By Kumi Naidoo. In ten days time, Zimbabwe will be holding its national harmonised elections, combining the presidential, parliamentary, senate and local elections. The last election in March 2005 was marred by state violence against voters and civil society activists, and severe silencing of the media. Tragically, in the three years since, the situation has continued to worsen for both activists as well as the average Zimbabwean citizen. Food shortages have increased, inflation has skyrocketed and repression of civil society actors has become even more heavy-handed.   more »

14 March, 2008: Ingrid Srinath, currently Chief Executive of Child Rights and You (CRY) in Mumbai, India, will take over from Kumi Naidoo and assume the position of Secretary General-Elect of CIVICUS on 1 May 2008. “The CIVICUS Board believes that Ingrid possesses all the right skills to develop the organisation in the years to come. She brings valuable experience and a fresh perspective to this global family of civil society and I am convinced she will energise the movement we began.” said Anabel Cruz, CIVICUS Board Chair. Kumi Naidoo, who has served as Secretary General since 1998, will step down as Secretary General at the end of July following a 3 month hand over period, after which time he will remain highly involved in the work of CIVICUS as the new Honorary President. Kumi led CIVICUS though a period of intense global change.   more »

By Kumi Naidoo, CIVICUS Secretary General. When activists were tortured at the hands of the South African Apartheid state police, we looked to the democratic countries of the world to condemn police brutality and call on our government to abide by internationally recognised human rights. Because of their active criticism of the use of torture, countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, among others, were able to use their relatively clean records to shame and pressure the South African state. While it is debatable whether these countries may have employed clandestine torture in covert politics of the cold war, none of them publicly acknowledged or condoned its use. And because of this, they were able to use their “moral authority” (premised supposedly on democracy and freedom) to influence the less democratic states. In a frightening turn, however, torture has made its way back into the public debate, with the governments that supposedly advocate democracy and freedom at the helm of its defence.   more »

GCAP celebrates International Women’s Day calling for Gender Equality to End Poverty By Kumi Naidoo, Ana Agostino & Sylvia Borren, GCAP Co-Chairs e-CIVICUS 278: 5 March 2008 Dear Friends and Colleagues, The words Gender Equality to End Poverty will resonate around the world as part of International Women’s Day celebrations on 8 March. Marching to the door of parliament in Dhaka Bangladesh, presenting a new Women’s Charter Against Poverty in India, debating gender policy in communities across Peru, driving the ‘Future Without Poverty’ campaign bus to hospitals where maternal mortality rates are high in Georgia, or simply mailing an e-card to your government representatives, are just some of the actions led by GCAP coalitions in over 50 countries this weekend.   more »

Potentials (and Pitfalls) of Gender Mainstreaming By Julie Middleton , member of CIVICUS Gender Task Force Gender mainstreaming. It’s a phrase that is often used in development work and civil society organisations. International organisations and agencies - such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), among others - all have gender mainstreaming policies.   more »