Take steps to ensure that all human rights defenders in India are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance or fear of reprisals.

More information

The space for civil society in India was downgraded in December 2019 from ‘obstructed’ to ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that tracks civic space in every country. A repressed rating for civic space means that democratic freedoms – such as the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association – are significantly constrained in India.

Interviews

To arrange interviews, please contact Josef Benedict, CIVICUS Asia-Pacific Civic Space Researcher  and 

Activism and AIDS: Together with @frontlineaids & @Aidsfonds_intl, new research examines the risks and restrictions facing civil society in the fight to end the epidemic | #OpenCivicSpace #HIVCOVID19

Full report: https://t.co/Z7jQ3ru3yR pic.twitter.com/H9hyuZzKYa

— CIVICUS (@CIVICUSalliance) July 10, 2020

NEW REPORT --See mini-site and supplementary materials

Achievements made in the fight to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic are at risk because of continuous attacks on basic civil liberties all around the world. It has become more and more difficult for civil society to reach out to people in need, says a new report from a global civil consortium which is relevant for the COVID-19 response.

Vulnerable groups like LGBTQI+ communities, particularly transgender people, are among the most commonly persecuted, and police and law enforcement authorities are among the main perpetrators, according to the report by Aidsfonds, CIVICUS, and Frontline AIDS. 

The report, titled Activism and AIDS: protect civil society’s space to end the epidemic, launched during the 23rd International AIDS conference, examines the risks and restrictions facing civil society who are fighting to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic. At the launch event, activists shared how new COVID-19 restrictions undermine their efforts to carry out their work on HIV and AIDS and further jeopardise the achievements towards ending AIDS by 2030. 

“The success that we’ve made towards fulfilling the goal of ending AIDS by 2030 has only been achieved because civil society is able to reach the most marginalised communities,” says Sylvia Mbataru from CIVIUS, lead author of the report. “But this is at serious risk of being derailed by increasing ultra-conservative politics. As we confront the COVID-19 pandemic and we witness new restrictions on civic space, it is imperative that AIDS activists and organisations are given the space to serve their communities.”

The research, unique in its scope and breadth and the global human rights monitors involved, was conducted using the CIVICUS Monitor. The Monitor provides quantitative and qualitative data on the state of civil society and civic freedoms in countries around the world. The report covers trends from four diverse countries - Zimbabwe, Ukraine, Indonesia, and Vietnam  (. . . . .  see civic space rating scale)

The report calls civil society’s response to the disease an “unparalleled example” of ”engagement and leadership”, with those living with HIV and AIDS having played “a vital role as advocates, as watchdogs and in the provision of services”. But governments and law enforcement agencies, among others, are making it difficult and dangerous for civil society to support people living with the disease. 

“The diminishing space for civil society and an increasingly hostile political and social landscape herald an urgent international and regional call for action,” the report says. 

In Indonesia, activists and organisations were attacked online, had their social media content censored by authorities, had protests broken up even before they began, and had their offices raided, among other abuses, according to the report. The country is now a potential coronavirus hotspot, where the government has been accused of lack of transparency, and people have been charged for allegedly spreading fake news about coronavirus. 

In Ukraine, key populations including gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers and their clients, and transgender people have been targeted by influential religious figures. “I personally saw how supporters of religious organisations disrupted protests of key populations,” says a civil society organisation (CSO) representative, according to the report. In April, one of the country’s LGBTQI bodies announced it was suing an eminent preacher for remarks blaming COVID-19 on same-sex marriage. 

The report also finds that opposition to civic space is strengthening at international and regional levels, with one CSO representative saying that “voices are not heard at the UN”. The World Health Organization (WHO) was a “very closed space for civil society”, the report says, with a complex registration system for organisations.

Two years since student protest movements mobilised in Bangladesh, there is still no accountability for human rights violations against protesters.

‘Crushing Student Protests,’ a new report launched today by civil society groups Front Line Defenders, CIVICUS and South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), highlights the use of excessive force, arbitrary arrests and allegations of torture and ill-treatment by the Bangladesh security forces during the protests, as well as attacks by non-state actors perpetrated with impunity against the students.

In April 2018, senior students from universities mobilised to call for reform in the quota system for government jobs. Three months later, in July and August, junior students from schools and colleges led protests demanding public transport safety reform after students were killed in traffic accidents.

Law enforcement agencies responded to both movements with excessive force. Protesters reported that the police attacked them with teargas, rubber bullets and high pressure hot water cannons. Unidentified armed individuals believed to be members of the student wing of the ruling party, known as the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), operated as an auxiliary force to Bangladeshi security forces to attack protesters with wooden logs, sticks, iron rods, and sharp weapons. They used social media to intimidate, harass and threaten protest leaders and organizers.

