Violating NGOs’ right to funding – from harassment to criminalization

The right of NGOs to access funding is an integral part of the right to freedom of association, and without access to funds and resources, the daily work of NGOs is highly jeopardized, according to a new analysis.

 

In some countries, the consequences of restrictive laws and practices are debilitating, says a report from the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint program of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH),

“Barriers to funding are often erected in the context of a pervasive climate of repression in which restrictive laws combined with smearing campaigns and judicial harassment against human rights defenders create a hostile environment towards their activities. These barriers to NGO funding represent one of the most serious institutional problems facing defenders today”, said FIDH president Souhayr Belhassen.

In Ethiopia, regulations on foreign funding forced NGOs to reduce their activities and dismiss part of their staff or stop human rights related activities. In the Russian Federation, NGOs receiving foreign funds face criminal liability if they fail to brand themselves as “foreign agents”. In Belarus, Ales Bialiatski, president of the “Viasna” Human Rights Centre, is serving a prison term for using foreign funding and his colleagues were evicted from their offices.

“We want to protect NGOs. This is now an urgent problem because there is a pattern emerging, a global backlash, attacking and identifying human rights defenders as illegitimate because of their international connections. This new argument against international support, specifically funding, restricts the actions of NGOs. This is unacceptable. With this year’s Report, we want to reframe the debate concerning universally recognized human rights work”, said OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock.

The report provides a global review of the violations of NGOs’ right to funding, illustrated by 35 country case studies. Governments’ primary intention in restricting funding is to silence human rights defenders, a move which not only violates universally recognized standards, but seriously impedes civil society efforts to promote and protect human rights.

FIDH is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, the Washington-based democracy assistance group.

Source: Democracy Digest