Protect the Protest

10/18/23 • 23 min

Freedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental right exercised around the world, especially where we see democracies backsliding, governments failing to listen to the people, and amid growing anti-rights backlash.

To kick of this season we look at what has been happening in the last year. Marianna Belalba Barreto leads the Civic Space Research team at CIVICUS and tracks civic space globally.

Then we hear what it has been like to organise protests, with Ruki Fernando from Sri Lanka, where the economy crashed and a state of emergency was declared.

You can find CIVICUS online and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. CIVICUS Voices is hosted by Aarti Narsee and produced by Elna Schutz, Jamaine Krige, and the CIVICUS team.

To kick of this season we look at what has been happening in the last year. Marianna Belalba Barreto leads the Civic Space Research team at CIVICUS and tracks civic space globally.

Then we hear what it has been like to organise protests, with Ruki Fernando from Sri Lanka, where the economy crashed and a state of emergency was declared.

You can find CIVICUS online and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. CIVICUS Voices is hosted by Aarti Narsee and produced by Elna Schutz, Jamaine Krige, and the CIVICUS team.

Previous Episode

Refugees’ double fight: Escaping home & surviving the host

At the beginning of 2022, there were more than 27 million refugees worldwide, and their right to protest is often limited or repressed.

Nadia Hardman, a researcher in the Refugee and Migrants Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, speaks to us about these challenges.

Later, Abdul Aziz Muhamat shares his story as a Sudanese refugee who became an advocate for refugee rights while under long-term detention at the Australian government detention centre on Manus Island.
You can find CIVICUS online and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. CIVICUS Voices is hosted by Aarti Narsee and produced by Amal Atrakouti, Elna Schutz, Jamaine Krige, and the CIVICUS team.
Photos, source material and transcript are available here: https://www.civicus.org/index.php/media-center/resources/podcastcivicusvoices/#episode6

You can find CIVICUS online and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. CIVICUS Voices is hosted by Aarti Narsee and produced by Elna Schutz, Jamaine Krige, and the CIVICUS team.

Next Episode

LGBTQI+ rights in Africa

Significant strides have been made across the globe in recognising and upholding the rights of sexual minorities, but despite these successes, the past year has also seen major setbacks when it comes to LGBTQI+ rights. This episode talks to human rights defenders from across the African continent, where anti-rights sentiments and regressive legislation is gaining ground.
We talk to Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Frank Mugisha, who is an openly gay activist in a country that recently passed what is widely considered the harshest anti-homosexuality laws in the world.
Also from Uganda, human rights lawyer Rose Wakikona explains the impact of these laws and their far-reaching implications for the rest of the region.
Finally, we’ll hear from Henry Wackam, who was forced to flee Cameroon because of his sexual orientation. Henry is the founder of Rainbow Refuge Africa, a network for LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers living in South Africa, where he now lives.

You can find CIVICUS online and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. CIVICUS Voices is hosted by Aarti Narsee and produced by Elna Schutz, Jamaine Krige, and the CIVICUS team.