A non-governmental organization, or simply an NGO, is an organization that is, generally, formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in humanitarianism or the social sciences; they can also include clubs and associations that provide services to their members and others. Surveys indicate that NGOs have a high degree of public trust, which can make them a useful proxy for the concerns of society and stakeholders. However, NGOs can also be lobby groups for corporations, such as the World Economic Forum.
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially support civil society groups around the world, with a stated aim of advancing justice, education, public health and independent media. The group's name is inspired by Karl Popper's 1945 book The Open Society and Its Enemies.
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. Pioneering the use of ICTs for civil society, especially in developing countries, APC were often the first providers of Internet in their member countries.
Bingu wa Mutharika was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party, which he founded in February 2005; it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election.
The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, or CHRR, is a human rights non-governmental organisation in Malawi. It was founded in February 1995 as a non-profit, apolitical, voluntary organization registered under the Trustees Incorporation Act of 1962. The organization was founded by former students exiles who returned home to the promises of a new democracy in 1994.
Emmie Takomana Chanika born 26 May 1956 is a Malawian human rights activist. A trained registered nurse, Chanika began working in 1992 as human rights groups started to form and agitate for political change in Malawi which at the time suffered under the dictatorship of Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Emmie Chanika then founded the Civil Liberties Committee (CILIC), which was established in February 1992 as the first human rights organisation in Malawi. Emmie Chanika has been its executive director ever since. Under the banner of CILIC Emmie Chanika has been actively involved in the 1993 Referendum and the 1994 general election Civic Education which led to major democratic change and the end of Hasting Kamuzu Banda's dictatorship in Malawi. Although a trained registered nurse, Emmie Chanika continued to educate herself and among other qualifications obtained her Master of Science degree in Strategic Planning in 2007.
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistle-blowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campaigners, participants in direct action, or just individuals acting alone. They can defend rights as part of their jobs or in a voluntary capacity. As a result of their activities, human rights defenders (HRDs) are often subjected to reprisals including smears, surveillance, harassment, false charges, arbitrary detention, restrictions on the right to freedom of association, physical attack, and even murder. In 2020, at least 331 HRDs were murdered in 25 countries. The international community and some national governments have attempted to respond to this violence through various protections, but violence against HRDs continues to rise. Women human rights defenders and environmental human rights defenders face greater repression and risks than human rights defenders working on other issues.
Billy Abner Mayaya is a Malawian human rights activist, artist, poet and theologian.
Fahamu is a not-for-profit organisation committed to serving the needs of organisations and social movements that inspire progressive social change and promote and protect human rights. It has played a pioneering role in using new information and communication technologies to support capacity building and networking between civil society and human rights organisations. Fahamu has offices in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Senegal and Kenya. Fahamu's core tools to build capacity and engage civil and human rights organisations are the publication of Pambazuka News, on-line distance learning courses on human rights and social justice and the application of new technologies such as SMS for information dissemination, lobbying and interaction purposes.
The history of human rights in Malawi during recent decades is complicated, and the situation at present is in a state of dramatic, and positive, transition.
Maradeka is an emerging pro-democracy Muslim political organization espousing non-violent political action in the Philippines amidst the backdrop of over four decades of armed Muslim insurgency mounted by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in their Moro Quest for self-rule after people dissenting Philippine government treatment of Muslim minority as second class citizens and suffering years of social, economic, and political inequities called Mindanao problem
Nabeel Ahmed Abdulrasool Rajab is a Bahraini human rights activist and opposition leader. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch's Middle East Division, Deputy Secretary General for the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), former chairman of CARAM Asia, member of the Advisory Board of the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), and Founding Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR).
The 2011 Malawi protests were protests aimed at winning political and economic reforms or concessions from the government of Malawi. On 20 July, Malawian organisations protested against perceived poor economic management and poor governance by President Bingu wa Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party. After the first two days of protests, 18 deaths, 98 serious injuries and 275 arrests had been reported. Further demonstrations were organised on 17 August and 21 September The first protest was later cancelled due to the intervention of a UN representative in initiating a dialogue; however, the talks broke down with more protests planned for Red Wednesday through a national vigil.
Undule Mwakasungula is a 'retired' human rights activist in Malawi and a former DDP cadet. As an activist, he served as the chairperson for the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC). He is also the former director for the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (HCRR), a network of Church Institutions, Human Rights NGOs and the Law Society of Malawi that serves to work together in areas of human rights, advocacy and information sharing. HRCC and Mwakasungula was one of the primary organizers of the July 20th, 2011 Malawian protests. He has been a critical opponent of the Bingu wa Mutharika administration, likening it to Robert Mugabe's Administration of Zimbabwe, "We are almost Zimbabwe, both in the economy and in political governance."
Reverend MacDonald Sembereka is a Malawian reverend, civil and human rights activist. He is the acting national coordinator of the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), a network of 91 local civil society and non-governmental organizations. He has been at the forefront of coordinating the nationwide protests in Malawi that began July 20, 2011. In May 2021, it was revealed that he had been appointed to serve at Malawi's Mission at the United Nations in New York. His appointment was widely seen as a reward for his role in the nationwide demonstrations which contributed to the sanctioning of fresh presidential elections by Malawi's high court. Other members of the HRDC were also appointed to various Missions abroad, a move widely seen as an attempt to silence the human rights group. Sembereka is widely known for his controversial lifestyle which is widely viewed as unusual for a reverend. He also served as the Executive Director of Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Living with HIV/AIDS (MANERELA).
Robert Chasowa was a University of Malawi engineering student and political activist. Chasowa was the chair of a student activist group, Youth for Democracy (YFD). The YFD printed a weekly pro-democracy and anti-Bingu wa Mutharika administration newsletter called the Weekly Political Update that has circulation around the UNIMA campus. His mysterious death made international headlines but was ruled a suicide under the Bingu wa Mutharika administration. In October 2012, the results of a commission of inquiry led by President Joyce Banda's administration ruled his death as a murder.
Human rights movement refers to a nongovernmental social movement engaged in activism related to the issues of human rights. The foundations of the global human rights movement involve resistance to: colonialism, imperialism, slavery, racism, segregation, patriarchy, and oppression of indigenous peoples.
Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) was founded and incorporated by Zuriana (Ani) Zonneveld and Pamela K. Taylor in 2007, headquartered in Los Angeles with a regional office in Malaysia and The Netherlands. It is a grassroots human rights organization with networks in Bangladesh, Canada, France, Chile, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia, and throughout the U.S. MPV provides educational and theological resources for Muslims with a liberal or progressive Islamic worldview. In response to global discourse of criticism and the radicalization of Islam, MPV seeks to dismiss false ideologies about Muslims and Islam. Through their global advocacy and community programs MPV enlighten Muslims and non-Muslim populations globally. On October 1, 2017 in Tunisia, MPV was a founding member of the Alliance of Inclusive Muslims, an umbrella human rights association made up of 14 member organizations spanning five continents.
Civil Society Champions is an annual award ceremony launched by the Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs in 2009. It is called to honor the most prominent civil activists, significant events and organizations in the Belarusian civil sector. The first ceremony took place on 23 December 2009 in Minsk.
The Human Rights Network - Uganda (HURINET) is a Ugandan non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mission is foster the promotion, protection and respect of human rights in Uganda through linking and strengthening the capacity of member organizations. HURINET works towards having a Ugandan society free of human rights abuse. It is an umbrella organization of 60 human rights organizations. Mohammad Ndifuna is the current executive director.
