At the end of 2025, we take a moment to reflect — not only on the passing of time, but on the meaning of our shared journey. Looking back, it is impossible to do so lightly.
This year has been marked by devastation and injustice on a scale that should shame the world.
Above all, by the genocidal war waged by Russia against Ukraine — and by the failure of the world’s institutions to help bring freedom and a true, lasting peace to this proud European country.
The world also watched the mass killing and destruction in Gaza, where bombs fell indiscriminately on homes, hospitals, and schools.
2025 was a year in which civilians once again paid the highest price for political failure, militarism, aggression, and indifference.
These are not distant tragedies. They shape the moral backbone of our time. They test the credibility of international law, the meaning of human rights, and the willingness of societies to defend truth, dignity, and life when it matters most.
At the same time, we have witnessed the erosion of democratic norms, the normalisation of lies, the instrumentalisation of identity, and the growing use of fear and disinformation as tools of power.
Yet even in this darkness, we have also seen courage — in people who resist and fight for freedom, who speak out, who protect others, who document crimes, who defend truth, and who refuse to accept injustice as inevitable.
At CIVIL, we do not believe that democracy, peace, or human rights sustain themselves. They exist only if people actively defend them.
In the year ahead, we commit ourselves again to:
- standing with those whose rights and lives are under attack,
- defending truth against propaganda and manipulation,
- strengthening democratic culture, accountability, and solidarity across borders and communities.
We thank all who have stood with us — our partners, supporters, colleagues, and readers — for your trust, your courage, and your persistence.
May the new year be a year of greater responsibility, clearer moral choices, and stronger solidarity with those who suffer and those who resist.
Not a year of forgetting — but a year of defending what matters. A year when TRUTH MATTERS.
With respect and determination,
CIVIL – Center for Freedom