An activist from Jagannath University in Sadarghat, Dhaka said that on 20 April 2018, he was attacked by BCL members: “They accosted me and dragged me to a corner. There were 12 people, and they beat me up, and cut my lip…They beat me until I was senseless and left me there.”

Police also arbitrarily arrested protesters and filed multiple cases against them without specifying names, detaining students at will. Some reported torture and ill-treatment in detention.

One activist arrested on 1 July 2018 in the Bhasantek area of Dhaka related his experience of being beaten up for a full day by security forces. “They made me lie down on the floor, with my arms handcuffed, and several policemen beat me with rods,” he said. “I bled on the floor, and they made the others detained clean the floor.”

Bangladeshi journalists also were assaulted and detained as part of government efforts to control the narrative and silence critical voices.

One of those arrested was 63 year old Shahidul Alam, a well-known photojournalist and activist. He was detained by plainclothes policemen on 5 August 2018, hours after giving an interview to Al Jazeera English on the student protests and charged a day later under the Information and Communication Technology Act for making "false" and "provocative" statements. Alam told reporters that he had been beaten in police custody.

“The failure to hold anyone accountable for the violence against protesters points to deeply ingrained impunity in Bangladesh. We demand a prompt and independent investigation into all reports of violence by the police and nonstate actors against human rights defenders, journalists and protesters, and for those responsible to be brought to justice,” said Sultana Kamal, noted Bangladeshi Human Rights Defender and Chairperson of SAHR.

“The police must drop all charges against the student human rights defenders and protesters and review the convictions of protesters and other individuals prosecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Roshmi Goswami, SAHR bureau member from India who took part in the joint international mission.

The crackdown occurred just prior to elections held later in 2018, indicating the kind of actions the ruling party was, and remains willing, to take to hold its grip on power.

Long after the protests stopped, many student activists, their friends and family members continue to face surveillance, intimidation and harassment, effectively silencing future dissent. Social media has been deployed to intimidate and smear human rights defenders and civil society groups that supported the protests. 

A prominent activist was attacked eight times after the protest movement ended. Another protest organizer has been routinely stalked by members of the National Security Intelligence (NSI).

“The authorities must end all forms of harassment, intimidation and surveillance against those involved in organising, participating or supporting the protests and ensure a safe and enabling environment for protest leaders to carry out their activism without fear of reprisals,” said Andrew Anderson, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders.

The crackdown on the protests is indicative of a broader pattern of aggression and attacks by the government against critics to silence dissent. The now defunct Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Act, and its successor, the Digital Security Act, have been used to restrict freedom of expression while human rights activists, journalists and government critics have been charged or convicted for speaking up and, in some cases, forcibly disappeared.

“The Digital Security Act criminalizes many forms of freedom of expression and imposes heavy fines and prison sentences for legitimate forms of dissent. It is incompatible with international law and standards and should be amended immediately,” said David Kode, Advocacy and Campaigns Lead at CIVICUS.

The human rights violations documented in this report around the protests are inconsistent with Bangladesh’s Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and other international laws and standards. Despite the fact that many of these issues have been raised by states, the Bangladesh authorities have failed to address them.

Front Line Defenders is the Ireland-based international human rights organization that works for the security and protection of human rights defenders at risk (HRDs) around the world.

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa and dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. 

South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) is a democratic regional network with a large membership base of people committed to addressing human rights issues at both national and regional levels. SAHR seeks to contribute to the realisation of South Asian peoples’ right to participatory democracy, good governance and justice by strengthening regional response, including regional instruments, monitoring human rights violations, reviewing laws, policies and practices that have an adverse impact on human rights and conducting campaigns and programmes on issues of major concern in the region.

Civic space in Bangladesh is currently rated as repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. The spread of the pandemic, and the response of states to the crisis, have created unprecedented living conditions for much of the world’s population. A range of restrictions on freedoms has been introduced in attempts to curb the pandemic. However, some of these have had troubling impacts on human rights and the space for civil society. In many cases, they have patterned onto and reinforced existing restrictions of civic space.

Civic space is the bedrock of any open and democratic society and is rooted in the fundamental freedoms of people to associate, assemble peacefully and freely express their views and opinions. Since 2016, the CIVICUS Monitor has documented and analysed the state of civic space in 196 countries.

States have taken measures that include emergency laws, nationwide lockdowns and restrictions on movement. But one month after the declaration of the pandemic, CIVICUS has documented several alarming civic space trends that have resulted. These are:

• Unjustified restrictions on access to information and censorship;
• Detentions of activists for disseminating critical information;
• Crackdowns on human rights defenders and media outlets;
• Violations of the right to privacy and overly broad emergency powers.

