Centre for Human Rights - People in Need

Civil society in Tunisia endures yet another blow from the increasingly repressive state. This time, the 'suspension strategy' targeted Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF), an important civil society organisation that faces the same ordeal as many others. We share the statement from ASF below, and we stand firm in support of civil society in Tunisia.

ASF in Tunisia suspended for 30 days The suspension of the activities of Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) in Tunisia for 30 days constitutes an extremely worrying signal regarding the state of freedom of association and civic space in the country.

⚠️ This is a dangerous inspiration drawn from Russia, opening the door to anti-democratic narratives, writes our director Nadiia Ivanova about the proposed Czech law on foreign funding of NGOs in her commentary for EUObserver.

🇨🇿 While the Czech government is cautiously distancing itself from a parliamentary proposal that sought to label all recipients of foreign funding as entities with foreign ties and subject them to repressive measures, a law on the “transparency of foreign funding” is, according to Prime Minister Babiš, still set to move forward.

🚨 As Nadiia Ivanova warns: “The prime minister suggested that ministries should determine which organisations they ‘do not need’, a framing that opens the door to the government targeting organisations it deems undesirable.” ⬇️

Now Babiš’ Czech Republic wants a Russian-style ‘foreign agents’ law against NGOs The initiative aims to give the government power to arbitrarily persecute anyone, including universities, activists, media, NGOs and others. Those who opt not to register would face fines of up to €600,000.

Recently, Nadiia Ivanova, Director of our Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, spoke with POLITICO on the dangers of the proposal to introduce Russian-style ‘foreign agent’ laws in the Czech Republic.

💬“When laws of this kind are drafted so broadly … the extreme vagueness of those legislative terms always means they want to create a tool that they can, but don’t have to, use against whoever they want,”

As we have seen, where such legislation has been enacted, the consequences for civil society (and wider society as a whole) have been dire.
Read more⬇️

www.politico.eu

🇻🇪 Repression in Venezuela continues despite changes in leadership, and the situation on the ground is still unrpedictable.

🚨Read our statement to understand why sustained international attention and support remain crucial.

We Continue Our Work in Venezuela We have not observed any change in the human rights situation in Venezuela following the U.S. attack and the abduction of the presidential couple.

🌍 Up to two-thirds of women elected in local
governments worldwide face violence simply
because of their gender & position in office.
From offensive remarks, exclusion from meetings,
to denial of resources, they endure constant
challenges. There is .

🇹🇳 We are deeply concerned by the suspension of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)’s activities in Tunisia. It is another sign of increasing pressure on civil society in the coutnry.

🛡️ OMCT provides essential legal, psychological, social, and medical support to victims of torture, making its work indispensable for the protection of human rights in Tunisia.

🤝 We stand in full solidarity with OMCT and urge the Tunisian authorities to lift the suspension immediately and allow the organisation to continue its vital work without interference.

Tunisia: Suspension of OMCT Threatens Human Rights In the last four months, at least 14 Tunisian and international NGOs have been issued court orders forcing them to suspend their operations for 30 days.