Germany’s civic space drops to ‘narrowed’ in latest CIVICUS Monitor

Almost one third of humanity now lives in countries with ‘closed’ civic space, according to the latest report from the CIVICUS Monitor. This includes six in Europe, with a further three classed as repressed and seven as obstructed.

Globally, seven countries saw their ratings drop this year, including Germany, which fell from ‘open’ to ‘narrowed’ amid protest bans and targeting of environmental activists. Bosnia & Herzegovina also declined to ‘obstructed’. 12 European countries have now been downgraded since 2018.

CIVICUS Monitor tracks freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression in 198 countries and territories worldwide. Civic freedoms are categorized as either ‘closed (red on the map),’ ‘repressed (orange),’ ‘obstructed (yellow),’ ‘narrowed’ (light green) or ‘open,’(dark green) based on a methodology that combines several data sources on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.

Its new People Power Under Attack 2023 report states that the highest percentage – 30.6% of the world’s population – are now living in the most restrictive possible environment since its first report in 2018. Meanwhile, just 2.1% of people worldwide live in ‘open’ countries, where civic space is both free and protected, the lowest percentage yet and almost half the rate of six years ago.

In Europe, only 19 countries out of a total of 54 are classified as ‘open’. The European findings in full can be read here.

CIVICUS Monitor map of Europe – December 2023

CIVICUS Monitor lead researcher Marianna Belalba Barreto commented:

“We are witnessing an unprecedented global crackdown on civic space. The world is nearing a tipping point where repression, already widespread, becomes dominant. Governments and world leaders must work urgently to reverse this downward path before it is too late.”

Marianna Belalba Barreto, Civic Space Research Lead at CIVICUS added:

“The deterioration of civic space has reached alarming levels. Governments are deploying put away of tactics to stifle civil society and silence their critics. Without freedom of speech and the right to peacefully protest, democracy cannot function effectively, as people lose their most important tools to hold governments accountable and promote change.”

The research reveals that intimidation is the number one tactic used to restrict citizens freedoms. Human rights defenders, activists and media experienced intimidation in at least 107 countries. Media in particular bear the brunt, with 64% of incidents targeting journalists.

Picture by Lara Jameson on Pexels