Crushing dissent widens rifts with govts

Thousands of civil society organisations (CSOs) and activists are gathering in Bangkok during the International Civil Society Week from Nov 1-5. The event will be organised by the CIVICUS Alliance. CIVICUS is an international nonprofit organisation focused on civil rights and citizen action. It was founded in 1993 and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

- Amitabh Behar

Protesters are forcefully removed by the police as US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum at the Gyeongju Arts Center in Gyeongju on Wednesday.

( ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES)

In a moment when we are witnessing a massive inequality and climate crisis and a global wave of restrictions for civil society, this will be a unique moment to vindicate and defend our role as fundamental to keeping governments accountable towards equality and social justice.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the world recognised the value of civil society as fundamental to preserving the right to associate. The United Nations Millennium Declaration “emphasised the importance of human rights and the value of nongovernmental organisations”. A decade later, through the Istanbul Principles and the Busan agreements, governments agreed on key elements for civil society to operate.

In parallel, dramatic changes happened. The early years of the 21st century marked a new cycle of limitations to rights and liberties by means of aggressive securitisation policies. Years later, the Arab Spring movements for democracy and freedom were met with harsh repression.

The arrival of populist and authoritarian governments in the last decades had a backlash on democratic values and contributed to political and economic elites remaining in power. They have imposed diverse restrictions to curb dissent and human rights, with restrictions on the freedom of assembly, expression and protest.