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Freedom of Peaceful Assembly photo credit Chris Huggins via Flicker https://www.flickr.com/photos/43332391@N04/4736995818

This ICNL briefer covering the problems with anti-rioting laws including allowing the government to bring charges with extreme penalties...

Online harassment, photo credit Andrew Neel via Unsplash

This ICNL analysis discusses on online gender-based violence and it's impact on women human rights defenders across the Indo-Pacific...

Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo credit Kent Tupas on Unsplash

March 2023 - a group of parliamentarians introduced a draft law of Georgia on transparency of foreign influence. Read...

Taiwan Covid-19 Response; photo credit Veseh via flic.kr

This briefer examines how new types of technology used by the government to surveil protests can lead to abuse...

United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism, Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash (yfXhqAW5X0c)

This Just Security article, co-authored by ICNL Senior Legal Advisor Nicholas Miller, unpacks the UN counterterrorism report, reviewing the...

draft law of Georgia on transparency of foreign influence photo credit Amanda Anderson - Concert Hall & Presidential Palace Tbilisi Georgia

Based on requests from local partners, ICNL and ECNL conducted a comparative analysis of the draft Law of Georgia...

Photo by Billie Grace Ward 'watchful eye' on Flickr

This briefer examines how new types of technology used by the government to surveil protests can lead to abuse...

Yangon (West), Yangon, Myanmar (Birma) February 2021 (credit Alexander Schimmeck)

This ICNL partner analysis assesses Myanmar's 2022 Association Registration Law and the FATF blacklisting in October 2022 and their...

The Old Town in Vilnius, Lithuania May 2009 (Photo: FromTheNorth/Flickr)

These guidelines, put together by the NGO Law Institute (NGOLI) with the support of ICNL, are designed to help...

Women giving peace sign at protest (photo credit: unsplash.com)

Please join us to discuss what INSPIRES consortium members, partners, and USAID have learned about the unexpected connections that...

Ala Too Square Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, on a very sunny, cloudless day. There are fountains and a large Kyrgyz flag on a tall flagpole billowing. (Photo: Emil Akhmatbekov)

The draft law on foreign representatives, initiated on November 21, 2022, would establish new burdensome requirements for all noncommercial...

American flag crocheted around a tree in a Brooklyn Park. (Photo: Andriy Prokopenko/Getty)

Firearms pose an urgent threat to the exercise of First Amendment rights of free expression and peaceful assembly in...

A young woman wearing bright green weaves a natural fiber basket in Kano, Nigeria in front of a bright yellow wall. (Photo: Nnaemeka Ugochukwu/Unsplash)

Until recently, Nigerian civil society organizations (CSOs) were grouped with casinos, real estate agents, and gemstone dealers as institutions...

Man wearing a blue turban is weaving rugs on a large traditional loom in Aswan, Egypt (Photo: Rawan Yasser/Unsplash)

Nearly every country's constitution recognizes the right to peaceful assembly. But since 2020, more than 150 governments have restricted...

Photo of multi-color fabrics taken in Saida, Lebanon. The fabrics are draped vertically, and are teal, blue, yellow, green, orange, and yellow. (Photo: Jametlene Reskp/Flora Saltzmann/Unsplash)

Women civil society advocates have long struggled against gender-specific barriers to their work. This story explores how ICNL and...

Cultura de Guatemala. A woman with long black hair leans over a large loom, weaving. There are woven items in the background like hats, blankets, and more. (Photo: Julio Reynaldo/Unsplash)

In 2022, El Salvador proposed a restrictive new law that threatened to decimate civil society. The draft law would...

January 1, 20232021-2022 Annual Report

Toraja Indonesia Weaving, showing two hands working a large loom that is strung with mustard yellow thread. (Photo: Aditya Wardhana/Unsplash)

Whether helping our partners address restrictive laws in El Salvador and Nigeria, fostering women’s activism in Lebanon and the...

An Iraqi woman prepares to cast her voting ballot into one of the bins after filling it out at a polling site in Rawah, Iraq during the country’s first parliamentary election. (Photo: Shane S. Keller/2005)

When violence against women occurs during elections, the number of women voters, candidates, and officials in the electoral process...