International human rights law recognises that in the context of officially proclaimed public emergencies, including in public health, which threaten the life of a country, restrictions on some rights can be justified, but they must have a legal basis and be strictly necessary, of limited duration, respectful of human dignity, subject to review, proportionate to achieving the objective, not involve discrimination and be used strictly to the extent required by the emergency in question. Even where an official proclamation of emergency has been made, non-derogable fundamental rights such as the right to life and freedom from torture and inhuman, cruel, or degrading treatment still must not be infringed. Where a proclamation of emergency has not officially been made, rights can only be restricted during a public health threat in accordance with the limitations allowed in normal times under the relevant provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

International law is clear, but there are concerns that some of the actions taken by some states may be exceeding justifiable restrictions and negatively affecting civic freedoms. CIVICUS has compiled information on key civic space issues that have surfaced due to the response by governments and some other groups to the COVID-19 pandemic, raising serious concerns about the state of civic space at this time. These reports are sourced from civil society groups and activists, credible news sources and official documents. The restrictions are happening in a range of countries with different civic space ratings. When a country is referenced the respective rating colour is also displayed:

Censorship and restrictions on access to information

In  China, the government initially  responded to the outbreak by withholding information from the public, under-reporting cases of infection and downplaying the severity of the infection. The authorities also censored numerous articles and social media posts about the pandemic, including those posted by families of infected people seeking help and by people living in cordoned-off cities documenting their daily life. In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, through a ‘medida provisória’ (provisional measure), decreed that government officials were not obliged to answer any freedom of information requests during the outbreak. The Supreme Court subsequently suspended the decree.The CIVICUS Monitor has shown that in 2019, censorship was the most common tactic used by states to silence activists, journalists and government critics and suppress critical information. Human rights groups have documented attempts to censor or restrict information on the COVID-19 pandemic. These have potentially prevented people from accessing information about the pandemic that can help them protect themselves and their families and being able to ask informed questions about the decisions being taken by the authorities in response to the pandemic.

In Turkmenistan, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s government is limiting the use of the word ‘coronavirus’ as much as possible in order to deter the spread of information about the pandemic. It has ordered the word’s removal from health brochures distributed in hospitals, schools and workplaces. In El Salvador journalists have not been allowed to ask questions during press conferences related to the crisis and the government’s response.

In Vietnam, where the state controls all conventional media and implements strict social media censorship, the authorities have been cracking down on people using Facebook and bloggers who are trying to deliver timely and valuable information about the pandemic. As of 17 March, at least 654 people who posted on Facebook about the outbreak had been summoned to police stations for interrogation about their posts, and 146 of them have been fined.

During this crisis, internet shutdowns directly harm people’s health and lives, and undermine efforts to bring the pandemic under control. The shutdown in Indian-administered Kashmir is hampering the ability of doctors to obtain information about the virus and educate the public. Similar concerns have also been raised in Rakhine state in Myanmar, which is also subject to an internet shutdown.

Threats and arrests for criticising state response

There have also been reports of people being threatened or arrested for criticising their state’s response or disseminating information on the pandemic.

In Iran, civil rights activists, journalists, a city councillor and a footballer have all been  detained or summoned for questioning after criticising the Iranian government’s management of the pandemic in social media posts. Some of those who were summoned were accused of portraying the country in a negative light and pressured to be supportive of the government’s response to the outbreak.

In the Solomon Islands, the Ministry of Health has sent out a memo threatening ‘termination with immediate effect’ for staff who post comments online criticising the government’s response to the pandemic. It said the regulations were included under the State of Public Emergency declaration. In Sri Lanka, on 1 April, the Inspector General of Police instructed all police officers to take legal action against those who publish posts on social media criticising government officials.

Police in Pakistan have arrested dozens of doctors and medical staff who protested about a lack of personal protective equipment in their fight against the pandemic. In Thailand, on 23 March, an artist was charged under the draconian Computer Crime Act for a Facebook post criticising the lack of airport COVID-19 screening.

Restrictions on the media

Journalists and the media have a key role to play in sharing timely information about the pandemic. However, some states are shutting down media outlets, restricting the media and criminalising journalists.

On 17 March it was reported that decrees had been issued by the governments of Jordan, Morocco, Oman and Yemen to suspend newspaper printing and distribution in response to the pandemic. This includes both independent and state-owned media outlets. Authorities reportedly imposed this to prevent the possible spread of the virus during the printing, delivery and distribution of papers.

On 5 March, authorities in Niger arrested Kaka Touda Mamane Goni, an independent journalist who publishes news reports on his Facebook and Twitter pages, at his home in Niamey, Niger’s capital. His arrest stemmed from a complaint filed by the local General Reference Hospital, which alleged that his social media posts about a suspected COVID-19 case at the hospital posed a threat to public order.

