CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation calls for the international community to show stronger political will to stop human rights abuses in Syria. The international community must ensure that President Bashar al-Assad's regime is brought under pressure to abide by international law, and that there are investigations and accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is time for the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court.
Joint statement by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and the Arab NGO Network for Development
Johannesburg. 23 March 2011.The use of military action is intensifying in Syria, and the human rights and humanitarian conditions are deteriorating. Despite the calls of Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Arab League and the UN Special Envoy to Syria, Syrian authorities have failed to halt the use of excessive force and violence.
Johannesburg, South Africa, 22 March 2012. The space for civil society to operate independently in Malawi is sharply shrinking warns international civil society network CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. In a warning sign of an impending crackdown, members of civil society and the media are being openly intimidated to prevent them from criticising the government.
Campaigners around the world will today (Thursday 15th March) mark one year of violence in Syria by calling on Russia to back UN Security Council action to end the crisis.
The Cassation Bench of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia is expected to hear a petition by the Human Rights Council (HRCO) on 27 February 2012 to admit an appeal against the freezing of its bank accounts. The hearing was originally scheduled to take place on 3 February, but was postponed.
Johannesburg. 8 February 2012. Amid rising tension in Cairo, Egypt, violence against peaceful protestors is being intensified and non-governmental organisations are being openly attacked. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Arab NGO Network for Development and the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness condemn persistent and brutal crackdowns by Egyptian security forces and the attempt to control civil society activity through a draft Law on Associations and Foundations.
Busan, Republic of Korea. 8 December 2011. The 4th High Level Forum (HLF4) on Aid Effectiveness, held in in Busan from 29 November to 1 December, concluded with a compromise on the direction of international development cooperation and with mixed results in protecting the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in development.
Johannesburg. 21 July 2011. Zimbabwean authorities should immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against six Zimbabwean rights activists who were arrested on 19 February 2011 and charged with treason for allegedly watching videos of pro-democracy rallies in Egypt and Tunisia, said CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation today.
On 18 July 2011, the six were supposed to stand trial in the Harare Magistrates Court, but the State suddenly altered the treason charge to a lesser one of conspiring to commit public violence and the case was postponed to 22 August.
Johannesburg 22 June 2011. As the daily death toll from the protests in Syria rapidly mounts, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is urging all members of the UN Security Council to fulfil their mandate to maintain international peace and security through a resolution strongly condemning the actions of the Syrian regime and to impose sanctions that will prevent the military from targeting civilians.
Johannesburg. 20 April 2011. International and South African civil society groups strongly condemn the brutal crackdown by Swaziland security forces on anti-government protestors.
As a group of concerned organisations, we strongly condemn the brutal crackdown by authorities on peaceful protestors in Swaziland. We stand united to voice our concerns about the daily abuses and the ongoing repression of its people.
Women in civil society in Africa continue
to face major hurdles
Johannesburg. 8 March 2011. Women in
civil society in Africa are particularly prone to intimidation and harassment
says a new report released today by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen
Participation. CIVICUS calls on African governments, regional bodies, the
international community and civil society to do much more to protect women
human rights defenders on the continent.
Released to coincide with International
Women's Day, the report outlines the major challenges faced by women in
Johannesburg. 25 February 2011. African
Governments' appalling lack of pressure to force Libyan Leader, Muammar
Gaddafi, to halt the violence and step down, reflects persistent inadequacies
in the African Union (AU). Their failure to act decisively threatens progress
towards democracy and respect for human rights on the continent, according
to leading African civil society activists speaking today at a press conference
in Johannesburg.
"The response from African governments
and the African Union took so long and was so feeble that it emboldens
Johannesburg. 23 February 2011. CIVICUS:
World Alliance for Citizen Participation calls upon African Governments
to urgently treat the situation in Libya as a threat to international peace
and security.
The African Union has failed to condemn
the brutal actions of the Libyan government let alone publicly put pressure
on its Supreme Leader, Muammar Gaddafi, to stop his murderous attacks on
civilian protestors, said the international civil society organisation,
CIVICUS.
"Article 3 of the Constitutive Act
of the African Union lists the promotion of peace, security and stability
Johannesburg. 22 February 2011. The situation
in Libya is escalating with mass killings of protestors, resulting in the
commission of crimes against humanity. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen
Participation calls upon the UN Security Council to invoke the principle
of 'Responsibility to Protect' to deal immediately with the threat posed
to international peace and security.
A number of Libyan diplomats and the
Justice Minister have quit their positions in protest against the indiscriminate
brutal gunning down of protestors by Colonel Muammar Gadaffi's regime.
13 July, 2010-- Johannesburg ---CIVICUS:
World Alliance for Citizen Participation is concerned by recent reports
that Uzbek officials are intensifying pressure against human rights defenders
in response to the political upheaval and violence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan.
In Uzbekistan, many human rights defenders
have long faced harassment and state scrutiny of their activities. Often,
the state has demonstrated a deep distrust for human rights advocacy, labeling
activists as "enemies" of the state and accusing them of criminal
