Watchlist March 2025
March Watchlist 2025
Latest Update: 10 March 2025 - The new CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist highlights serious concerns regarding the exercise of civic freedoms in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Italy, Pakistan, Serbia and the United States of America.
The Watchlist draws attention to countries where there is a serious decline in respect for civic space, based on an assessment by CIVICUS Monitor research findings, our research partners and consultations with activists on the ground.
In the coming weeks and months, the CIVICUS Monitor will closely track developments in each of these countries as part of efforts to ensure greater pressure is brought to bear on governments. CIVICUS calls upon these governments to do everything in their power to end the ongoing crackdowns immediately and ensure that perpetrators are held to account.
Descriptions of the civic space violations happening in each country are provided below. If you have information to share on civic space in any of these countries, please write to monitor@civicus.org.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO CIVIC SPACE RATING: REPRESSED
Civic space in eastern DRC has rapidly deteriorated as the armed group M23, which UN experts say is backed by Rwanda, has intensified its military offensive, capturing Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province, in late January 2025 and later the city of Bukavu, South Kivu province, on 15th February 2025, now effectively occupying the Lake Kivu region.
While abuses in areas under M23’s control are difficult to document due to the armed group’s targeting of human rights defenders (HRDs) and restrictions on expression and association, numerous reports received by human rights organisations and the UN Special Rapporteur on HRDs Mary Lawlor, indicate increasing violations against and attacks on HRDs, including death threats, forcing numerous HRDs into hiding or fleeing the area. Activists and humanitarian aid workers have also been killed in the escalating conflict. For example, social movement LUCHA said that M23 rebels had killed one of their members, Byamungu Katema Pierre, along with four other people who were part of a local youth council, in Muhongoza village, South Kivu, on 12th February 2025.
Freedom of expression and press freedom are severely undermined in eastern DRC. While journalists have been subjected to threats and intimidation, authorities have increased the level of censorship related to reporting on the conflict. On 13th January 2025, DRC’s media regulator, the Higher Council for Audiovisual and Communication (CASC), suspended Al Jazeera for 90 days as a ‘precautionary measure’ for ‘destabilising institutions of the republic’ after the outlet aired an interview with a M23 rebel leader, and threatened national and international media outlets with sanctions on several occasions, including closure, for giving airtime to M23 supporters to “justify the seizure of territory”. Reporting on “alleged advances” by M23 by France24, RFI and TV5 Monde was likened to “apology for terrorism” by the CSAC head, Christian Bosembe.
Access to information in eastern DRC is further undermined by restrictions on internet access, social media platforms X and Tiktok and Google Play Store, the latter reportedly to avoid users downloading VPN services to circumvent the restrictions targeting X and TikTok.
ITALY CIVIC SPACE RATING: NARROWED
Following approval by the lower house of parliament in September 2024, Italy’s Senate is set to consider the controversial “anti-Gandhi bill” (Bill 1236), a sweeping legal package introducing dozens of new criminal offences and harsher penalties under the pretext of public security. Human rights organisations and international bodies, including Human Rights Watch, UN Special Rapporteurs, and the Council of Europe, have condemned the proposal. Over 20 European organisations have called it “the most serious attack on the right to protest in recent decades.”
If passed, the legislation would further erode civic space in Italy, where journalists, human rights defenders, and activists—particularly those involved in environmental and refugee rights—already face increasing legal harassment, prosecution, and detention. Government officials have launched a pressure campaign against the judiciary, which they accuse of being politicised and aligned with non-governmental organisations. Civil society groups, trade unions and thousands of protesters across the country have mobilised against its adoption.
The bill directly targets non-violent protest and civil disobedience with severe penalties. Protesters blocking traffic could face up to two years in prison, while penalties for defacing property, which have already been tightened under the “eco-vandals law” (Law no. 6 of 22 January 2024), would become even harsher. Those deemed to be attempting to “prevent the construction of a public work or strategic infrastructure”, such as environmental activists, would face particularly heavy sentences for protest-related offences.“Threats or violence” could result in up to seven years in prison, while resisting or assaulting a public official could carry a sentence of up to 20 years.
In prisons and migrant detention centres, where protests are frequent due to poor conditions and mistreatment, any form of passive resistance by detainees and inmates—including hunger strikes or refusing to work—would become punishable by harsh prison sentences. Meanwhile, the bill also expands state surveillance and extends the powers of security services.