In Kenya, blogger Robert Alai was arrested on 20 March for posting false information about the virus. Alai had claimed that the government was concealing crucial information about the spread of the virus and that its impact was far greater than the government was acknowledging. He is accused of contravening the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crimes Act 2018.

The house of journalist, Darvinson Rojas in Venezuela was raided and he was detained by agents of the Special Action Forces of the Bolivarian National Police on 21 March for his reporting on the pandemic in Venezuela. At the hearing on 23 March, Rojas was accused of ‘instigating hatred and public instigation’.

On 26 March, the President of Vanuatu signed a declaration of a State of Emergency in response to the pandemic. As part of the declaration it was announced that all news articles on the virus had to be vetted by the National Disaster Management Office after consultation with the Ministry of Health.

Journalists have at times also been subjected to physical assault or harassment while covering COVID-19 lockdowns. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, journalist Tholi Totali Glody was reportedly chased by police officers and thrown off a motorcycle taxi on 22 March in Likasi, Haut-Katanga province, resulting in injuries that included a broken leg.

Passage and use of restrictive laws to counter ‘fake news’

The pandemic’s spread has been matched by the proliferation of misinformation about the virus. While misinformation is a serious problem, some states have resorted to unduly repressive laws on ‘fake news’ that could have wider impacts.

On 18 March, the government of South Africa's new regulations criminalising statements intended to deceive any person about COVID-19 or the government's response to it. The regulations were published in the Government Gazette under the 2002 Disaster Management Act and carry penalties including fines, imprisonment, or both.

The Philippines government declared a state of emergency in response to the pandemic on 25 March and passed a law that included provisions penalising the spreading of ‘false information’ on social media and other platforms. Those found violating this provision may face two months’ imprisonment or a fine of not less than P10,000 (approx. US$196). Courts may also impose a fine of up to P1 million (approx. US$19,642). On 28 March, Egypt's general prosecution said that those spreading ‘fake news’ and rumours about the virus may be imprisoned for five years and fined EGP 20,000 (approx. US$1,266).

Turkey’s Ministry of Interior announced on 23 March that legal action had been taken against 316 social media account holders who had shared information about the virus ‘to cause worry among the public, incite them to fear and panic and target persons and institutions’. In Malaysia, the authorities reported on 11 March that they had opened 37 criminal investigations related to the spread of ‘fake news’ on the virus.

Targeting of human rights defenders

There is also evidence that governments and others are using the pandemic as an opportunity to target human rights defenders.

In Honduras, on 24 March, police arbitrarily arrested Evelyn Johana Castillo for being on the street during the emergency, while she was returning home from buying food with her husband and older daughter. She is the Assistant Coordinator of the Ojojona Women’s Network and a member of the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Honduras. Evelyn stated that this attack against her may have been a reprisal.

A human rights defender in El Salvador has been the target of a smear campaign after posting on Facebook on 13 March about overcrowding and the lack of hygiene for people held in quarantine during the pandemic. She received messages containing harmful speech, intimidation and threats, including misogynistic insults and derision of her feminist activism.

According to local civil society groups, death squads in Colombia are taking advantage of lockdowns to kill rural activists. Marco Rivadeneira, a high-profile activist, was murdered in the southern Putumayo province, Ángel Ovidio Quintero was shot dead in the western Antioquia region and Ivo Humberto Bracamonte was killed on the eastern border with Venezuela.

Police abuses during lockdowns

Civil society groups and journalists have raised concerns about the use of excessive force or inhumane and degrading treatment by law enforcement officials towards people who have violated lockdowns in various countries. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings has raised concerns about this.

According to Human Rights Watch, police and local officials in the Philippines have  confined those arrested for violating the government’s COVID-19 regulations in dog cages and forced them to sit in the midday sun as punishment, among other abuses. In India, videos have circulated of police officers violently caning those who do not respect the restrictions. Violators have also been publicly shamed in India by being forced to do squats, push-ups, crawl or roll around the streets.

In South Africa numerous videos have emerged that appear to depict police officers and soldiers kicking, slapping, whipping and even shooting lockdown violators. On the first day of South Africa’s lockdown, police fired rubber bullets at News24 journalist Azarrah Karrim, despite her shouting ‘I’m media’, when she was covering the dispersal of people by security forces in Johannesburg.

In Kenya, police in various locations were also recorded caning people who defied the curfew. Videos and photos also featured the police lobbing teargas canisters and clubbing people with batons in the city of Mombasa to clear the streets in advance of the curfew.

Surveillance and violations of the right to privacy

There have been numerous examples of states increasing intrusive surveillance measures. Any surveillance measures and restrictions on the rights to privacy introduced in response to the pandemic should be provided for by law and be necessary, proportionate, timebound and implemented with transparency and adequate oversight; they must be the least intrusive available to achieve the desired result. The reality has not lived up to these standards.

