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Human rights institutions are under growing strain. Repressive governments are increasingly using multilateral forums to advance authoritarian agendas, while deepening geopolitical divides are making consensus-building more difficult. At the same time, shrinking civic space and limited resources are constraining the ability of civil society to participate meaningfully in global governance processes.
This ENSURED webinar brings together research and civil society perspectives to examine how these challenges can be addressed and how human rights governance can be reinforced in a multipolar world.
Drawing on the ENSURED report The UN Human Rights Council: Challenges and Opportunities for Reform, the discussion will explore how institutional weaknesses and political contestation are shaping the effectiveness of the UN human rights system. It will also consider how authoritarian influence, polarisation, and resource constraints affect participation and legitimacy, and what reforms could help ensure that human rights institutions remain effective, robust, and democratic.
Over 90 minutes, we’ll explore important questions like:
- What are the key challenges facing the UN Human Rights Council, and how do they impact its effectiveness, legitimacy, and democratic participation?
- What strategies can strengthen institutional resilience against authoritarian manipulation while preserving credibility?
- How can political and cultural divides be navigated to build coalitions that support human rights across geopolitical lines?
- How can human rights institutions remain accessible and effective in a context of shrinking resources and civic space?
- Which reforms could strengthen the effectiveness, robustness, and inclusiveness of the UN Human Rights Council?
- How can the EU better use its diplomatic and financial leverage to support global human rights governance?
- How can civil society organisations sustain their advocacy in increasingly constrained environments?
- … and much more!
The discussion will reflect on how the EU can play a stronger role in promoting inclusive and effective human rights governance, and how civil society can continue to defend democratic participation within increasingly contested multilateral spaces.
Our panelists include:
- Nicolas Agostini, DefendDefenders
- Fabiana Leibl, International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- Samuel King, CIVICUS
- Moderator: Ines Pousadela, CIVICUS
To participate, make sure to register for the webinar.
About the ENSURED Webinar Series
In Conversation with Civil Society is a year-long webinar series exploring how global governance institutions can become more effective, robust, and democratic. Each session brings together ENSURED researchers, policymakers, and civil society leaders to discuss practical reform pathways across key policy areas. Through a conversational format, the series connects analytical research with civil society experience, identifying political opportunities for institutional change and highlighting where advocacy can have the greatest impact across fragmented governance landscapes and persistent global divides.
The series is coordinated and facilitated by CIVICUS.
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