About

About Us

CIVICUS is an influential global alliance that strengthens citizen action and participatory democracy by connecting a diverse range of actors, including NGOs, trade unions, and philanthropic bodies.

Who we are

Mission

CIVICUS is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world.

Vision

A worldwide community of informed, inspired, committed citizens engaged in confronting the challenges facing humanity.

Values

Justice & EqualityAll people free to exercise rights per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
ReciprocityMutual respect for civil society to thrive.
KnowledgeForming alliances to increase global awareness.
Principled CouragePromoting civil justice with democratic principles.

Objectives

InfluenceEnsure civil society has a stronger voice.
ConnectLink sources of citizen action.
EnablePromote better conditions for civil society.

About Us Civicus Space Ratings Methodology Contact Staff

What is civic space?

Civic space is the bedrock of any open and democratic society. When civic space is open, citizens and civil society organisations are able to organise, participate and communicate without hindrance. In doing so, they are able to claim their rights and influence the political and social structures around them. This can only happen when a state holds by its duty to protect its citizens and respects and facilitates their fundamental rights to associate, assemble peacefully and freely express views and opinions. These are the three key rights that civil society depends upon. The CIVICUS Monitor analyses the extent to which the three civil society rights are being respected and upheld, and the degree to which states are protecting civil society.

The right to freedom of association is the right of any citizen to join a formal or informal group to take collective action. Associations can include civil society organisations, clubs, cooperatives, NGOs, religious associations, political parties, trade unions, foundations and online associations.

For more, see the website of the current UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

The right to peaceful assembly is the right of citizens to gather publicly or privately to collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests — including peaceful assemblies, meetings, protests and demonstrations. States must protect and facilitate them.

The right to freedom of expression includes the right to access information, critically evaluate and speak out against policies and actions of state and non-state actors, without fear of retribution.

The state must actively protect people who choose to associate, assemble and express themselves. When rights are violated, there should be thorough investigations. Without accountability, impunity for those who attack civil society prevails.

Ratings

Open

The state protects civic space and guarantees freedoms of association, assembly, and expression. Authorities are open to dialogue, police protect protesters, and the media operates without censorship.

Narrowed

Fundamental rights are generally respected, but occasional violations occur. Critics may face harassment or isolated arrests, and press freedom is often undermined by political pressure.

Obstructed

Civic space is limited by legal and practical constraints. Organizations face surveillance and harassment, protests are frequently suppressed, and journalists risk attacks or legal charges.

Repressed

Civic space is severely restricted. Criticizing power carries high risks of imprisonment or death. Protests face lethal force, independent media is targeted, and the internet is heavily monitored.

Closed

Total closure of civic space under fear and violence. The state suppresses fundamental rights with impunity. Media freedom is non-existent and any criticism faces severe penalties.

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Methodology

In Numbers

198

Countries and territories rated

20+

Regional research partners

8

Years monitoring fundamental freedoms

50+

Tags and themes on civic space

90+

Country rating changes since monitoring began

72.4

Percent of world population lives in countries rated either 'Closed', 'Repressed or 'Obstructed'.

GUIDING
PRINCIPLES

The core mission of CIVICUS is to strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world. Consistent with this, the CIVICUS Monitor is built by civil society for civil society and is guided by four core principles:

Transparency

We publish our methodology and approach on this website, and demonstrate where we draw information from and how we arrive at our ratings. While information from activists working in very dangerous circumstances is protected, as a general rule we will ensure that as much data as possible is published in its original form. This reflects our longstanding commitment to promoting legitimacy, transparency and accountability within civil society.

Inclusivity

Perhaps the most important innovation of the CIVICUS Monitor is its attempt to incorporate directly the voices and views of local civil society organisations into an international measurement of civic space. We have developed multiple methods for prioritising the views of local groups in our analysis and ratings. We believe this will ensure a broad ownership which, as internet connectivity continues to increase, can be further enhanced over time. Further, we are making every effort possible to receive and analyse content in major world languages.

Flexibility

The CIVICUS Monitor is being developed through an intentionally iterative process of conversations with experts and civil society groups from all over the world. As its development and roll out continues, we will continue to seek feedback and shape our approach in line with comments and advice received from a growing cohort of users. While our primary focus is on generating an international dataset to monitor global trends, we also know we need to be flexible and ensure that the data is useful at the country level, where civil society groups may wish to use evidence from the CIVICUS Monitor to further their advocacy initiatives. In this, we will strive to remain flexible, listen to our membership and partners and strike a balance between the competing priorities of all users.

Activism

We want the data shared through the CIVICUS Monitor to be used to improve the quality and effectiveness of civic space and activism everywhere. We believe strongly that a robust measurement of civic space, truly owned by civil society, will be an invaluable new tool in the hands of activists across the globe. We will work hand in hand with our members to promote the growing ownership and use of this platform for campaigns, further research and monitoring of the performance of governments against their international commitments.

If you have ideas about how we can improve any aspect of the CIVICUS Monitor, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to use the form below to send us a message and we'll get back to you to start a conversation.