China's authorities are notorious for using technology for surveillance, unconstrained by privacy legislation. Its universal street camera system, first deployed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has been expanded all over the country's main metropolitan areas and has been recently upgraded with facial recognition capabilities. The authorities have been using this system to catch, shame and fine citizens going outside without face masks and to identify and quarantine individuals who show symptoms.

The move by the authorities in Israel to permit the security service to use mobile phone data of infected people has also raised privacy concerns. This system is apparently already operational, with 400 people having received text messages warning them of potential contact with infected people.

On 31 March, Armenia's parliament passed amendments to broad surveillance powers to enable the use of mobile phone data for tracking COVID-19 cases. The amendments impose restrictions on the right to privacy and allow the authorities to access confidential medical information related to people exposed to the virus. In Fiji, civil society raised privacy concerns after the Ministry of Health disseminated private information that listed the names and addresses of passengers who were on the same flight as the country’s first confirmed COVID-19 patient. The list of 82 names included residential addresses.

Overly broad emergency laws and new restrictive legislation

International civil society has documented a number of countries that have declared a state of emergency or passed emergency laws or regulations to combat the virus that grant the state overly broad powers and endanger civic freedoms. International human rights law is clear that any measures introduced must be subject to sufficient oversight by both the legislature and the courts, should not be discriminatory and must be time bound.

Among the emblematic cases highlighted by CIVICUS partners is Hungary. Its new law (Bill on Protection against the Coronavirus or Bill T/9790), adopted on 30 March, extends the government’s power to rule by decree by absolving it from parliamentary scrutiny and does so without providing a clear cut-off date. The new law also amends the Criminal Code concerning the crime of ‘imparting or conveying false information’: anyone who publicises false or distorted facts that interfere with the ‘successful protection’ of the public or might alarm or agitate the public could be punished by up to five years in prison.

The government of Cambodia has drafted a state of emergency bill, containing many overly broad and vague provisions, which would empower Prime Minister Hun Sen to override fundamental human rights protections. This includes unlimited surveillance of telecommunications, control of the media and social media and complete authority to restrict the freedoms of movement and assembly. Articles 1 and 4 of the bill would allow the law to be used even after the crisis ends.

Some states have also used the crisis to quietly pass restrictive legislation without adequate scrutiny. For example, amid the chaos of the pandemic in the USA, at least three states have passed  laws imposing new criminal penalties on protests against fossil fuel infrastructure.

Recommendations to governments

Given the concerns outlined above, it is clear that governments need to do more to respect civic freedoms when responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments should implement the following recommendations to ensure that fundamental freedoms do not become another casualty of the virus:

• Safeguard the freedom of expression in all forms while addressing the pandemic and refrain from censoring social and conventional media. Any restrictions should be pursuant to an order by an independent and impartial judicial authority, and in accordance with due process and standards of legality, necessity and legitimacy, in line with international law and standards.
• Maintain reliable and unfettered access to the internet and cease internet shutdowns that prevent people from obtaining essential information and services during the crisis.
• Address violations against human rights defenders and journalists during the pandemic, and ensure that those who commit violations are independently and promptly investigated and the perpetrators are brought to justice.
• Respect and protect media freedom, as guaranteed under international human rights law, during the pandemic.
• Replace approaches to misinformation on the pandemic that rely on censorship and criminal sanctions with those emphasising transparency and media freedom.
• Ensure that surveillance measures adopted to address the pandemic are lawful, necessary and proportionate. As part of this, ensure that any expanded monitoring and surveillance powers are timebound, and only continue for as long as necessary to address the current crisis.
• Ensure that increased collection, retention and aggregation of personal data, including health data, is only used for the purposes of responding to the pandemic.
• Ensure that law enforcement officials respect the law and avoid abusive conduct while enforcing lockdowns and curfews, and investigate those suspected of such abuses and bring the perpetrators to justice.
• Guarantee that any new emergency laws and decrees deployed to combat the pandemic do not in any circumstances restrict certain fundamental rights, including the right to life, prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment, recognition before the law and the presumption of innocence. Make sure that any such laws or decrees are not discriminatory in any way, including on the grounds of race, ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, language, religion and social origin, and are timebound and subject to sufficient oversight by both the legislature and courts. 

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Findings based on data released today by the CIVICUS Monitor, a global research collaboration which rates and tracks respect for fundamental freedoms in 196 countries.

The CIVICUS Monitor's latest global assesment,  People Power Under Attack 2019, finds that the fundamental freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression are backsliding across the world. In the space of a year, twice as many people are living in countries where these civic freedoms are being violated: 40% of the world’s population now live in repressed countries - last year it was 19%.

