Democracy, civic space and fundamental freedoms under attack

During the Forus network’s General Assembly which took place in Gaborone, Botswana, civil society organisations from across 65 countries highlighted the challenges facing them globally in an increasingly polarised and crisis-hit world. Participants discussed strategic foresight, policy demands and capacity strengthening – scanning the horizon for emerging and chronic issues affecting

Movement will continue to restore democracy: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday said the people of Bangladesh will continue their peaceful movement for the restoration of democracy and the right to vote until the victory. "We will continue our peaceful movement until we achieve victory for the people," he told reporters soon after walking

12th JS polls was opened to all for sake of democracy: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Saturday said the country’s democracy would have snatched away if the parliamentary election was not opened for all. “Not only the election would have been discoloured with stigma, but also the country’s democracy would have been hijacked, if the election was not opened for all,” she said

India wants to see weak democracy in country: Rizvi

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday alleged that India wants fragile democracy in Bangladesh since it has extended support to last month's election which was rejected by the people and the most democratic countries. "The foreign minister said (Thursday) that India has supported the election (held on

CSOs seek UN initiative on democracy as autocracy is on the rise

The rise in authoritarianism worldwide has prompted a coalition of over 85 civil society organizations (CSOs) to call on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to appoint a Special Rapporteur—an independent UN expert– to protect democracy and reverse its decline. The joint appeal comes ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Universal

Deepening democracy in an AI-enabled world

In 2002, the Human Development Report (UNDP) focused on ‘Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented World’. It was an important discourse then [and still is] that evoked lot of insightful cross-regional exchanges of ideas. It reiterates that politics matter for human development because people everywhere want to be free to determine

A global survey of democracy finds both sobering and alarming results

The recent epidemic of coups in Africa — including military take-overs in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon– have triggered the inevitable question: Is multi-party democracy on the retreat? The Open Society Barometer, an annual global survey from Open Society Foundations, launched September 12, reflects the positive and negative aspects of