Civil society is being silenced
September 22nd websites of civil society organisations and NGO's all over the world will go black, in protest and solidarity. Protest against the shrinking space for civilians and organisations to speak out, unite and protest peacefully.
This protest is necessary. The attack on our freedoms continues and increases. It is accompagnied by violence more and more. In 2016, 281 activists and human rights defenders were killed for speaking out and defending the rights of their community.
In even more cases, essential human rights such as freedom of press and freedom of speech are being abused by imprisoning journalists, by intimidating activists, by prohibiting protests. And this is not only happening far away, in countries like Uganda and Nicaragua. Also in countries around us, civic space is shrinking, for example in Hungary and Poland. Also in the Netherlands, budgets of organisations that support human rights initiatives are being cut.
That's why activists, journalists, bloggers, human rights movements and NGO's say: it's time for a change. We have to end the impunity, the threats and murders of people who stand for their rights.
The campaign will begin on Friday 22nd September with a "day of silence", as individuals and organisations choose to silence their own voices in solidarity with those who have been silenced against their will.
Then, from Saturday 23rd until Monday 25th, the world will speak as one, with hundreds of events happening around the globe.
Join us at togetherwespeak.org.
Also read the examples below of the oppression of press and civil society:
- The Independent, 21 September 2017: Uganda Police raids Action Aid
- US News, 22 August 2017: Company Behind Dakota Access Oil Pipeline Sues Greenpeace
- Both ENDS, 4 August 2017: Nicaragua canal undermines human rights
- The Guardian, 24 July 2017: Turkish journalist defends press freedom as grand trial begins
Read more about this subject
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News / 15 November 2018
Silence
Silence can sometimes say more than a thousand words. When colleagues from our partner organisations tell us their stories,* our reaction is often silence; a dejected silence.
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External link / 21 September 2016
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Publication / 10 July 2019
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Blog / 18 November 2024
The global rise of authoritarian regimes demands global strategies
The global funding landscape for civil society movements is changing, and is increasingly faced with policies that restrict funding streams, limit philanthropic work, and silence critical voices. These are not incidental shifts but part of a broader pattern that erodes the support for those international networks and movements under the guise ‘necessary financial cuts’, ‘aid reform’ or ‘efficiency’.
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News / 9 December 2016
3 Steps to Stand Up for Human Rights in Development!
As we celebrate both the 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development (December 4th) and Human Rights Day (December 10th), Both ENDS joins with communities and civil society groups around the world to call on development finance institutions, governments, and businesses to take 3 steps to stand up for Human Rights in development.
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Publication / 18 November 2024
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External link / 24 August 2022
Supporting civil society to work freely and safely (Annual Report 2021)
Both ENDS aims to ensure that civil society can work freely and safely to influence decision-making related to ecosystems, environmental justice and human rights. In many places around the world, the space for civil society organisations to operate is shrinking. Repression, harassment and violence against environmental human rights defenders – our partners among them – is on the rise.
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News / 20 October 2016
Laura Cáceres: “By continuing my mother’s fight, I continue the defense of life”
This week, Laura Zuniga Cáceres, daughter of Berta Cáceres*, visits the Netherlands. She will talk with the directors of the involved departments of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in a colloquium about indigenous right of Leiden University and meet with several Dutch NGO's. Both ENDS asked this brave young woman about the situation in Honduras and her motivation to continue her mother's work.
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News / 20 September 2019
Call for solidarity with Philippine environmental rights defenders
We are shocked and alarmed by the news of a planned raid into the headquarters of an environmental organisation in the Philippines. Although the raid has not materialised until now, we are deeply concerned for their wellbeing.
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News / 28 September 2018
Joan Carling is awarded with the UN’s highest environmental honor!
We congratulate Joan Carling, member of the permanent commission on indigenous peoples of the UN, for having received the Lifetime Achievement Award as 'Champion of the Earth' by the UN Environment! This is the UN's highest environmental honor, given to six of the world's most outstanding environmental change makers once a year.