The report, which is based on data from the CIVICUS Monitor, a global research collaboration, shows that civil society is under attack in most countries. In practice, this means that just 3% of the world’s population are now living in countries where their fundamental rights are in general, protected and respected – last year it was 4%.

2019 has been a historic year for protest movements. From the streets of Sudan to Hong Kong, people have poured onto the streets to make their voices heard. However, according to the 536 updates by the CIVICUS Monitor, the fundamental right to peaceful assembly is under attack across the world. In fact, within the last year the CIVICUS Monitor documented that 96 countries either detained protesters, disrupted marches or used excessive force to prevent people from fully exercising their right to peaceful assembly.

“This data reflects a deepening civic space crisis across the globe. As millions of protesters spilled onto the streets, government response has been repression instead of dialogue,” said Marianna Belalba Barreto, Civic Space Research Lead at CIVICUS. “However, the fact that so many activists were brave enough to raise their voices, shows the resilience of civil society in the face of brutal repression.”

Nine countries have changed their civic space rating: seven countries have been downgraded and only two improved their rating. Worrying signs for civic space are recorded in Asia-Pacific, where three countries dropped a rating: Australia, India and Brunei. There is growing concern about the decline of democratic and civic rights in Europe, with Malta also being downgraded. Other countries on the slide include Nigeria, Comoros and Madagascar.

People Power Under Attack 2019 also provides analysis on the kinds of violations most frequently recorded on the CIVICUS Monitor over the past year. Globally, censorship is the most common violation, occurring across 178 countries. From blocking websites and social media, to banning television programmes, governments across the world are going to great lengths to control public discourse and suppress free speech. The other top violations include:

There are bright spots emerging, as both Moldova and the Dominican Republic improved their ratings this past year. The Dominican Republic moved from the obstructed to narrowed category after civil society managed to challenge and overturn restrictive laws; these laws related to defamation cases and constitutional amendments which would lengthen Presidential terms.

Over twenty organisations collaborate on the CIVICUS Monitor to provide an evidence base for action to improve civic space on all continents. The Monitor has posted more than 536 civic space updates in the last year, which are analysed in People Power Under Attack 2019. Civic space in 196 countries is categorized as either closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed or open, based on a methodology which combines several sources of data on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.

Regional summaries and press statements:

• Americas
• Africa
• Asia
• Europe and Central Asia
• Middle East and North Africa
• Pacific

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

• Environmental activism is dangerous and too often deadly, and may worsen as the growing climate crisis fuels divides over access to natural resources
• Millions of people have marched this year calling for an end to climate injustice yet around the world just 4 percent of the world’s population live in countries where governments are properly respecting the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression according to the CIVICUS Monitor.
• The annual United Nations climate change negotiations (COP), to be held in Madrid from 2 to 13 December  was meant to be the ‘People’s COP’ but was unable to find a home in Latin America, which remains the most dangerous region in the world to be an environmental defender

Millions of people have taken to the streets in 2019 calling for an end to climate injustice but on the frontlines of the crisis and at the United Nations brave activists continue to be deliberately silenced.

This new position paper ‘We will not be silenced: Climate activism from the frontlines to the UN’ details how people who speak out for climate justice are threatened and intimidated with violence, repressive laws, frivolous lawsuits and disinformation campaigns. Instead of responding to the demands of the climate movement for a more ambitious and just response to the climate crisis, governments are choosing to smother their voices.

In October, when Chilean civil society called for the government to withdraw the military from the streets before hosting COP 25 the Piñera government instead responded by withdrawing overnight from hosting the pivotal meeting. Chile’s withdrawal reflects a worrying trend after Brazil earlier pulled out from hosting COP 25 and Poland, the host of COP 24, imposed restrictions on public mobilisations and limited the participation of accredited civil society.

Civil society scrutiny and contributions to UN climate talks are vital in a year when millions of people have marched in the streets demanding an end to climate inaction. Recent developments in UN climate talks - including the erasure of the landmark IPCC 1.5 degree report from negotiations - under pressure from states including  Saudi Arabia - show the vital need for the COP 25 to be the first true ‘People’s COP’ - reversing the trends in closing space for civil society from the local to the global level.

For more information and interview requests please contact:

Lyndal Rowlands (English)
Natalia Gomez Peña (English, Spanish)

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The question of how grassroots groups and activists based in the global south can mobilise adequate support to overcome the growing ecological, social, political and economic challenges they face and achieve positive change is a serious one that requires our attention. These groups face significant challenges in accessing key resources (financial and otherwise) to sustain their work.

