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Strengthening cybersecurity
With increased digitalisation (international) civil society organisations – (I)CSOs – have faced an increase in digital threats and cyberattacks carried out by malicious actors interested in financial gains...
Learn MoreWe condemn attack on civic rights in Hong Kong
On Thursday, pro-democracy activist and Civic Charter supporter Joshua Wong, 20, was sentenced to six months in prison for his role in the student-led pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. The Appeals court also handed custodial sentences to Alex Chow, 26, for seven months and Nathan Law, 24, for eight months. Prosecutors sought to make an example of the trio after they pursued harsher sentencing following their original non-custodial sentences last year.
Burkhard Gnärig, Executive Director of the International Civil Society Centre, said:
“This abhorrent and politically-motivated move from Hong Kong authorities is a direct attack on freedom of expression and right to peaceful protest. The aim of the authorities is clearly to deter people from exercising their basic civic rights. We strongly protest against the oppression of civic rights in Hong Kong.
Joshua has been a vocal and active leader in defending civic participation. Now the international community must respond by speaking up for civic rights in Hong Kong.”
In his statement on the Civic Charter Joshua Wong points out:
“Though we may come from different backgrounds and cultures, and have different systems and histories, we believe in the same universal principles of human freedom.”
It is for this reason that Civil Society Organisations around the world are standing in solidarity with Joshua, Alex and Nathan, and call for their sentence to be overturned.
Activists’ detention in Turkey shows global leaders are stamping on citizen rights
Activist and Civic Charter supporter Özlem Dalkıran and Idil Eser, Director of Amnesty International Turkey, were arrested yesterday during a digital security and information management workshop in Büyükada, Istanbul. The pair were detained along with seven other activists and two trainers*. Thus far the arrested have had only minimum access to legal advice and assistance.
These detentions follow the recent arrest of the Amnesty International Chair, Taner Kiliç, as well as other detentions of human rights activists and journalists over previous months.
Burkhard Gnärig, Executive Director of the International Civil Society Centre, said:
“This is yet another example of the intolerable context in which civil society activists in Turkey are forced to operate. It adds to an already toxic environment and perpetuates a climate of fear for civil society activists, such as Özlem Dalkıran and Idil Eser.
“Özlem is doing vital work to defend citizens’ rights in Turkey. Her rights to freedom of expression and association should be inalienable rights of all people, as laid out in the Civic Charter. The Civic Charter is a global framework for people’s participation and should be respected by all governments and authorities.
“As the G20 gathers in Hamburg, Germany civil society organisations demand that our global leaders listen to the views and voices of civil society and act to protect citizen rights. Indeed, in many G20 countries, such as Saudi Arabia, India and Russia, governments are actively stomping on civil society in order to silence critical voices. Failure by global leaders to take action, results in the kind of indiscriminate arrests we have seen in Turkey – that is unacceptable.”
*Notes: a full list of those detained and further information can be found, here:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/07/director-of-amnesty-international-turkey-mustbe-released-from-incommunicado-detention/
PM Turnbull: Civil society must be represented at the G20
Dear Prime Minister Turnbull,
We write to you as leaders of Australian civil society, appointed by the Australian Government to form the Civil 20 Secretariat during Australia’s G20 presidency in 2014. As you prepare to represent Australia in Hamburg, we wish to alert you to the dire reality facing civil society actors in many G20 member states and ask you to raise the issue of the shrinking space for civil society at the upcoming G20 Summit.
According to the CIVICUS Monitor more than 100 countries actively limit the space for, and in many cases violently repress, civil society. Peaceful and democratic civil society organisations – from grassroots movements to large international NGOs– and their staff face undue vilification, threats, arrests, frozen bank accounts, revoked licenses, blocked websites, coerced registrations with government bodies, and the closure of their offices. In many countries today, civil society activists fear for their lives, with many disappearing or murdered at the hands of government or government-supported forces.
Australia has a long and proud history of promoting the important role of strong and robust civil society in advancing social and economic development and securing human rights and social accountability around the world. Through its aid program, Australia has supported transformative civil society strengthening efforts in many developing countries and through ongoing bilateral human rights dialogues, Australian leaders have been steadfast in expressing concerns about the suppression of civil society in many of our neighbouring countries. As Australia continues its campaign for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, we have no doubt that these issues will continue to be a high priority for your Government.
The G20 need a peaceful, organised, and protected civil society to help achieve the goals established through the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. The active engagement of people in all societies contributes to alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, achieving gender equality and countering the dangers of extremism and violence by working with the marginalised and disenfranchised. Repressing civil society creates an unstable economic and political environment and obstructs the transition towards a just, equitable, and sustainable world.
During the past year, civil society organisations from around the world have come together to create a Civic Charter, which clearly articulates the globally established obligations of states to secure civic rights for all people. We hope to see Australia and all other governments around the world acknowledge and fully implement the Civic Charter. As an important step in doing so, we ask you to implore your fellow G20 leaders to ensure that the issue of civil society participation features prominently on the G20 Agenda.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you or to provide further information on this important issue in advance of the Summit. Please don’t hesitate to contact Dermot O’Gorman: 0438 222 114 or dogorman@wwf.org.au to discuss.
Sincerely,
Dermot O’Gorman CEO
WWF-Australia
Marc Purcell CEO
Australian Council for International Development
Dr Cassandra Goldie CEO
Australian Council of Social Service
Tim Costello Chief Advocate
World Vision Australia
His Honour Judge Rauf Soulio
District Court of South Australia
Helen Szoke CEO
Oxfam Australia
Rev. Tara Curlewis Minister
Uniting Church of Australia
Sally Sinclair CEO
National Employment Services Association
Janelle Weissman Executive Director
UN Women National Committee Australia
Colonel Kelvin Alley
The Salvation Army
Greg Thompson Executive Director International
Transparency International Australia
