Civic freedoms under threat during the covid-19 pandemic: A snapshot of restrictions and resilience
Just over six months since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, civic freedoms remain under threat across the world. A new brief released by the CIVICUS Monitor documents ongoing and unjustifiable restrictions on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression. The brief also finds that despite these restrictions, people continue to fight back and mobilise through various forms of protest. During the period 11 April 2020 to 31 August 2020, the CIVICUS Monitor has documented a number of violations during protests, such as protests disruptions, the detention of protesters and the use of excessive force by authorities. In an extreme case of excessive force, six people, including a pregnant woman, were killed in Guinea, during a protest staged against a COVID-19 police checkpoint and roadblock.