CIVICUS embarked on a consultation process to identify, in a participatory way, possible mechanisms that would increase the scale and quality of resources, both international and domestic, for groups and movements. Over the course of five months, we have had the privilege to learn from activists, organisers, young leaders and progressive funders from around the world about resourcing challenges, and to sense-check solutions and co-create scenarios based on lived experiences, bold ideas and deep understanding of social problems.

This consultation is an attempt to move conversations forward at a practical level, exploring options that, pulled together, could help start a radical transformation in the range and quality of resources accessible to grassroots groups. As well as sense-checking the relevance, appeal and feasibility of emerging concepts, the process itself has been significant. These early explorations have directly engaged the groups that we seek to better resource, including a cross-section of grassroots activists, the financial arms of social movements and other strategic partners.

This document is a distillation of our findings and learnings.

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• Shifting the Power to Grassroots Movements:  Findings from consultations with activists and funders
• Addressing the Resourcing Problem: Strategic Recommendations on Mechanisms to Increase Resources Going to Civil Society Groups in the Global South
• Understanding the Resourcing Landscape for Small and Informal Civic Society Groups in the Global South

Located in the west of Central Africa between Cameroon and Gabon, and with a population of less than a million people, Equatorial Guinea is often described as one of the most censored countries in the world. The space for civil society - civic space - is closed, and consequently, independent journalists and human rights defenders (HRDs) are vulnerable to judicial persecution, threats and attacks from the state. Recent acts of intimidation, arbitrary arrest, detention and harassment of HRD Alfredo Okenve on the day he was supposed to receive a human rights award from the French Embassy in the capital city of Malabo exemplify the risks faced by HRDs.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is Africa’s longest-serving head of state and the world’s longest-serving non-royal leader, having seized power from his uncle Francisco Macías Nguema through a coup d’état in 1979. Equatorial Guinea remained isolated until oil was discovered in the early 1990s and the country opened up to more foreign investment. However, despite the vast amounts of funds secured from the sale of oil, Equatorial Guinea’s human development indicators remain extremely low. Much of the wealth is controlled by President Obiang’s family and close associates while a majority of citizens lack basic services and live in poverty. President Obiang and his ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) have used violence, repression, intimidation and harassment to maintain control of all state institutions and military forces for four decades. Groups or political parties and activists that are perceived by government officials to threaten the power base of the PDGE are either co-opted, harassed, intimidated, or forced to self-censor.  

This policy brief sheds light on some recent human rights violations committed by the regime and restrictions placed on citizens. Since assuming power four decades ago, President Obiang has refused to implement any verifiable and irreversible democratic or political reform. The ruling PDGE party, maintaining stringent control over all aspects of governance, has completely closed spaces for civil society reforms. Given this, Equatorial Guinea’s UPR hearing offers a rare opportunity to hold the government responsible for human rights violations. The African Union (AU), donors, multilateral organisations and global civil society have a responsibility to exert pressure on the government to implement much-needed reforms.

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In recent years, combined with existing threats, the rise of right-wing and nationalist populism across the world has led to an increasing number of governments implementing repressive measures against the space for civil society (civic space), particularly affecting women human rights defenders (WHRDs). The increasingly restricted space for WHRDs presents an urgent threat, not only to women-led organisations, but to all efforts campaigning for women’s rights, gender equality and the rights of all people. In spite of these restrictions, WHRDs have campaigned boldly in the face of mounting opposition: movements such as #MeToo #MenAreTrash, #FreeSaudiWomen, #NiUnaMenos, #NotYourAsianSideKick and #AbortoLegalYa show how countless women are working to advance systemic change for equality and justice. More WHRDs across the world are working collectively to challenge structural injustices and promote the realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Their power has been in the collective, despite constant attempts at silencing them. Furthermore, there have been WHRDs recognized for their invaluable contributions to opening civic space and protecting human rights in India, Poland, and Ireland. In the United States, WHRDs have won awards for the environmental activism, and in Iraq for their work in calling for greater accountability for sexual violence during war time.

This policy brief responds to this context and highlights how the participation of WHRDs in defending and strengthening the protection of human rights is critical for transforming traditional gender roles, embedded social norms and patriarchal power structures. WHRDs are leading actions to advance sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), socioeconomic justice, labour rights and environmental rights. Moreover, WHRDs work to ensure that women are included in political and economic decision-making processes, making clear the disproportionate effects that socioeconomic inequalities have on women and gender non-conforming people.

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Findings based on data released today by the CIVICUS Monitor a global research collaboration which rates and tracks the respect for fundamental freedoms in 196 countries. 

CIVICUS has today released People Power Under Attack 2018, a new report showing that nearly six in ten countries are seriously restricting people’s fundamental freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression. This reflects a continuing crisis facing civil society organisations and activists across the world, with the space for civic activism most commonly undermined through censorship, attacks on journalists and harassment of human rights defenders.

