Civic space across the MENA region is under sustained pressure. Governments restrict the right to assembly, criminalize peaceful protest, target independent media, and use legal frameworks to silence dissent. Social movements — from pro-democracy uprisings to labor mobilizations to feminist organizing — face systematic repression.
HuMENA monitors, documents, and responds to these restrictions. We issue statements on specific incidents, contribute to coalition advocacy at international forums, produce analysis on legislative threats to civic space, and support the actors working to keep public space open.
This area also encompasses our work on social movements as a distinct dimension of civic engagement — recognizing that collective action is both a right and a driver of change.
Related Publications & Statements
- 2026-04-08 · Statements
HuMENA at HRC61: Advocacy on Digital Rights and Civic Space in MENA - 2026-01-14 · Press Releases
Tunisia | January 14 Revolution: No Legitimacy for Repression in the Name of Public Order. - 2025-12-10 · Press Releases
On Human Rights Day 2025: Civic Space in the Middle East and North Africa under Systematic and Sustained Pressure - 2025-10-27 · Joint Statements
Egypt | Rights Groups Condemn the Arbitrary Referral of Exiled Academic Taqadum Al-Khatib to Trial and Call for an End to Transnational Repression - 2025-10-17 · Press Releases
Six Years After Lebanon’s 17 October Uprising. The Path to Reform Begins with Civic Space - 2025-10-01 · Joint Statements
Morocco End the crackdown on peaceful protests and uphold the right to demand social justice - 2025-09-11 · Joint Statements
Vote Yes to Human Rights, No to Oppression: Civil Society Calls to Reject Egypt’s Candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council (2026–2028) - 2025-09-09 · Joint Statements
Egypt’s Diplomatic Missions Weaponized as Transnational Repression Tool - 2025-08-25 · Joint Statements
Call to Withdraw from “Counter-Terrorism” Summit in Israel Amid Genocide in Gaza - 2025-08-22 · Analysis
The Egyptian Government’s Urban Control Strategies to Prevent Peaceful Protests - 2025-08-18 · Analysis
From the Constitution to the Prison: How Egypt Penalizes Citizens for Protesting - 2025-08-12 · Press Releases
HuMENA: Israel’s Targeting of Journalists in Gaza Is a War Crime and a Crime Against Humanity in the Context of Systematic Genocide and Starvation - 2025-07-31 · Analysis
From Street to Screen: Maps of Struggle in the Age of Algorithms and Digital Repression - 2025-07-18 · Analysis
Syria’s New Order: Rights, Power, and the Battle for Civic Space - 2025-07-15 · Joint Statements
Tunisia | Sentencing of Ramlah Dahmani under Decree 54 Marks Escalation in Repression and Criminalization of Solidarity - 2025-07-11 · Analysis
Imagination Vs Repression.. On State Repression in Egypt, Artivism, and the Right to Expression and Assembly. - 2025-07-07 · Analysis
What Happened to Tal’at? A Feminist Uprising in Palestine and Its Legacy Five Years Later - 2025-07-03 · Analysis
The Street Is Not Yours: Repression of Bodies and Assemblies in Egypt - 2025-06-26 · Joint Statements
Lebanon | Seven Years Since the Anti-Torture Law: No Implementation, No Justice - 2025-06-24 · Joint Statements
Egypt | Rights organizations call on Egypt to end transnational repression against exiled journalist Basma Mostafa - 2025-06-23 · Analysis
Transnational Oppression: Gendered Repression Across Borders - 2025-06-19 · Analysis
Protecting Civic Space and Promoting the Right to Peaceful Assembly in Lebanon: A Roadmap for Nawaf Salam’s Government - 2025-06-05 · Joint Statements
Gaza: HuMENA, RSF, CPJ, and over 130 media outlets call for opening the Strip to foreign journalists and protecting Palestinian reporters - 2025-05-28 · Joint Statements
Joint Statement by Humanitarian, Development, and Human Rights Organizations in Lebanon: From South to North: Ongoing Violations Must End — Ceasefire Commitments and IHL Obligations Must Be Respected - 2025-05-21 · Joint Statements
Egypt | In absentia verdict against politician Hisham Kassem reinforces growing pattern of transnational repression targeting exiled dissidents - 2025-05-16 · Press Releases
Iraq’s Protest Ban Is an Arbitrary Measure That Undermines the Right to Peaceful Assembly - 2025-05-13 · Analysis
«Forever» has ended, and Syrians are now ready to take ownership of their country. - 2025-04-24 · Analysis
Decree Law 54 in Tunisia: Between Protecting Digital Space and Threatening Freedoms - 2025-03-29 · Joint Statements
Lebanon | In Solidarity with Daraj and Megaphone Amid A Coordinated Campaign - 2025-01-02 · Joint Statements
Call for Urgent Action | Lebanon Must Protect Abdel Rahman Youssef and Refuse His Deportation to the Unknown
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