Governments Try To Sell Anti-NGO Laws As ‘Reforms’

Photo Credit: LICADHO Cambodia

Governments in Southeast Asia recently passed a series of laws aimed at squeezing civil society groups and NGOs, which is part of a larger decline in freedom of association throughout the region. Enalini Elumalai from SUARAM in Malaysia called attention to backsliding freedom of association in Southeast Asia at a July 24 event hosted by Freedom House. Similar trends are afoot in the Middle East, said Stephen McInerney from the Project on Middle East Democracy, where officials frame restrictions as reforms, peddling the spurious claim that anti-NGO laws are in compliance with international standards.

See photos from the event here.
Learn more about the Global Freedom of Association Campaign here.

Hostile Governments Attack African NGOs

NGOs face a raft of obstacles from African governments, including arbitrary arrests, high registration fees, and arbitrary dissolution, observed Waruguru Kaguongo, Research Fellow for the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association at the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, at an event hosted by Freedom House on July 25, as part of its speaker series on freedom of association.  Janet Love from the Legal Resources Centre said targeted civil society groups should not be afraid to adopt a more adversarial approach and respond to hostile governments with direct legal action.

See photos from the event here.
Learn more about the Global Freedom of Association Campaign here.

Free Press At the Lowest Level In Over A Decade

Only 14.5 percent of the world’s population live in countries where journalists’ safety is guaranteed, state influence over the media is minimal, and the press is not subject to burdensome legal restrictions, observed Karin Deutsch Karlekar in her July 25 testimony before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on threats to worldwide media freedom.

Read her testimony here.

"Images of Repression and Freedom" Photo Sale!

In case you missed our photography auction, don’t worry! All 30 of the one-of-a-kind photos are now available to view online and are for purchase - 8 by 10 prints for only $75.00. The images hail from 17 different countries, and express the artists’ take on freedom, political participation, human rights, and repression.

To place your order, please email Nina Patel at patel@freedomhouse.org
before they are all gone!
 

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