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Blog / 23 September 2016
Counterpower has to find its own weapons to fight the main power
Guest blog by Debora Calheiros, Brazil
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Press release / 11 November 2024
Both ENDS's response to government letter on future cooperation with civil society organisations
DEN HAAG, 11 November 2024 - Today, the Dutch government published its policy on future cooperation with development organisations, both in the Netherlands and abroad. PVV minister Reinette Klever is putting the axe to this funding: she has decided to cut the budget for aid to international civil society by more than two-thirds: from roughly €1.4 billion to €0.4 billion in the period 2026 to 2030. This has major implications for critical voices at home and abroad, at a time when civic space for organisations around the world is already shrinking. Karin van Boxtel, director of environmental and human rights organisation Both ENDS: ‘This is an unprecedented step in exactly the wrong direction. Civil society organisations are essential for sustainable and social change worldwide. International movements fulfil multiple, indispensable roles: as a watchdog of the rule of law, as a driver of change, and as a counterforce against authoritarian tendencies. The weakening of support for these roles is a telling signal.’
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News / 10 February 2020
Civil society groups assert their right to expose the impacts of palm oil production
Civil society organisations from around the world condemn the statements by representatives of palm oil companies during a meeting with the Malaysian government. In this meeting, the company representatives called critical NGOs "toxic entities" and asked the Malaysian government to not let these NGOs into the country. Both ENDS' partners have published a reaction in which they defend their right "to expose the realities we face in their communities about the impacts of the palm oil sector".
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Publication / 4 November 2009
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News / 26 October 2022
Senegal: 26 innocent people including Both ENDS' partner arrested in Senegal
Update October 27th:
Today our friends have been released after five nights in detention. We welcome this great news and we are happy and relieved that Babacar Diouf and the others who were arrested will soon be back with their loved ones.
Nonetheless this was a very bad signal from Senegalese authorities and police and an indication of the growing restriction on civic space in Senegal. It is unacceptable that freedom of expression is restricted, people should not have to go to jail for peacefully expressing their opinion - especially when their livelihood is at stake.
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Blog / 30 September 2024
Of EACOP and tales of a defender in development
The Joke Waller-Hunter (JWH) Initiative creates opportunities for young people in the environmental sector in developing countries to unfold their full potential. By providing small grants to individuals to expand their knowledge, experience and training, the Initiative aims to strengthen environmental Civil Society Organisations capacity and efficiency. Grantee Brighton Aryampa wrote a column for Monitor about his journey to becoming a Human Rights Defender, and his work battling the EACOP.
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News / 15 April 2024
Statement of International Civil Society Organisations in response to the abduction of Stephen Kwikiriza, community environmental defender in Uganda
Update Monday June 10: On the evening of June 9 Stephen has been found abandoned on the side of the road. His condition is bad, after having suffered severe beatings, mistreatment and abuse through the week. He is alive, safe and reconnecting with his family. We thank everyone that has shared the solidarity statement. This international pressure helped in ensuring his release.
June 8: This is a joint statement by over 115 international civil society organisations to call upon the Ugandan authorities to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of Stephen Kwikiriza, who has been held incommunicado since his abduction by plain clothed officers in Kampala on 4 June 2024.
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Letter / 22 July 2024
Joint Call to Action: International Civil Society Demands Justice for Berta Cáceres' Murder Victims in Honduras
This is a joint call to action by international civil society organizations to call upon the Honduran authorities to ensure there is justice for the victims of the murder on Berta Caceres. Eight years and four months have passed since the crime against Berta and the Honduran justice system has not confirmed the sentences of those convicted and has not prosecuted the intellectual authors. We are extremely concerned that independent administration of justice and international agreements on human rights are not being upheld.
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Letter / 25 October 2022
Official Statement of Indonesian Coalition for Monitoring Infrastructure Development related to AIIB Statement of Anti Retaliation
The Mandalika International Street Circuit is a street circuit in the resort of Mandalika in Central Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara Province. The project, mainly intended to attract tourists, is largely financed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
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News / 19 October 2020
Both ENDS and partners worry about the Indonesian Omnibus Law
Both ENDS together with 13 other Dutch NGOs and trade unions have written to the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation to express their deep concerns over the hasty approval of the so-called Omnibus Law on Job Creation by the Indonesian parliament.