In recent months, there have been alarming violations of the fundamental freedoms of journalists and activists. In February 2025, reports surfaced that investigative journalist Francesco Cancellato, who exposed pro-fascist elements in the youth wing of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, along with activists Husam El Gomati and Luca Casarini, who have been critical of Italy’s complicity in human rights violations in Libya, were targeted by Graphite, military-grade spyware sold exclusively to governments. In January 2025, police detained 22 activists from Last Generation and Palestina Libera for seven hours following a peaceful protest against Italy’s arms sales to Israel amid the genocide in Gaza. The detainees were denied access to lawyers or family, while the seven women activists were forced into a room and ordered to undress in view of passers-by.
PAKISTAN CIVIC SPACE RATING: REPRESSED
Pakistan has been added to our Watchlist as the criminalisation of human rights defenders and journalists, crackdown on human rights movements and protests and digital restrictions continue to escalate.
In October 2024, the authorities targeted prominent human rights defender and Baloch leader, Dr. Mahrang Baloch who is facing baseless allegations of aiding separatist groups. The case comes just days after Baloch was prevented from boarding a flight abroad alongside fellow activist Sammi Deen Baloch. In the same month, human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband were also charged with ‘acts of terrorism’. Human rights defender Idris Khattak has spent five years in detention now, as a reprisal for his work, while the government has banned the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), which has mobilised nationwide against human rights violations against the Pashtun people.
There has also been a crackdown on protests by the opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI), the political party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. In October 2024, hundreds were arrested and charged ahead of protests under vague and overbroad laws. In November 2024, the authorities blocked major highways and routes leading to Islamabad to hinder the movement of protesters. Thousands were detained prior to the protests across the country. The Karachi police initiated a crackdown around the Sindh Rawadari March in Karachi in October 2024 and ahead of a peaceful demonstration of ethnic Baloch people in Sindh province in January 2025.
Journalists have also been targeted under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), accused of spreading ‘false narratives against state institutions’. Journalist Matiullah Jan was taken into custody by Islamabad Police in November 2024 on spurious drug possession and terrorism charges. Journalist Harmeet Singh was summoned to appear for questioning in December 2024 on allegations he engaged in “negative rhetoric against state institutions”.
In January 2025, the government further tightened its control on online speech by its passage of amendments to the draconian Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in the National Assembly. In the last week of November 2024, Pakistan went into what was essentially an internet blackout ahead of planned opposition protests. Social media site X has been down since February 2024.
SERBIA CIVIC SPACE RATING: OBSTRUCTED
Civic space in Serbia is rapidly declining as authorities seek to suppress a mass protest movement which erupted following the collapse of a newly renovated train station on 1 November 2024, in which 15 people were killed and two others seriously injured. Protesters blame the disaster on widespread government corruption.
The situation escalated further on 22 November 2024, when students and professors at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade were attacked as they held a silent vigil for the victims, hospitalising a student and injuring a journalist. In response, students at all public universities launched an indefinite strike, boycotting classes and occupying university buildings until their demands - focused on accountability for the collapse and attacks on demonstrators - are met. The movement has strong backing from trade unions, farmers, bar associations, private businesses and self-organised citizens, with analysts calling it the biggest in the country in decades.
Protests have taken place in at least 400 cities and towns, with some drawing tens of thousands or even 100,000 participants. Initially, authorities met the protests with arrests and excessive force, but police later withdrew, creating a vacuum in which violence against demonstrators has escalated unchecked. Over 70 instances of attacks on protesters have been recorded so far, including vehicles ploughing into crowds causing serious injuries, and a group of ruling party activists attacking a female student with baseball bats, leaving her hospitalised. Following this attack, the Prime Minister resigned on 28 January 2025, with a decision on government reconstitution or snap elections set for March.
Students, professors and others who have publicly expressed support for the protests have been faced with reprisals, including smear campaigns, threats, questioning by police and dismissal from their jobs. Civil society in the country is under intense pressure, with officials accusing them of attempting to stage a “colour revolution” on foreign orders—allegations amplified by the pro-government tabloid press.
