The recent Law on the Regulation of Non-Profit Organisations, which governs the registration and operations of civil society organisations (CSOs) is currently in force and more than 30 organisations have filed a constitutional challenge against it. Its impact on freedom of association is already evident in the excessive bureaucratic requirements that complicate the new legal and administrative processes for various CSOs, particularly small or community-based organisations.
The allocation of public resources to CSOs without open calls for proposals persists, with certain exceptions such as in the field of cultural initiatives. External cooperation continues with remaining challenges regarding temporal predictability as well as the exploration of new ways of generating resources for mission-driven projects or programmes on the local level. Official mechanisms that integrated civil society for monitoring, debate and contributions to public policy appear to have been deactivated, while some public bodies present opportunities for cooperation.
Institutional weakness within the judiciary generates impunity and erodes civic space. The public narrative regarding CSOs has become highly stigmatised, promoting fear and self-censorship, particularly among rights-based organisations. Digital campaigns against journalists and government critics as well as digital surveillance and harassment of CSOs, activists and human rights defenders continue, a serious situation that has been documented in reports by female journalists, among others. Social activists also continue to be criminalised amid a lack of protection mechanisms. The Bill on the Protection of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders has been pending in Congress since 2023.
