Today, 24 October 2016, the NGO CIVICS has launched its Monitor. The CIVICS Monitor, in cooperation with 20 global research partners, rates countries based on how well they uphold the three fundamental rights that enable people to act collectively and make change: freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of expression. The CIVICUS Monitor is not the first to try and provide an overview of the human rights situation the world (see links below) but to my knowledge the first to do so online, in real-time on a global scale, making use of new digital possibilities.
At launch the CIVICUS Monitor offers ratings of civic space in 104 countries and updates for most countries in the world. It finds that civic space in 16 countries is closed. A further 32 countries are rated repressed, 21 countries are rated obstructed and 26 narrowed. Just nine countries were rated as open, meaning the state safeguards space for civil society and provides platforms for dialogue. The number of countries rated will increase over time, with ratings for all countries available in 2017.
“Attacks on those who speak out against their leaders are becoming increasingly brazen – and it’s because governments know they can act with impunity,” said CIVICUS lead researcher Cathal Gilbert. “By collating these attacks, we hope the CIVICUS Monitor will serve as a wake-up call to the international community. We are inspired by the innovative ways that local civil society is resisting this assault, but it is imperative that global leaders do not stand by silently as their allies and trade partners crush domestic dissent.”
Related sites:
– http://www.humanrightsatlas.org/about-us/ [the Human Rights Atlas, with interactive interface, originally created by the Institute for Democracy and Conflict Resolution (IDCR) at the University of Essex and Mackman, brings together more than 200 different measures of economic, social, political, and legal life in 220 different countries across the world. It uses published data from the World Bank, the United Nations, academics, non-governmental organisations and the other bodies; the atlas gives a picture of the lives and rights of human beings over a 30-year period. This ongoing project has seen significant investment from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the United Kingdom, other strategic partners, and its newest partners Thompson Reuters Foundation and FLACSO (Latin American Facility of Social Sciences-Mexico).]
– https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/ranking-of-countries-on-human-rights-global-network-for-right-and-development-has-a-go-at-it/ [the “go” was not very long and the website is now suspended!!]
Source: World Map – CIVICUS – Tracking conditions for citizen action
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
October 25, 2016 at 09:19
Dear Hans,
Thank you for all your interesting posts!
I would also like to mention that in this piece about the CIVICUS monitor, the links in the article itself is somehow damaged. Thought you wanted to know.
Best, Kaja
Best regards
October 25, 2016 at 12:32
Thanks Kaja,
you are right the link in the text did not work but the one at the bottom is correct. I also corrected the date from November to October!
December 14, 2020 at 15:11
[…] The most common violations of civic space registered by the CIVICUS Monitor were the detention of journalists, followed by disruption of protests, censorship, intimidation and the detention of protestors. Almost half of CIVICUS Monitor updates in 28 different countries mentioned the detention of journalists. 14 December 2020. Fundamental civic rights, including freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression, deteriorated across Africa in 2020. [See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2016/10/24/today-civicus-launches-its-worldwide-monitor-to-track-c…%5D […]