CCTV at the beach end of VGP 2nd Main Road, Uthandi, Chennai, India (Photo: Timothy A. Gonsalves)

This briefer focuses on surveillance and other digital threats to free expression in India, examining the proliferation of illegal...

Tbilisi cityscapes with a cable car. (Photo: Katarzyna Javaheri-Szpak/WikiMedia)

These guidelines are designed to help activists from Belarus and other Eurasian countries who relocate to Georgia to organize...

Bahraini women during 2011 protests (Photo: Sara Hassan/Al Jazeera English)

There are many challenges for women-led civil society organizations in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in the...

Ala-Bel Pass in Kyrgyzstan. It runs along the road connecting Bishkek and Osh in the Talas Ala Too Mountain Range. (Photo: Ninara/CC)

On November 2, 2022, the Presidential Administration of the Kyrgyz Republic published the Non-commercial Non-Governmental Organizations (Draft Law) on...

A sunset over Tbilisi, Georgia. (Photo: Vladimer Shioshvili/CC)

In order to advocate for barrier-free access to resources, civil society organizations need to be aware of the legislation...

U.S. coins (Photo: Skeeze/Pixabay)

Politically motivated boycotts have long been a tool for social change in the United States, from American colonists’ boycott...

November 15, 2022Civic Space in Myanmar

A river and bridge at sunset in Myanmar

This report, undertaken by a Myanmar civil society organization and its local partner networks, examines the impact of the...

Climate change related flooding in Turkey (Photo: İHLAS HABER AJANSI)

The Middle East and North Africa are already experiencing the impact of climate change on the ground, and in...

Sunset over Bagan, Myanmar. (Photo: Martin Sojka)

With support from ICNL, local civil society organizations (CSOs) assessed the operational civic space for CSOs in Myanmar from...

Person holding cash and a cell phone (Photo: Jan Chipchase)

With support from the Ford Foundation, ICNL launched a project from February 2020 through October 2022 to address FATF...

Samarkand, Uzbekistan (Photo: Miguel Martín)

In Uzbekistan, civil society organizations face acute problems with financial sustainability, which significantly weakens their ability to implement public...

Organization of american states, photo credit Jareed via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/48254827@N00/5728750373

Briefer summarizes these laws and implementation practices governing civil society organization in the 35 Organization of American States member...

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This document was designed to help participants in this process and other stakeholders understand the Principles, advocate for their...

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In Defending the Right to Protest: Resisting Government Crackdowns on Nonviolent Demonstrators, ICNL provides an overview of critical threats...

Protesters in Cairo, Egypt, in 2011 (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The Egyptian government has a range of laws to target dissent, and authorities have not hesitated to use them....

Aerial shot of freshwater wetlands of the Middle East—Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait (Photo: NASA/Creative Commons)

In this article, environmental activist Hala Murad discusses feminist environmental activism in the Middle East and North Africa, challenges...

2019 AR - US

The U.S. has seen a rise in protests against the construction of gas and oil pipelines, driven by concerns...

FATF logo 578x400

This report by ICNL partner SEEDS for Legal Initiatives provides an overview of AML/CFT and NPO regulations in Lebanon,...

Protesters in Tahrir Square calling for the Muslim Brotherhood to leave government, November 30, 2012. (Y. Weeks/VOA)

From Freedom Square in Tunisia to Tahrir Square in Egypt, from Clock Square in Homs to Pearl Square in...

Speakers from ICNL's joint side event at Stockholm+50, "Resistance and Resilience: Enhancing civic space for women and girls in climate activism." Panelists from five continents and six countries discussed their diverse experiences with the challenges facing women environmental defenders. (Photo: ICNL)

In June 2022, ICNL, EarthRights International, DefendDefenders, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Assembly co-hosted...

Mongolian yurt, ger, in Southern Gobi region at sunset (Photo: Martin Vorel/LibreShot)

ICNL has been providing technical assistance in partnership with local civil society organizations on draft non-profit organization (NPO) laws...

A protest in Washington, DC (photo credit: Justice & Witness Ministries, UCC/Flickr)

Laws restricting demonstrations, boycotts, and other modes of activism are increasingly reducing the space for civic mobilization in the...

