You may have heard the term civil society before - perhaps in our blogs, articles or press releases. But what does this mean, and how does it relate to freedom of religion or belief?
Civil society essentially means any individuals or organisations who are not the government, companies or households, but have a presence in public life. This includes journalists, individual activists, charities such as CSW, and faith-based organisations like churches. It is the space where social movements are organised, where governments and others in positions of power can be held to account, and where people can support issues such as freedom of religion or belief.
That is why we are so concerned when there is a crackdown on civil society. If these independent voices are silenced, who will be left to speak truth to power?
What can a crackdown on civil society look like?
Restricting freedom of the press is a common way that governments shrink the space for civil society to operate. Think about how you know what the UK government is doing. You probably get most or all of your information from the media. But imagine if the authorities informed editors that their papers would be shut down, or their reporters would face penalties, if they reported anything critical about the government. Perhaps a few editors would take the risk, but overall it would become much harder to find out the truth about the government’s actions.
And that is just one aspect of civil society. In India, the government has used the Foreign Contribution Regulation (Amendment) Act 2020 (FCRA) to prevent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from receiving funds from overseas, in order to hamper the activities of those that question the government or its policies.
As a result, tens of thousands of organisations working on human rights have had their funding frozen or licence revoked. Amnesty International was one of these, and was forced to halt its work in India because of the FCRA.
We spoke to a few members of civil society in different countries on which CSW works.
Madhu* is a journalist in India, where the government has pressurised advertisers and even shut down TV channels in order to control the information the population receives.
She told us that several journalists have been arrested on false charges, while others have been stopped from leaving the country; some have even been killed.
Madhu said, ‘Obviously any democracy thrives when the press is allowed to do their job. That has become an extremely dangerous mission in India over the last few years.’
Read more from Madhu in the January 2023 issue of Response (p.15).
Nguyen Van Dai is a Vietnamese Christian lawyer who gave legal advice to and represented victims of human rights abuses, including religious minorities. Human rights defenders like Dai often face harassment and worse in Vietnam; and as a result of his work, Dai was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
CSW raised Dai’s case at every advocacy meeting, UN submission, and dialogue briefing on Vietnam we attended, as well as organising a letter writing campaign and co-ordinating protests in London, Ireland and the Czech Republic. We refused to let this courageous civil society voice be forgotten.
Finally, in June 2018, Mr Dai was released into exile in Germany after two and a half years in prison. He said, ‘Thanks to your prayers, God intervened.’
Read the whole story at csw.org.uk/FreeNguyenVanDai
Professor Tarfa is the co-founder of the Du Merci Christian orphanages for vulnerable children in Kano and Kaduna states, Nigeria. Faith-based organisations such as the Du Merci orphanages are a key part of civil society, often providing vital services that the state cannot provide. Yet governments sometimes see this as a threat, and try to shut them down.
This is why Professor Tarfa was targeted. The fact that the current government in this overwhelmingly Muslim state is deeply sectarian also counted against him. The professor was arrested without a warrant on Christmas Day 2019, and subsequently faced a series of false charges. He was finally acquitted of all charges and released from prison in January 2023.
Read about Professor Tarfa’s case on p.2 of Response.
Yoe is a Cuban journalist and activist. He explained how the government’s restrictions limited the work of civil society during the COVID-19 pandemic: ‘There are [church] ministries which are primarily dedicated to distributing food to those in need, especially to the older generations that are in the high-risk group for COVID-19. These ministries have been restricted from distributing aid. Outside of its supervision, the state has not permitted the distribution of food or other basic necessities.’
Watch our interview with Yoe, ‘Voices from Cuba’, at youtube.com/cswuk
Each of these people and their work forms part of a functioning civil society – and when they’re hindered from doing their work, everyone suffers. That’s why civil society is so important, and why upholding it is such a crucial part of our work.
Your support is helping us to defend and equip civil society around the world. We want to see these independent voices and spaces flourish so that everyone can fully enjoy their fundamental human rights – including freedom of religion or belief.
*Name changed for security reasons