The CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist is a research tool that publicizes the status of freedoms and threats to civil liberties worldwide. The Watchlist draws attention to countries where there is a serious decline in respect for civic space, based on an assessment by CIVICUS Monitor research findings, their research partners and consultations with activists on the. ground. On Sunday, March 9, the United States was added to the list. The U.S. joins the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Chile, Slovakia and 37 other countries on the list of countries with “narrowed” civic freedoms. CIVICUS’s “narrowed” category means people in the country can exercise civil freedoms but there are occasional violations of those rights. It is the second-highest rating tier after “open.” For part of President Donald Trump’s first term, the U.S. had been categorized as “obstructed,” due to the administration’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests and restrictive state laws that were enacted limiting the rights of environmental justice protesters. Under the Biden Administration, the classification went back to “narrowed.” The watchlist placement came after President Trump’s mass firing of federal employees as part of his crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs earlier this year. CIVICUS stated that replacing these civil servants with President Trump loyalists could “severely impact constitutional freedoms.” In a March 10 press release, CIVICUS pointed to several civic freedoms under threat, the first being continued protest crackdowns and authorities repression of pro-Palestine protests. The press release then goes on to mention the freezing of federal funding and foreign aid, “risking U.S. organisations’ vital work with marginalised communities.” CIVICUS also mentions the intimidation tactics against journalists, including the barring of the Associated Press (AP) from presidential press briefings. A federal judge last Tuesday ordered the Trump White House to let AP journalists return to the Oval Office and other spaces immediately to cover news events, ruling it was unlawful to block the news service in a dispute over its choice of words. In the coming weeks and months, the CIVICUS Monitor will closely track developments in each of these countries as part of efforts to ensure greater pressure is brought to bear on governments. For more information, visit https://monitor.civicus.org/watchlist-march-2025/.