Farmers protesting holding India flag (photo credit: unsplash.com)

On April 8, 2022, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India issued its judgment in Noel Harper...

Freedom of Peaceful Assembly photo credit Ted Eytan via Flicker https://flic.kr/p/2j9qZYN

Learn about the uncertainty for gun regulation that Bruen creates and the options lawmakers still have to protect rights...

Enabling Civil Society in Uganda

This handbook aims to strengthen the capacity of paralegals and others working to protect and promote an enabling environment...

Solar panels, wind turbines, and an electricity pylon (Photo: hpgruesen/Creative Commons)

The immediacy of the climate crisis cannot be overstated, and an energy transition is both critical and overdue. However,...

Black Lives Matter protesters enveloped in tear gas, near the White House in Washington DC, 5/31/2020 (Photo by Koshu Kunii on Unsplash)

In a forthcoming article in Minnesota Law Review, ICNL’s Nick Robinson argues that U.S. jurisdictions should eliminate anti-rioting laws,...

ICNL 2009-2010 Annual Report cover photo - A women's savings group meeting

In this piece for the Global Center for CSO Accountability, ICNL Legal Advisor Nikhil Dutta explains how deploying the...

Analysis default image final full size

In this article, Tamara Teebi explains the complex challenges facing women's organizations and activists in Palestine. Women human rights...

Egyptian women line up to vote in 2011-2012 parliamentary elections. (Photo Credit: UN Women/Fatma Elzahraa Yassin)

This article by Esraa Mahadin discusses how to adopt gender policies when amending legislation. The discussion in human rights...

2022 OGP Interview

In an interview with Ms. Mai Elimat, who contributed to the fourth and fifth National Action Plans for the...

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Following a swell of racial justice protests that have taken to the streets, politically charged bills are being introduced...

Analysis default image final full size

In this article, Tamara Teebi explains the complex challenges facing women's organizations and activists in Palestine. Women human rights...

2022 Disability Rights Event

Dr. Taqi Al-Majali interviewed activists and experts on the rights of persons with disabilities about whether laws in the...

Renaming Civil Society: A Lifeline Guide for Narrative Change (cover of guide/Credit: Lifeline)

This guide, created by Lifeline, is meant to support activists, civil society organizations, and social movements who want to...

river through forest (photo credit: unsplash.com)

ALLIED and the Universal Rights Group, with support from Freedom House and the Lifeline Fund, published two complementary reports...

FATF logo 578x400

In April 2022, ICNL LLC held a workshop to familiarize civil society organizations in the Middle East and North...

women in Africa (credit: pixabay.com)

Localization—giving local partners more control and ownership of development initiatives—is a priority for the international development community. Local civil...

protest with fist raised (photo credit: unsplash.com)

In an article in Cornell Law Review, ICNL’s Nick Robinson and Elly Page argue for more robust constitutional protection...

An Alaska pipeline (Photo: Jim Black/Pixabay)

In January and February 2022, ICNL worked with NRGI, PWYP, Oxfam USA, and the Institute of Development Studies to...

April 13, 2022A Pandemic of Silence

Sit-in protest in Whitehall, UK in May 2009 (Photo: Southbanksteve/Wikimedia)

Written by ICNL consultant Meghna Sharma, this briefer examines how authoritarian COVID-19 policies in the Indo-Pacific region have affected...

Shoppers in Hong Kong wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, March 2020. (Andrii Makukha/Wikimedia)

Authored by ICNL consultant Kirana Anjani, this briefer dives deep into the challenges faced by civil society in Southeast...

Taj Mahal (Photo Credit: Gerard McGovern)

This working paper, by Ingrid Srinath, the Director of the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University,...

Congress Building, U.S Capitol, Washington D.C. (Photo: Creative Commons)

On April 5, 2022, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary's subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil...

Crowded street in old Nizam City (Photo: Tejj/ Unsplash)

Throughout the COVID pandemic, India's nonprofit sector filled crucial gaps by providing essential social services and humanitarian relief. And...

March 16, 2022Fixing the FARA Mess

ICNL's work on the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)

The Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) needs to be fixed. This Just Security article reviews the strengths and discusses...

