Thinking Democratically: A Comprehensive Approach to Countering and Preventing Shrinking Space

or specific voices that are deemed unacceptable, such as LGBTI groups or women HRDs. These
findings are clearly reflected in the case studies conducted for this research paper.
Restrictive legislation has been adopted in Guatemala, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Indonesia, but also in
many European countries. In Kenya, the proposed Statute Law Amendment Bill in 2013 intended to
cap NGOs’ foreign funding at 15% of their total budget. In Guatemala, a new law establishes “control”
mechanisms on NGOs, creating uncertainty about necessary permits and approval by the state for all
their projects. Such laws restrict the ability of CSOs to operate, and thereby greatly infringe on their
freedom of association. Such laws have been in place in Zimbabwe since the early 2000s. Other laws
explicitly limit the kinds of activities NGOs can engage in, or their ideological orientation. The
Indonesian NGO law gives a sentence of six months up to life imprisonment to anyone in an NGO who
“embraces, develops or spreads ideology that is in conflict with (the state ideology) Pancasila.” As
argued by Human Rights Watch Asia director Phelim Kine, “the NGO law is being used as a vehicle for
Orwellian thought police. The state has no business telling NGOs or anyone else what they can and
can’t believe.” 27
An investigation into civil society space by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency in 2018 identified a
host of obstacles to a conducive regulatory environment for civil society in Europe, including
registration requirements, the adverse effects of legislation on counter-terrorism, political
campaigning and lobbying, and bans on particular kinds of assemblies. In Greece, a Ministerial
Decision effectively outlawed unregistered and independent NGOs and took control over NGOs on
Lesbos island. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, lobbying and political campaigning legislation are
defined such that it effectively limits CSOs’ funding sources and amounts, and spending during
electoral periods. In contrast to these examples of restrictive legislation, Slovenia exempts CSOs
promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law from registration and reporting requirements
on lobbying. 28
Legislative restrictions limiting freedom of expression and press include licensing rules and laws
criminalising the distribution of certain types of content. Such laws may criminalise certain content
based on vaguely defined moral norms, as is the case in Indonesia, but it may also concern public
information. In Honduras, a law was imposed that penalises the disclosure of classified information
and limits public access to public information. In Zimbabwe, the Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act was used to legally harass a number of journalists as well as shut down the only
independent Zimbabwean daily newspaper. 29 The main perpetrator of this type of onslaught on civic
27
Human Rights Watch, 2013: Indonesia: Amend Law on Mass Organizations. Available here.
28
EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (2018): Challenges facing civil society working on human rights in the EU. Available
here.
29
ARTICLE 19 & Media Institute of Southern Africa (2004): The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Two
Years On. Available here.
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