{"id":1377964,"date":"2023-12-07T16:51:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T16:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/?p=25597"},"modified":"2023-12-07T16:51:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T16:51:54","slug":"civicus-2023-almost-one-third-of-humanity-now-lives-in-countries-with-closed-civic-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/12\/07\/civicus-2023-almost-one-third-of-humanity-now-lives-in-countries-with-closed-civic-space\/","title":{"rendered":"CIVICUS 2023: almost one third of humanity now lives in countries with \u2018closed\u2019 civic space"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The CIVICUS Monitor<\/a>, which tracks freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression in 198 countries and territories, announced in a new report – \u201cPeople Power Under Attack 2023<\/strong>\u201d – that almost one third of humanity now lives in countries with \u2018closed\u2019 civic space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the highest percentage \u201330.6% of the world\u2019s population\u2013 living in the most restrictive possible environment since CIVICUS Monitor\u2019s first report in 2018. Meanwhile, just 2.1% of people live in \u2018open\u2019 countries, where civic space is both free and protected, the lowest percentage yet and almost half the rate of six years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are witnessing an unprecedented global crackdown on civic space,<\/em>\u201d said CIVICUS Monitor lead researcher Marianna Belalba Barreto. \u201cThe world is nearing a tipping point where repression, already widespread, becomes dominant. Governments and world leaders must work urgently to reverse this downward path before it is too late.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CIVICUS Monitor rates each country’s civic space conditions based on data collected throughout the year from country-focused civil society activists, regionally-based research teams, international human rights indices and the Monitor’s own in-house experts. The data from these four separate sources are then combined to assign each country a rating as either \u2018open,\u2019 \u2018narrowed,\u2019 \u2018obstructed,\u2019 \u2018repressed\u2019 or \u2018closed.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven countries saw their ratings drop this year. These include Venezuela and Bangladesh, each now rated \u2018closed\u2019 due to intensifications of existing crackdowns on activists, journalists and civil society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic countries slipped too. Europe\u2019s largest democracy, Germany, fell from \u2018open\u2019 to \u2018narrowed\u2019 amid protest bans and targeting of environmental activists. Bosnia & Herzegovina also declined to \u2018obstructed,\u2019 the twelfth European country downgraded since 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of 2023\u2019s most dramatic slides occurred in Senegal, once considered among West Africa\u2019s most stable democracies. Senegal entered the \u2018repressed\u2019 category amid sustained government persecution of protesters, journalists and opposition ahead of February elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe range of countries where authorities restricted citizen participation in 2023 shows clampdowns are not isolated incidents but are part of a global pattern,\u201d said Belalba. \u201cA global backslide requires a global response. If citizens are not able to freely gather, organise and speak out, the world will not be able to solve inequality, confront the climate crisis and bring an end to war and conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CIVICUS Monitor data shows that worldwide, authorities target people\u2019s freedom of expression above all else. Half of all documented violations in 2023 targeted free speech, with incidents ranging from a bombing outside a journalist\u2019s house in Indonesia, the arrest of the head of a radio station in Tunisia and police pepper-spraying a reporter covering a protest in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research also reveals that intimidation is the number one tactic to restrict citizen freedoms. Human rights defenders, activists and media experienced intimidation in at least 107 countries. Media in particular bear the brunt, with 64% of incidents targeting journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these alarming trends, People Power Under Attack 2023 highlights areas of progress too. Timor-Leste\u2019s civic space moved up to the second best rating \u2018narrowed\u2019 from \u2018obstructed,\u2019 reflecting the country\u2019s commitment to fundamental freedoms. Four other countries saw ratings improve, though they remain in \u2018repressed\u2019 or \u2018obstructed\u2019 zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also details bright spots where countries made steps toward opening societies. Among these, Fiji repealed a restrictive media law. The Kenyan courts recognised the right of LGBTQI+ people to associate. Even Tajikistan, rated \u2018closed,\u2019 created a national human rights strategy with civil society input. Still, these and other improvements remain halting and often disconnected compared to widespread repression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese small steps show that even amid unprecedented restrictions, civil society is pushing back,\u201d said Belalba. \u201cThese courageous acts of resistance by active citizens and civil society organisations give us hope that the downward trend is not permanent and can be reversed.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also: https:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/2022\/01\/18\/2021-global-data-report-from-the-civicus-monitor\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To access the full CIVICUS Monitor report, please visit monitor.civicus.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/vietnam\/vietnam-civicus-report-12072023001010.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The CIVICUS Monitor, which tracks freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression in 198 countries and territories, announced in a new report \u2013 \u201cPeople Power Under Attack 2023\u201d \u2013 that almost one third of humanity now lives in countries with \u2018closed\u2019 civic space. This is the highest percentage \u201330.6% of the world\u2019s population\u2013 living in [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59300,1587,857,71547,522,71923,1252,307,1424,71924,50038,59],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377964"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1377964"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1377965,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377964\/revisions\/1377965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1377964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1377964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1377964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}