"Defending the defenders: civil society’s struggle for global space and voice", 28 July 2025

In an era when civil society is under attack worldwide, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s 59th session offered a crucial test of whether international institutions can act to protect the space for advocacy and dissent...

Civil society’s key achievement was the adoption of a resolution on civil society space....
The civic space resolution confronted sobering realities facing civil society worldwide, which include repressive laws, online restrictions, crackdowns on protest, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and transnational repression....

The resolution recognised civil society’s legitimate roles, directly challenging authoritarian narratives that portray civil society activists as destabilising political agitators...

The session also saw the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association for another three years, providing much-needed continuity in defending fundamental civic freedoms....

The Council adopted six gender-related resolutions, but only after fierce battles over their content. The resolution on accelerating efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls was passed with attempts at hostile amendments rejected, which showed how gender equality is now contested territory in international forums....

A resolution on human rights and climate change signalled progress by including, for the first time, recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. It also called on international financial institutions to respect human rights in relation to climate....
But the session also highlighted how persistent double standards undermine the Council’s credibility....
Rather than working to advance progressive interpretations of rights, civil society increasingly finds itself striving to maintain existing protections. The fact that resolutions emphasising fundamental principles such as freedom from violence and discrimination weren’t adopted by consensus but through split votes showed the extent to which human rights are being contested on the global stage.