{"id":1844,"date":"2019-03-01T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/global-assault-on-ngos-reaches-crisis-point-as-new-laws-curb-vital-human-rights-work\/"},"modified":"2024-11-04T15:43:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T08:43:38","slug":"global-assault-on-ngos-reaches-crisis-point-as-new-laws-curb-vital-human-rights-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/news\/2019\/03\/global-assault-on-ngos-reaches-crisis-point-as-new-laws-curb-vital-human-rights-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Global assault on NGOs reaches crisis point as new laws curb vital human rights work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Governments across the world are increasingly attacking non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by creating laws that subject them and their staff to surveillance, nightmarish bureaucratic hurdles and the ever-present threat of imprisonment, Amnesty International said in a new report released today.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laws Designed to Silence: The Global Crackdown on Civil Society Organizations<\/em><\/a> reveals the startling number of countries that are using bullying techniques and repressive regulations to prevent NGOs from doing their vital work. The report lists 50 countries worldwide where anti-NGO laws have been implemented or are in the pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cWe documented how an increasing number of governments are placing unreasonable restrictions and barriers on NGOs, preventing them from carrying out crucial work,\u201d said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

‘<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn many countries, organizations who dare to speak out for human rights are being bullied into silence. Groups of people who come together to defend and demand human rights are facing growing barriers to working freely and safely. Silencing them and preventing their work has consequences for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past two years alone, almost 40 pieces of legislation that interfere with the right to association and are designed to hamper the work of civil society organizations have been put in place or are in the works around the world. These laws commonly include implementing ludicrous registration processes for organizations, monitoring their work, restricting their sources of resources and, in many cases, shutting them down if they don\u2019t adhere to the unreasonable requirements imposed on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A global problem<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2018, Pakistan\u2019s Ministry of the Interior rejected registration applications from 18 international NGOs, and dismissed their subsequent appeals, without giving a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NGOs in Belarus are subjected to strict state supervision. Working for those NGOs whose registration request is rejected (often arbitrarily) is a criminal offence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Saudi Arabia, the government can deny licenses to new organizations and disband them if they are deemed to be \u201charming national unity\u201d. This has affected human rights groups, including women\u2019s human rights groups, who have not been able to register and operate freely in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Egypt, organizations that receive funding from abroad need to comply with stringent and arbitrary regulations. This has led many human rights defenders being banned from travel, having their assets frozen and prosecuted. Some could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of receiving foreign funding.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cAmnesty International\u2019s offices around the world have also come under attack. From India to Hungary, authorities have abused our staff, raided their offices and frozen their assets in a further escalation of their attack on local organizations,\u201d said Kumi Naidoo.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

Locked up for failing to comply<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many countries, such as Azerbaijan, China and Russia, have introduced further registration and reporting requirements for NGOs. Failure to comply means imprisonment, a punishment Azerbaijani human rights defender Rasul Jafarov, interviewed for the report, knows all too well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was arrested in connection with activism and demonstrations carried out with my Human Rights Club,\u201d said Rasul, who was released from prison in 2016, after being detained for over a year. \u201cThis created an awful atmosphere. Those not arrested or investigated had to close their organizations or stop their projects. Many left Azerbaijan to work abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This restrictive regulation means NGOs are under constant scrutiny by the authorities. In China, new legislation tightly controls the work of NGOs from registration and reporting to banking, hiring requirements and fundraising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Russia, the government has labelled NGOs who receive foreign funding \u201cforeign agents\u201d \u2013 a term synonymous with \u201cspy\u201d, \u201ctraitor\u201d and \u201cenemy of the state\u201d. The government applies this legislation so broadly that even an organization supporting people with diabetes was heavily fined, put on the \u201cforeign agents\u201d register and forced to close in October 2018. Medical, environmental and women\u2019s groups have also come under fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ripple effect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The repressive policies of the Russian government have caused a ripple effect reaching several other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Hungary, a number of NGOs are being forced to label themselves as \u201cforeign funded\u201d as the government seeks to discredit their work and turn the general public against them. Organizations failing to comply with these rules face high fines and ultimately the suspension of their activities. Organizations working in support of migrants and refugees have been purposefully targeted and their staff harassed after a new set of laws were passed in June 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cWe don\u2019t know what is going to happen to us and other organizations, and what laws will be passed next,\u201d said Aron Demeter, from Amnesty International Hungary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeveral members of our staff have been subjected to online trolling, abuse and threats of violence. Some venues refused to host our events and there were schools that refused to hold human rights education activities for fear of repercussions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some countries, the attack on NGOs is particularly targeted against organizations that defend the rights of marginalized groups. Those promoting women\u2019s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, LGBTI rights, the rights of migrants and refugees and environmental groups are among the worst affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one should be criminalized for standing up for human rights. World leaders should be aiming to guarantee equality and ensure people in their countries have better working conditions, proper health care, access to education and adequate housing \u2013 not targeting those who demand them,\u201d said Kumi Naidoo.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cHuman rights defenders are committed to creating a better world for everyone. We\u2019re not going to give up the fight, because we know how important this work is. World leaders reiterated their commitment to provide a safe environment for human rights defenders at the UN Headquarters in December 2018 during the 20th<\/sup> anniversary of the Declaration on HRDs. They must now ensure it becomes a reality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

Restrictive laws are also seen in many other countries, even those regarded as more open to civil society such as the UK, Ireland, Australia and the USA. According to CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists, Amnesty International\u2019s report has come at a pivotal time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis report is timely given the proliferation of restrictions on the legitimate work of civil society organisations,\u201d said Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Programmes Officer from CIVICUS. \u201cBy shining a spotlight on the challenges, those who support civil society and human rights values can help stem the tide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes to editors: <\/strong>Laws Designed to Silence: The Global Crackdown on Civil Society Organizations<\/em> is the third report in a series of publications from Amnesty International\u2019s Brave campaign documenting the global crackdown on those who defend and promote human rights. Amnesty International\u2019s Brave campaign<\/a> aims to strengthen the recognition and protection of human rights defenders around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Governments across the world are increasingly attacking non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by creating laws that subject them and their staff to surveillance, nightmarish bureaucratic hurdles and the ever-present threat of imprisonment, Amnesty International said in a new report released today. Laws Designed to Silence: The Global Crackdown on Civil Society Organizations reveals the startling number of countries […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":0,"_hero_title":"","_hero_content":"","_hero_cta_text":"","_hero_cta_link":"","_hero_alignment":"","_hero_background":"","_hero_size":"","_hero_show":"","_hero_type":"","_hero_embed":"","_hero_video_id":0,"_hero_hide_image_caption":true,"_hero_hide_image_copyright":false,"_nav_style":"","_disable_share_icons":false,"_disable_sidebar":false,"_display_author_info":false,"_hide_featured_image":false,"_hide_featured_image_caption":true,"_maximize_post_content":false,"_reduce_content_width":false,"_sidebar_id":0,"_stretch_thumbnail":false,"byline_context":"","byline_entity":"","byline_is_author":false,"disable_related_content":false,"download_id":0,"download_text":"","show_published_date":true,"show_updated_date":true,"term_slider":"","amnesty_index_number":"","recipients":"","recipients_refresh":"","recipients_refreshed":"","amnesty_umbraco_data":"","document_ref":"","amnesty_updated":"","footnotes":""},"category":[1585],"location":[1588,1587,1589],"resourceType":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-1844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","location-southeast-asia","location-thailand","location-world"],"datePosted":"March 1, 2019","mlpRelationships":{"1":1862,"2":1844},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=1844"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=1844"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resourceType?post=1844"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=1844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}