Defending democracy and civic space in the EuroMediterranean region amid the global rise of authoritarianism
At a time when authoritarianism is advancing worldwide, this roundtable brings together voices from civil society in France, Tunisia, Morocco and Syria to reflect on how to defend democracy, human rights and civic space across the Euro-Mediterranean region. The discussion will explore strategies of resistance, cooperation and advocacy in the face of repression, censorship and the concentration of power.
Speakers
Jan Robert Suesser
Activist with the French League for Human Rights and Vice President of the European Civic Forum
Economist and statistician, member of the Executive Council of the Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH) and Vice President of the European Civic Forum (ECF). He has worked in the French public service and international cooperation, promoting more democratic societies. He advocates for the ethical use of public data and warns against statistics serving discriminatory narratives.
Monia Ben Jemia
President of EuroMed Rights, law professor and Tunisian women’s rights activist
Law professor and key figure in Tunisian feminism. She previously chaired the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) and, since October 2024, has led EuroMed Rights, coordinating organisations across more than thirty countries. She advocates for rights and freedoms in transitional contexts and promotes regional alliances to ensure legal equality and institutional resilience.
Abdulaziz Ramadan
Kurdish refugee in Germany, persecuted by the Assad regime and founder of the NGO DOZ
Kurdish-Syrian author and human rights activist. Founder of DOZ International (DOZ e.V.), an NGO providing humanitarian aid and development projects in Syria and Iraq. Based in Berlin, he promotes initiatives on democracy and youth, and publishes analyses on displacement and restitution. He also writes under his Kurdish name, Xoşewîst.
Martina Pignatti Morano
Executive Director of Un Ponte Per (UPP)
Since 2023 she has led Un Ponte Per, after years coordinating cooperation programmes in Iraq, Syria and across the region, and previously serving as the organisation’s president. She is active in the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO) and the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI), fostering alliances between European and Middle Eastern civil society to challenge neo-colonial dynamics and advance social justice.
Mahjoub Maleha
Sahrawi human rights defender and Head of External Relations at the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA)
A Sahrawi human rights activist and key member of CODESA, an organisation based in the occupied territories of Western Sahara that documents human rights violations and supports victims of political repression. Now living in exile in Belgium, he was targeted with the Pegasus spyware, a case he has publicly denounced as evidence of the transnational persecution faced by Sahrawi activists. Through his international advocacy, he calls on the European Union and the international community to uphold international law and recognise the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.
Anaïs Franquesa
Lawyer and director of Irídia - Center for the Defense of Human Rights
Catalan criminal lawyer specializing in human rights, social movements, the right to protest and international humanitarian law. Director of Irídia - Center for the Defense of Human Rights, which denounces institutional violence and promotes changes in public security and human rights policies.
How to arrive
- Metro
- L4 Jaume I - L1 / L4 Urquinaona
- Bus
- V15, 47, 120, H16