Cuba Has its Back Against the Wall

The crisis could scarcely be more dramatic. The US is blocking practically all oil deliveries to Cuba. The island depends on imports for all diesel, petrol and kerosine. Without diesel trucks cannot move, food cannot reach Cuban towns and hospitals will not get any oxygen.

Philippines: ‘Preventing Similar Cases Requires Dismantling the Mechanisms That Treat Dissent as Crime’

 
CIVICUS discusses the criminalisation of dissent in the Philippines with Kyle A Domequil, spokesperson of the Free Tacloban 5 Network, a campaign supporting journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, human rights defender Marielle Domequil and their co-accused and advocating for their release.

Over 25,500 Palestinians Killed: Absence of Accountability is Nothing Short of Shameful

The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is a human-made disaster. The report before you sets out events between 1 November 2024 and 31 October 2025 that show Israel’s utter disregard for human rights in Gaza and the West Bank, and the serious violations also committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

Will Palestine Preside Over the Next UN General Assembly?

The 193-member General Assembly, the highest-ranking policy-making body at the United Nations, is most likely to elect Palestine as its next President in an unprecedented move voting for a “non-member observer state”—a state deprived of a country to represent.

After a Brutal Winter, Millions of Ukrainians Face Deepening Displacement and Uncertainty

After surviving the harshest winter in a decade, millions of displaced Ukrainians are confronting a growing crisis marked by hardship and ongoing attacks as peace prospects remain distant.

Can “Human Fraternity” Move Peace?

As wars drag on and the international order grows increasingly unstable, Abu Dhabi has been offering a different kind of narrative. It sought to recognize early efforts at reconciliation, bring religious leaders into the same space, and place former adversaries under the same spotlight. At the heart of the February 4, 2026 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity ceremony was an attempt to make visible, in a public setting, the choice of moving in the direction of easing conflict.

Iran: A Regime with Nothing Left but Force

The Islamic Republic of Iran has put down another uprising, with a ferocity that makes previous crackdowns seem restrained. The theocratic regime has survived, but it has done so by substituting violence for the economic security it cannot provide and the political legitimacy it no longer has. Its show of force is also an admission of weakness.

People’s Pursuit of Dignity, Equality and Justice is Unshakeable

A fierce competition for power, control and resources is playing out on the world stage at a rate and intensity unseen for the past 80 years. People are feeling unmoored, anxious and insecure. The gears of global power are shifting; the consequences are not clear. Some are signalling the end of the world order as we know it.

‘Nothing Compares to Human Lives Lost’ – Reflections on Ukraine War

“We have a saying here in Ukraine now – ‘young people meet at their friends’ funerals rather than at weddings.' It’s sad, but very true.”

Immigrants Are What Made America Great

Trump’s immigration policy is destroying America’s greatness Immigrants are the backbone of America’s greatness— powering its economy, enriching its culture, and advancing its global leadership. Yet under the guise of making America great again, Trump's exclusionary, racist policies are dismantling that very foundation, stifling innovation and tarnishing the nation’s moral standing.

UN Report Details Grave Abuses Against those Trafficked into Scam Centres

A report published today by the UN Human Rights Office graphically details the lived experiences of some of the hundreds of thousands of people trafficked from dozens of countries around the world into working in entrenched scam operations mostly in Southeast Asia, as well as far beyond.

As Biodiversity Loss Grows, Rome Talks Urge Nations to Step Up Action

Governments meeting in Rome last week acknowledged that global efforts to protect nature are still not moving fast enough, even as biodiversity loss continues to affect ecosystems, livelihoods, and economies worldwide.

Ode to U.S. Civil Rights Icon Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr: A Life That Carried the Rainbow

When the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. declared, “Keep hope alive,” it was not a slogan. It was a discipline. It was a moral posture. It was a promise to those America had locked out of its prosperity and pushed to the margins of its democracy. And for more than five decades, Jackson kept that promise – organizing, marching, preaching, negotiating, and standing in solidarity with oppressed peoples at home and abroad.

Why Ending Child Marriage is Key to Advancing Africa’s Economic Development

Africa is home to approximately 160 million adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 (according to 2022 data by the United Nations Population Division). They embody the energy, creativity, and potential of the continent. It is undeniable that The Africa We Want, as envisioned in the African Union’s Agenda 2063, will not be realized without the full participation of this group which represents a key component of the continent’s current and future workforce.

‘Worrying’ War on Drugs Rhetoric Comes with Human, Financial Costs

Drug reform campaigners have called for an overhaul of global drug controls amid an increasingly complex and deadly drug situation in the world and as hardline anti-drug approaches are increasingly being used as cover for repression of civil society and human rights defenders.

International Humanitarian Law is at Breaking Point – but not Beyond Repair

International humanitarian law is at a breaking point, as rampant impunity for serious violations is enabling even greater abuses against civilians and detainees.

The Veto May be the Weapon of Elimination in the Election of Next UN Chief

As the campaign for the next Secretary-General gathers momentum – at a relatively slow pace – there is widespread speculation that any candidate running for the post of UN chief will have to abide by the dictates of a politically hostile White House or face a veto in the Security Council.

From Pledges to Proof: UN Biodiversity Meeting Begins First Global Review of Nature Action

Governments convened in Rome on Monday (February 16) for a critical round of UN biodiversity negotiations, launching the world’s first global review of how countries are acting to protect nature.

IRAN: ‘Sustainable Change Will Depend on Domestic Organisational Capacity, Not External Force’

 
CIVICUS discusses the recent protests in Iran with Sohrab Razaghi, executive director of Volunteer Activists, a Netherlands-based diaspora organisation empowering Iranian civil society.

Extreme Heat Undermines Decent Work in North Eastern Kenya

By 9 a.m. on a Wednesday, Hawa Hussein Farah is already watching the temperature climb. Awake since 6 a.m., she has prepared her three children for school before walking them to class and heading to Suuq Mugdi, an open-air market in Garissa town, to buy the fruit she will sell.

Multilateralism Reaching Breaking Point

The latest World Economic Forum made clear the current crisis of multilateralism. Over 60 heads of state and 800 corporate executives assembled in Davos under a ‘Spirit of Dialogue’ theme aimed at strengthening global cooperation, but it was preceded by a series of events pointing to a further unravelling of the international system.