Without space to speak out, organize, and take action, progress on inclusive development is severely constrained. Citizens, civil society actors and their allies must formulate a strong and consolidated global response to defend our common space for engagement, debate and action.
The political will that delivered the Millennium Development Goals is absent from today’s development debate, yet even bolder political leadership is needed if we are to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals.
Rohingya people in Myanmar and Bangladesh say they feel trapped and that their lives are on hold two years on from a campaign of violence that forced hundreds of thousands to flee.
International Non-Governmental Organisations working in Myanmar say 600,000 Rohingya still left in Myanmar face daily discrimination and human rights abuses, making conditions unsafe for refugees to return.
The African Union (AU) has set out a clear vision through agenda 2063. It is one where the continent’s citizens are front and centre in defining their development agenda and where Africa’s resources benefit all Africans. A critical enabler of this vision is citizens’ right to organise and their ability to speak out against poverty, inequality and injustice. In fact, the AU has designated 2016 as the ‘Year of Human Rights’. Yet across the continent, there is an alarming and growing trend of citizens’ fundamental rights to assembly, association and free speech being restricted.A range…