Cardboard sign at protest that says Climate Justice Now (photo credit: unsplash.com)

This guide, created by ECNL, explores the key standards that protect climate activists’ civic freedoms.  It maps out the...

Thailand flag on building (photo credit: pixabay.com)

On January 4, 2022, the Thai Cabinet approved a revised draft non-profit organization (NPO) bill drafted by the Office...

FARA-Page-Image-v2

These comments, written by ICNL's U.S. Program team, are in response to the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) from...

Armed protester at the United We Stand & Patriots March for America (Photo: Fibonacci Blue/CC 2.0)

Armed individuals intimidate and discourage people from exercising their rights to speech and assembly, and they have interfered with...

Mine in the Phillipines (Toledo City, Cebu, Philippines)

Bantay Kita, an organization in the Philippines, has been a leader in developing inputs on civic space for submission...

Migrants in hungary with barb wire fence (photo credit: Gémes Sándor/SzomSzed/Wikimedia)

This ICNL White Paper explains why the GCM’s failure to meaningfully include considerations of migrants’ civic freedoms and civic...

Young woman on leather couch working at a laptop while browsing her phone (Photo: Maxim Ilyahov on Unsplash)

During the 2021 Bread&Net, ICNL held a workshop on the importance of civil society involvement in the development of...

Photo Credit: funky-data/iStock

Understanding the essence and practical value of human rights helps citizens enjoy and assert their rights when these rights...

Group of women touching hands (photo credit: unsplah.com)

These guidelines are intended to become an information resource for representatives of civil society organizations and citizens of the...

paper with charts and graphs (photo credit: pixabay.com)

This ICNL comparative overview of various Eurasian countries presents international standards and comparative international practices on CSO reporting.

little girl with rose and sunflower in hand

ICNL is working with a broad coalition of civil liberties, racial justice, environmental, and other groups to address anti-protest...

volunteer worker with mask in hospital hallway

COVID hit Kyrgyzstan hard, overwhelming an already fragile healthcare system. In the face of these challenges, Elim Barsynby, a...

crowd walking on street

ICNL partnered with the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative (LOGI), a civil society organization promoting transparent management of oil...

Digital map with red location markers

In early 2020, as COVID began to spread globally, ICNL recognized the repercussions of states’ emergency responses on fundamental...

gavel in court room (photo credit: pixabay.com)

This ICNL briefer outlines SLAPPs related projects, activities, and impacts and presents a pathway forward for protecting civil society...

Muatar

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Muatar Saidmuradovna Khaidarova on December 20, 2021. Muatar...

December 20, 20212020-2021 Annual Report

woman with mask on looking up with protest around

The ongoing COVID crisis has emboldened authoritarian leadership and given rise to misuse of emergency powers, on top of...

graphic with text: The Financial Action Task Force A Toolkit for Kenyan Non-Profit Organizations

This toolkit is designed to provide information on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for non-profit organizations (NPOs) in...

women in India protesting in crowd (photo credit: unsplash.com)

This ICNL-UNSR toolkit supports civil society efforts to advocate for women's full enjoyment of the rights to freedom...

Farmers protesting holding India flag (photo credit: unsplash.com)

This report maps the Indian legal framework governing the right to freedom of assembly and the right to protest,...

Four people walking with water buckets on head in drought stricken land (photo credit: pixabay.com)

This Just Security article provides a warning of the securitization of the climate crisis and links to terrorism, while offering...

Flag of the United Nations (Graphic credit: Wikimedia)

UN and regional human rights experts issued a joint declaration calling on States to strengthen international efforts to support...

blindfolded law statue (photo credit: unsplash.com)

This toolkit, created in collaboration with the UNDP and ICNL, provides an overview of the human rights standards that...

climate activists in crowd with sign that says 1.5 degrees (photo credit: unsplash.com)

This article, written by ECNL, highlights that restrictions on civil society undermine climate mitigation efforts and impede the collaboration...

Crowd Carrying Belarus flag (photo credit: unsplash.com)

ICNL analysis of the laws of the Republic of Belarus on countering extremism and prevention of the rehabilitation of...