‘Digital platforms amplify the Israeli narrative while systematically silencing Palestinian voices’

 
CIVICUS discusses the challenges Palestinian civil society faces in resisting digital suppression and advocating for justice with Palestinian lawyer and researcher Dima Samaro.

Education Cannot Wait Interviews UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett

 
Richard Bennett was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan in April 2022. He has served in Afghanistan on several occasions in different capacities, including as the Chief of the Human Rights Service with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. He has previously played a role in the promotion and protection of human rights in Afghanistan and supported the United Nations on a number of human rights issues, such as protection of civilians, transitional justice, child rights, rule of law, rights of people with disabilities, protection of human rights defenders and a range of economic, social and cultural rights.

IPS – Year End Video, 2024

 
The world’s troubles deepened in 2024. Civilians bore the brunt of war. Violence in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Haiti, and more displaced over 100 million people worldwide.

Civil Society Trends for 2025: Nine Global Challenges, One Reason for Hope

It's been a tumultuous year, and a tough one for struggles for human rights. Civil society’s work to seek social justice and hold the powerful to account has been tested at every turn. Civil society has kept holding the line, resisting power grabs and regressive legislation, calling out injustice and claiming some victories, often at great cost. And things aren’t about to get any easier, as key challenges identified in 2024 are likely to intensify in 2025.

‘The Election Is Just Another Tool to Keep Lukashenko in Power for as Long as Possible’

 
CIVICUS discusses the ongoing crackdown on civil society in Belarus with Natallia Satsunkevich, human rights defender and interim board member of the Viasna Human Rights Centre.

Trapped on a Runaway Train: Looking Back on 2024

Do you sometimes feel like a hamster on its wheel, or perhaps stuck on a runaway train hurtling towards the abyss? Whatever metaphor one might choose for our world looking back on 2024, rainbows don’t easily spring to mind.

Water Deprivation Looms in Gaza

As talks of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine intensify, bombardments in Gaza continue, raising the number of civilian casualties and internal displacements. A December 19 report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Israeli authorities for committing acts of genocide upon the people in the Gaza Strip, including the deprivation of water and the destruction of critical water sanitation infrastructures.

US & Western Allies Provide a Hefty 260 Billion Dollars in Military Aid to Ukraine

The United States and Western allies have jointly provided a staggering $260 billion in aid, mostly weapons and military assistance, to Ukraine as the long-drawn-out conflict continues following Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels early December, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “All told, the United States has provided $102 billion in assistance to Ukraine, and our allies and partners, $158 billion”.

South Korea’s Democracy Defended

Democracy is alive and well in South Korea. When President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to impose martial law, the public and parliamentarians united to defend it. Now Yoon must face justice for his power grab.

We Can and Must Do Our Best

As 2024 comes to a close, I dare to say that this has been an especially gruesome year for millions upon millions of young children, their parents and their teachers. The world has witnessed one horrific crisis of cruelty, dispossession and human suffering after another.

Is the Time Ripe for an End to the Ukraine War?

Donald Trump, president-elect of the USA, wants to end the Ukraine war within a day, as he has emphasized several times, but without saying how. Despite the brutal clashes on the ground in Ukraine, do negotiations now have a chance? Are we near to a "ripe moment" for negotiations?

What Does the End of Assad’s Regime Mean for Syria and the Middle East?

The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad came about following a series of coordinated offensive missions spearheaded by the Syrian opposition which resulted in the seizure of the capital city Damascus. In the days following the fall of Assad’s government, the Syrian Civil War has reached a phase of heightened insecurity, plunging Syria into a state of nationwide insecurity.

New Legislation Outlaws Dissenters in Venezuela

In Venezuela you can no longer say in public that the economic sanctions applied by the United States and other countries are appropriate, or even be suspected of considering any of the authorities illegitimate, because you can be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison and lose all your assets.

Israel Continues to Attack Gaza Amid Ceasefire Negotiations

After 14 months of conflict between Israel and Palestine, talks of a ceasefire agreement have headed in a promising direction. The proposed agreement entails the release of hostages in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian land, and a strategy for displaced Gazans to safely return to their homes in the northern region of the enclave. Despite both Israeli and Palestinian officials expressing optimism over this agreement, hostilities from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continue to endanger the lives and infrastructures of thousands of Gazans.

‘My Father Was Arbitrarily Arrested and Convicted for Denouncing Government Corruption’

 
CIVICUS speaks with Ramón Zamora, son of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, about restrictions on press freedom and the challenges of defending human rights in Guatemala.

In Times of War: Tough Ethical Questions and Inner Turmoil

Sixty-four days of unrelenting war machine by Israel against Lebanon put my entire beliefs and ethos to a painful test: my sincerity in promoting social justice, human rights, integrity, patriotism, spirituality and, philosophically speaking, universal human values of love, peace and non-violence.

Bangladesh in Crisis: Which way out?

This piece is not about the crisis or the chaos that the country is now facing after successfully toppling the autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina. Rather, it is about the crisis of confidence and social capital or trust — interlinked, nonetheless.

Camps of Death, Terror: Syrian Survivors Face Long Road To Recovery

Detained without trial for over three years for trial for allegedly treating "terrorists" (as opponents of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were deemed), Alaa al-Khalil, a 33-year-old nurse from the Syrian city of Hama, recounts the agony of her time in a prison cell she shared with at least 35 women.

The Fall of The Assad Regime: The Rebels’ Prospect for Success or Failure

The fall of the Assad regime is a historic watershed event that will have significant regional and international ramifications. The question is, will the rebels fulfill their promise to be inclusive and lift the Syrian people out of their misery, and what can the US and Israel do to help shape the trajectory of the new regime?

Escalation of Violence in Sudan Raises Concern of Nationwide Collapse

On December 9, a wave of bombardments hit a market district in Sudan, killing at least 127 people. Over eight barrel bombs were launched on the North Darfur town Kabkabiya, marking the latest attacks on densely populated areas that occurred throughout the course of the Sudanese Civil War. Both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have received immense criticism from humanitarian organizations for committing abuses against civilians that constitute violations of international humanitarian law.

To What Extent is Bangladesh’s Hindu Population Under Attack?

Bangladesh has been in the midst of a deepening political crisis and a significant social divide since August 5 when the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following a mass uprising led by students. Diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh have since soured and given way to a considerable amount of disinformation, especially surrounding the persecution of the Hindu population.