Stories written by CIVICUS

PHILIPPINES: ‘Responding to Disinformation Can’t Mean Giving the Government a Mandate to Police Truth’


 
CIVICUS discusses the implications of the Philippines’ proposed anti-disinformation bill with Josalee Deinla, Secretary-General of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, a civil society organisation that defends civil liberties in the Philippines.

LIECHTENSTEIN: ‘We Have One of the Strictest Abortion Bans in Europe’


 
CIVICUS discusses struggles for abortion rights in Liechtenstein with Gabriella Alvarez-Hummel, a journalist and reproductive rights activist who works with Fristenlösung für Liechtenstein, an organisation that campaigns for the introduction of a legal time-limit abortion model.

SWEDEN: ‘The New Migration Laws Are so Vague That People Don’t Know What Might Be Used Against Them’


 
CIVICUS discusses Sweden’s new migration laws with John Stauffer, legal director and deputy executive director of Civil Rights Defenders, a Swedish civil society organisation that acts as a civil rights watchdog at home and supports human rights defenders in repressive contexts worldwide.

ECUADOR: ‘Criminalisation Serves as a Deterrent, Seeking to Discipline Others’


 
CIVICUS discusses the rapid erosion of civic space in Ecuador with Gabriela Panchana, an activist, communicator and founder of the En Voz Alta and Rumbo Plural digital platforms.

GAZA: ‘There Are No Standards to Tell You What to Do in Conditions like Gaza’


 
CIVICUS discusses the state of civic and humanitarian action in Gaza with Ibrahim Arandas, a Palestinian activist and project manager at SPARK Gaza, a civil society organisation that provides humanitarian and psychosocial support.

PARAGUAY: ‘Transparency Should Strengthen Democracy, Not Turn Criticism of Those in Power into a Cause for Suspicion’


 
CIVICUS discusses the challenges posed by Paraguay’s ‘anti-NGO law’ with Hugo González, executive director of the Paraguayan Network of LGBTQ+ Artists (REPAR+), a civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes the rights of LGBTQI+ people, which has joined the constitutional challenge against this law.

INDIA: ‘The Cockroach Janta Party Brings Together Everyone Who Has Been Neglected for Years’


 
CIVICUS discusses India’s Cockroach Janta Party movement with Harshit Singh, a young activist, poet and storyteller who took part in protests in Delhi.

CHINA: ‘The Ethnic Unity Law Means There Is One Acceptable Way to Be Chinese’


 
CIVICUS speaks about China’s recently implemented Ethnic Unity Law with Gulchehra Hoja, a correspondent for Reporters Without Borders and a Uyghur activist and journalist known for her reporting on human rights abuses against Uyghur people in China.

ARMENIA: ‘Anti-LGBTQI+ Discourse Is Increasingly Tied to Anti-democratic Narratives’


 
CIVICUS discusses disinformation campaigns targeting the LGBTQI+ community in Armenia with Hripsime Kizogyan, Executive Director of Pink Armenia, a community-based organisation that defends the human rights of LGBTQI+ people and advocates for policy change.

ALBANIA: ‘The Public Only Learns about These Development Megaprojects Once Construction Machinery Arrives’


 
CIVICUS discusses land grabs and environmental damage linked to a luxury coastal resort project with Eva Kushova, Director of Destination Management Organisation Albania, a civil society organisation that supports sustainable tourism in Albanian destinations, seeking to preserve culture and nature while maximising benefits for communities.

SERBIA: ‘We Are Becoming an Electoral Autocracy, a System Where the Government Cannot Lose’


 
CIVICUS discusses the prospects for elections in Serbia with Rasa Nedeljkov, Programme Director at the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, a civil society organisation that monitors electoral processes and the rule of law in Serbia.

MEXICO: ‘Our Call for Justice for Our Missing Loved Ones Must Reach the World Just as World Cup Goals Do’


 
CIVICUS speaks about efforts to use the 2026 FIFA World Cup to highlight Mexico’s enforced disappearance crisis with Ana Enamorado, a Honduran national who continues to search for her missing son in Mexico, and founder of the Regional Network of Migrant Families.

MEXICO: ‘The World Cup Is an Opportunity to Raise Global Awareness of the Crisis of Enforced Disappearances’


 
CIVICUS discusses Mexico’s enforced disappearance crisis with Angélica Orozco, a member of Fuerzas Unidas por Nuestros Desaparecidos en Nuevo León (FUNDENL), a collective of relatives of disappeared people and people who support them. Since 2012, FUNDENL has been searching for the disappeared and documenting the human rights crisis.

GHANA: ‘This Is Bigger than Lgbtqi+ Rights – It’s about the Kind of Society We Want to Be’


 
CIVICUS discusses Ghana’s anti-LGBTQI+ law with Leila Lariba, Executive Director of One Love Sisters Ghana, a community-driven organisation that advances human rights, social inclusion and wellbeing for Muslim LGBTQI+ people in Ghana.

WORLD CUP: ‘FIFA Has Placed Itself on the Side of the Polluters, Not the Rest of the Planet’


 
CIVICUS speaks about the climate impacts of the 2026 World Cup with Frank Huisingh, founder of Fossil Free Football, a fan-led group that campaigns to end fossil fuel sponsorship in football and make the game more sustainable.

GLOBAL TAX TREATY: ‘Without Sustained Pressure from Organised Movements, the Political Space to Win Simply Doesn’t Open’


 
CIVICUS discusses a proposed United Nations (UN) tax treaty with Jenny Ricks, General Secretary of Fight Inequality Alliance, a global movement that organises to counter the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a small elite.

BOTSWANA: ‘Court Rulings Matter, but It’s Sustained Civic Action That Turns Them into Real Protection’


 
CIVICUS discusses Botswana’s decriminalisation of same-sex relations with Faith Gunda, a Botswana-based law student and human rights defender, a member of the CIVICUS Protest Lab and co-founder of Sisterhood Chain International, a solidarity initiative that supports grassroots groups and amplifies young women’s voices.

GAZA: ‘If Civilians Can Get This Close to Establishing a Humanitarian Corridor, Then Governments Can Do It’


 
CIVICUS discusses the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla on its mission to bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza with Musa Roshdy, a humanitarian activist who took part in the flotilla.

PERU: ‘For 20 Years, Voters Have Had to Choose the Lesser of Two Evils’


 
CIVICUS discusses the outlook ahead of Peru’s runoff presidential election with David Hidalgo, journalist and executive director of OjoPúblico, a Peruvian digital investigative journalism outlet.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION: ‘China Feels Emboldened to Globalise Its Political Red Lines’


 
CIVICUS discusses the cancellation of RightsCon 2026 with Barbora Bukovská, Senior Director for Law and Policy at ARTICLE 19, a human rights organisation that works on freedom of expression and information around the world.

DIGITAL RIGHTS: ‘The Priority Should Be Holding Tech Companies Accountable, Not Banning Children from the Digital World’


 
CIVICUS discusses the rising trend of social media bans for children with Marie-Ève Nadeau, Head of International Affairs of the 5Rights Foundation, an organisation that promotes children’s rights in the digital environment.

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