In December 2024, Amnesty International reported that Serbian police and intelligence authorities are using advanced phone spyware to target journalists and activists unlawfully. On 6 February 2025, it was revealed that anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism authorities had been investigating the private accounts of prominent activists on unclear grounds. On 25 February, police raided the offices of five civil society organisations, announcing an investigation into alleged money laundering and “misuse of American taxpayer funds” based on public statements against USAID made by US officials. According to Civic Initiatives, one of the targeted groups, 20 police officers - some armed - searched their office without a court order, detaining staff for 14 hours and seizing financial records. Another organisation, CRTA (Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability), was raided for 28 hours, with police requesting they turn over 8,500 pages of project documents.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CIVIC SPACE RATING: NARROWED
The United States of America (USA) has been added to our Watchlist as the country faces increasing undue restrictions on civic freedoms under President Donald Trump’s second term. Gross abuses of executive power raise serious concerns over the freedoms of peaceful assembly, expression and association.
Following his inauguration on 20 January 2025, Donald Trump has issued at least 125 executive orders, dismantling federal policies with profound implications for human rights and the rule of law. Some of these orders have eliminated federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, falsely framing them as discriminatory, and have introduced measures targeting undocumented migrants and transgender and non-conforming people.
Since mid-January, many civil society organisations, both in the US and abroad, have been forced to terminate or scale back essential human rights and humanitarian programmes due to growing uncertainty caused by the arbitrary suspension of foreign aid and a broad freeze on federal funding. The lack of clear guidelines has sparked legal challenges at the national level.
The administration has taken steps to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a decades-old institution, and laid off thousands of its employees. It has also withdrawn from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Human Rights Council, exited the Paris Climate Agreement, rejected the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, and announced sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), targeting its personnel as well as individuals and entities that cooperate with it. These actions could further undermine global efforts for climate justice, human rights, and civic freedoms.
These measures come amid a broader potential curb on the freedom of association. On 21 November 2024, the US House of Representatives passed a bill allowing the Treasury Department to revoke the tax-exempt status of non-profits it deems to be supporting terrorism, without due process guarantees. This would grant the executive branch sweeping authority to financially cripple civil society organisations based on broad and vague criteria.
The sustained onslaught on peaceful pro-Palestine solidarity at university campuses has seen students and faculty members increasingly subjected to harsh sanctions without justification. On 30 January 2025, President Donald Trump, signed an executive order purportedly aimed at combating antisemitism, which calls for the cancellation of visas and the deportation of non-citizen college students and others who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests. On the same day, reports alleged that a far-right group was compiling a list of pro-Palestine protesters for potential deportation.
Authorities have also targeted climate justice activists protesting the Mountain Valley Pipeline project in Virginia and financial institutions supporting fossil fuel expansion. Another concern is the growing role of private corporations in suppressing environmental activism. Two key developments exemplify this: the USD 300 million lawsuit against Greenpeace by the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline; and research exposing the fossil fuel industry’s role in driving the proliferation of anti-protest laws.
The first months of 2025 have seen an alarming legislative push in multiple states, further threatening restrictions on the freedom of peaceful assembly. At least 12 state-level bills introduced between January and February 2025 would impose new restrictions on protests. Notably, bills in Indiana (SB 286), Iowa (HF 25), Missouri (HB 601), New York (S 723), and North Dakota (HB 1240) seek to criminalise the use of masks during protests. They could also expose protesters to heightened surveillance technologies and intimidation tactics, as evidenced by the doxingattempts over the past year against pro-Palestine protesters.
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s new bill (SF 1363) introduces new civil and criminal liabilities for those supporting protesters who engage peacefully in demonstrations on a critical public service facility, pipelines or other utility property. These restrictions show a broader trend since 2017 of escalating constraints on protests and could trigger a new wave of repression against those expressing dissenting views.
There are also serious concerns about freedom of expression and access to information, particularly for journalists covering politically sensitive issues. On 11 February 2025, two journalists from the Associated Press (AP) were banned access to White House-related press briefings due to the agency’s editorial policy to continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its internationally recognised denomination rather than the presidentially decreed “Gulf of America.” AP filed a lawsuit against administration officials, but a federal judge denied the agency’s request for the immediate restoration of full access to presidential events for its journalists, ruling that access to the president is at his discretion and not a constitutional right.
Moreover, on 25 February, the White House press secretary announced that the administration will decide which media outlets can access the presidential press pool. These recent decisions raised concerns about unprecedented restrictions on public access to independent reporting on government affairs.