Global Issues
News headlines for “Democracy”
As Attacks on Women Defenders Intensify, so Must Our Support
- Inter Press Service
MANILA, Philippines, December 15 (IPS) - A global crackdown on civic freedoms is intensifying – and women are on the frontlines of the attack. CIVICUS’s 2025 People Power Under Attack report analyses the extent to which freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly are being respected or violated. The report reveals that people in 83 countries now live in conditions where their freedoms are routinely denied, compared to 67 in 2020. In 2020, 13 per cent of the world’s population lived in countries where civic freedoms were broadly respected; now it’s more like 7 per cent. Among the most documented violations in 2025 were detention of human rights defenders, journalists and protesters, and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) were among the most affected.
UNDP’s Digital Rights Dashboard: A Conversation Starter on Human Rights in the Digital Age
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, December 15 (IPS) - Within a generation, digital systems have changed much of how we learn, work and participate in civic life, especially in more connected regions. This shift is unfolding at different speeds in developing countries, but the direction of travel is unmistakable.
Sindh People’s Housing Redefines Post-Disaster Adaptation Success
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, December 12 (IPS) - By any comparison, the statistics for Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) are phenomenal.
From Law to Lives Saved: How the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Bill Can Deliver Universal Health Coverage
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Kenya, December 12 (IPS) - For women in labour across Kenya, reaching a health facility, finding skilled health workers, and affording care can be a matter of life and death. These challenges are not rare, but daily realities for many families.
In Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan, a Young Woman Works in Disguise to Feed Her Family
- Inter Press Service
KABUL, December 11 (IPS) - Shabnam, a 26-year-old law graduate, manages her life and work by disguising herself as a boy. In the middle of a crowded market with the clatter of street sellers and the smell of nearby restaurants, a small, nondescript shop blends into the chaos. Inside, rusty shelves line the walls, empty soda cans hanging on the wall add a touch of color, and an old table covered with a worn-out cloth sits in the corner. To most passersby, the shopkeeper looks like a young man.
‘Once Conversations about Democracy and Equality Begin, They Are Very Hard to Silence’
- Inter Press Service
CIVICUS discusses restrictions on civic space in Thailand and the detention of activist and human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa with Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, Advocacy Lead at Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).
CIVICUS 2025 Report Reveals Widespread Attacks on Civic Freedoms Worldwide
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, December 11 (IPS) - Over the course of 2025, global civic space conditions have deteriorated sharply, with most countries experiencing some degree of obstructed civil liberties. As authoritarian governments strengthen their hold and have even escalated the use of military force to suppress public dissent, civilians report facing increasing limitations of freedoms of association, peaceful assembly, petition and religion, as well as notable crackdowns on press freedoms.
Funding for Human Rights Organizations – including at the Grassroots Level – have Been Slashed Worldwide
- Inter Press Service
GENEVA, December 11 (IPS) - Human rights are underfunded, undermined and under attack. And yet. Powerful. Undeterred. Mobilizing.This year no doubt has been a difficult one. And one full of dangerous contradictions. Funding for human rights has been slashed, while anti-rights movements are increasingly well-funded.
A New UN Secretary-General Needs the Blessings of the US – or Get Vetoed
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, December 11 (IPS) - When there was widespread speculation that a UN Under-Secretary-General (USG), a product of two prestigious universities– Oxford and Cambridge– was planning to run for the post of Secretary-General back in the 1980s, I pointedly asked him to confirm or deny the rumor during an interview in the UN delegate’s lounge.
Human Right Day 2025
- Inter Press Service
In a world of turbulence and doubt, one promise remains. In 1948, nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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