“This data is a wake-up call. Given the scale of the problem, global leaders, including the G20 who are meeting this week, need to take the protection of civic freedoms far more seriously,” said Cathal Gilbert, Civic Space Research Lead at CIVICUS. “For civil society, 2018 was a story of states innovating to suppress and restrict criticism by those who dare to challenge people in power.”

The report, which is based on data from the CIVICUS Monitor - a global research collaboration - shows that civil society is under serious attack in 111 out of 196 countries. This is up from 109 countries at our last update in March 2018. In practice, this means that repression of peaceful civic activism continues to represent a widespread crisis for civil society in all parts of the world, with just 4% of the world’s population living in countries where governments are properly respecting the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.

Nine countries’ civic space ratings have worsened in this latest update, while seven countries improved their ratings. Countries on the slide include Austria, Azerbaijan, Gabon, Kuwait, Italy, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania and Senegal. Those improving are Canada, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Gambia, Liberia, Lithuania and Somalia.

People Power Under Attack 2018 also provides analysis of the kinds of violations most frequently recorded on the CIVICUS Monitor over the past two years. Globally, attacks on journalists and censorship are the two most common violations, indicating that power holders are going to great lengths to control public narratives and repress freedom of expression. Harassment of activists and the use of excessive force by security forces during protests are the third and fourth most common violations recorded on the CIVICUS Monitor since October 2016.

“While there is rightly a lot of concern about the proliferation of bad laws which stifle civic freedoms, our data shows these are just the tip of the iceberg. Extra-legal measures, such as attacking journalists or beating up protestors, are much more common,” said Gilbert. “These tactics are cynically designed to create a chilling effect and deter others from speaking out or becoming active citizens.”

CIVICUS data released today also contains good news stories. In the seven countries which improved their civic space ratings, and elsewhere, we see clear evidence that peaceful activism can force repressive governments to take a different path. In Ethiopia, for instance, following years of popular unrest and the severe repression of all forms of dissent, 2018 has witnessed a remarkable about-turn. New prime minister Abiy Ahmed has released political prisoners, eased restrictions on electronic communication and made important progress towards reforming some the country's most repressive laws. Changes in political leadership in Gambia and Ecuador have similarly led to an improved environment for the exercise of fundamental freedoms.

“Recent improvements in Ethiopia show what is possible when political will is present and leaders take courageous decisions to respond to the calls of civil society,” said Gilbert. “This should encourage those seeking change in repressive countries everywhere. By removing restrictions and protecting civic space, countries can tap into civil society’s true potential and accelerate progress on a wide range of fronts.”

Over twenty organisations collaborate on the CIVICUS Monitor to provide an evidence base for action to improve civic space on all continents. The Monitor has published more than 1,400 civic space updates in the last two years, data which is analysed in People Power Under Attack 2018. Civic space in 196 countries is categorised as either closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed or open, based on a methodology which combines several sources of data on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.

Regional press statements:

• Americas
• Africa
• Asia and the Pacific
• Europe and Central Asia
• Middle East and North Africa

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Cathal Gilbert, Civic Space Research Lead, CIVICUS,

A comparative analysis of regulation of civil society organisations’ ‘political activity’ and international funding in Ireland, Netherlands, Germany and Finland. Written by CIVICUS, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, with support from The Community Foundation for Ireland

This paper provides a comparative assessment of how the “political activities” of civil society organisations are regulated in Ireland and three other European Union member states. This paper focuses particularly on organisations, such as human rights organisations, which carry out public advocacy activities and rely on international sources for a substantial portion of their funding.

All four countries are rated as “open” by the CIVICUS Monitor, a global platform which tracks respect for civic space in 196 countries. These four  european countries are also well known for their strong promotion of civil society, human rights and democratic freedoms through their foreign policy and international development cooperation on programmes. 

Following a brief outline of key international and regional norms, the paper outlines relevant aspects of domestic regulatory systems in Netherlands, Germany and Finland. A final section sets out what Ireland could learn from these examples, with a view to reforming its laws and policies governing “political activities” and foreign funding of civil society organisations.

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Repression in Paradise: Assault on fundamental freedoms in the #Maldives. New report on #MaldivesInCrisis https://t.co/LTkQWELRUr pic.twitter.com/5whBOItY2X

— CIVICUS (@CIVICUSalliance) April 30, 2018

The Maldives, an archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean, was thrown into a political crisis on 1 February 2018 when the country's Supreme Court ordered the release and retrial of a group of opposition politicians, including exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed. President Yameen Abdul Gayoom refused to comply with the ruling, leading to mass protests in the capital, Malé.In response, the President declared a state of emergency, provided the security forces with sweeping powers and suspended constitutional rights. He also removed and arrested two Supreme Court judges.