On April 5, 2022, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary's subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing on enhancing the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938. ICNL Senior Legal Advisor Nick Robinson testified, highlighting these issues and outlining recommendations.

Localization—giving local partners more control and ownership of development initiatives—is a priority for the international development community. Local civil society organizations (CSOs) that can lead, design, and implement effective projects are indispensable to this agenda. This, in turn, is predicated on the existence of an enabling environment for civil society.

This guide, created by Lifeline, is meant to support activists, civil society organizations, and social movements who want to explore tactics and strategies to respond to smear campaigns or negative stereotypes by creating new, positive narratives to counter them.

In a forthcoming article in Minnesota Law Review, ICNL’s Nick Robinson argues that U.S. jurisdictions should eliminate anti-rioting laws, both to better protect demonstrators and because anti-rioting laws are fundamentally unnecessary.

This handbook aims to strengthen the capacity of paralegals and others working to protect and promote an enabling environment for civil society in Uganda.

Laws restricting demonstrations, boycotts, and other modes of activism are increasingly reducing the space for civic mobilization in the United States. To learn more about this problem check out this op-ed in the LA Times by ICNL’s Nick Robinson.

ICNL has been providing technical assistance in partnership with local civil society organizations on draft non-profit organization (NPO) laws proposed by the Mongolian government. Our civil society partner Globe International Center (GIC), developed and disseminated an animated video that explains ICNL analyses on the draft NPO bills.

The U.S. has seen a rise in protests against the construction of gas and oil pipelines, driven by concerns about pipelines’ harm to the environment, indigenous land, and landowner rights. In response, fossil fuel interests have promoted new laws that limit and chill the First Amendment rights of individuals who protest near pipelines and other infrastructure sites. On September 14, 2022, ICNL Senior Legal Advisor Elly Page testified on these issues before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Politically motivated boycotts have long been a tool for social change in the United States, from American colonists’ boycott of British tea to civil rights activists’ refusal to patronize segregated businesses in the Jim Crow South. Despite this proud tradition, Americans’ ability to use their consumer power to have their voices heard is under new threat after some states have penalized boycotts on positions with which they disagree.

This report examines the current environmental regulatory system in India, and identifies opportunities and challenges to meaningful public participation in environmental decision-making.