Not a circumstance
that civil society is
under attack.

The Belarusian government started a new big wave of liquidation of CSOs in Belarus in July 2021.

By now there are more than 250 organizations closed, among them at least 30 youth organizations. RADA’s member organizations suffered severely: among 28 MOs 20 were liquidated. Several internet shutdowns were used since August 2020.

Independent media were prosecuted as well, making it very difficult to address the broad public on youth issues. Active citizens were constantly prosecuted and imprisoned both short and long term. Many have fled the country and continue to do so because of security reasons.

Youth are not always on the government agenda. Even when governments address youth in their political speeches, it is merely tokenistic and rarely coupled with concrete action. In turbulent times and economic austerity, civic spaces shrink, and governments try to curb citizens’ protests.

Young people are usually the first to take to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the course of events in their country, and sadly, they are the first to be faced with brutal reactions by security forces. In my country (Lebanon), the arrest of young activists on social media has become recurrent. The civic space for self – expression has been tightened and to expand it we need concerted efforts.

In Sweden, paradoxically, laws that promote human rights, such as freedom of expression and the right to organize/freedom of assembly are now being abused by extremist groups to express hate, promote fear, intimidate and threaten other marginalized groups, such as the LGBTQI+ and migrant communities as well as religious minorities. The organizations of these groups (e.g., fascist organizations) threaten and intimidate other minority groups.

The young Swedish civil society has experienced a shrinking financial support in real terms since 2006. Journalists are also threatened daily.

The coup on February 1 led to peaceful masses of various groups gathering and protesting against the illegitimate rule.

However, the consequences of the peaceful protests have led to a violent response from the regime where anyone opposing can get detained or physically hurt, and in extreme cases, killed. Civil society activists, journalists, lawyers, and anyone deemed opposition has not been able to operate safely in the current violent environment. Media outlets and social media have been shut down many times to prevent information from spreading to the world.

Currently, Kenya is preparing for the General election set for August 2022 with the current political leaders having made proposals for constitutional change to add more positions to suit them as it’s currently, with minimal youth participation in it. We are also faced with lesser youth and women participation in the elections due to the dynamic involved such as financing, stereotyping, culture, and violence faced by both youth and women.

Kenya’s 2010 constitution established a ground-breaking gender quota, requiring “not more than two-thirds of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender.” Ten years later, after numerous attempts, the government still has not adopted legislation to fully implement this constitutional requirement. As a result, this September 21, the Chief Justice of Kenya advised President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve parliament.

This decision, and the ensuing political fallout, highlights significant barriers that continue to impede the full and equal participation of women in all spheres of public life.

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a series of national lockdowns, which result in social, economic, and political effects that pose very real challenges for young people across the globe.

In some contexts, the policies adopted to address the pandemic threatened the freedoms and rights of young people and contracted an already shrinking civic space.

In Zimbabwe, the Government of Zimbabwe has continued to undermine democracy and individual freedoms by intensifying its clampdown on civil society, increasing its censorship of the content of civic education programs, and fast-tracking legislative and constitutional amendments in a bid to strengthen the authoritarian rule. The ability to adjust and adapt for the youth movement is additionally limited by a contracting financial resource base.

Covid restrictions are used to further limit civic rights, especially for young people.

Youth and the youth movement are left behind of Covid -related support, not only budgetary wise, but also in regards to services. Especially with growing xenophobia and racism, youth who are working for and with human rights, or intercultural solidarity have been seen as agents of influence since there is a perception that foreign aid increases the foreign influence.

The Belarusian government started a new big wave of liquidation of CSOs in Belarus in July 2021.

By now there are more than 250 organizations closed, among them at least 30 youth organizations. RADA’s member organizations suffered severely: among 28 MOs 20 were liquidated. Several internet shutdowns were used since August 2020.

Independent media were prosecuted as well, making it very difficult to address the broad public on youth issues. Active citizens were constantly prosecuted and imprisoned both short and long term. Many have fled the country and continue to do so because of security reasons.

Youth are not always on the government agenda. Even when governments address youth in their political speeches, it is merely tokenistic and rarely coupled with concrete action. In turbulent times and economic austerity, civic spaces shrink, and governments try to curb citizens’ protests.

Young people are usually the first to take to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the course of events in their country, and sadly, they are the first to be faced with brutal reactions by security forces. In my country (Lebanon), the arrest of young activists on social media has become recurrent. The civic space for self – expression has been tightened and to expand it we need concerted efforts.

In Sweden, paradoxically, laws that promote human rights, such as freedom of expression and the right to organize/freedom of assembly are now being abused by extremist groups to express hate, promote fear, intimidate and threaten other marginalized groups, such as the LGBTQI+ and migrant communities as well as religious minorities. The organizations of these groups (e.g., fascist organizations) threaten and intimidate other minority groups.

The young Swedish civil society has experienced a shrinking financial support in real terms since 2006. Journalists are also threatened daily.