The trend of restrictions against civil society has been identified and documented by a number of international organizations and think tanks, including the International Center for Not-for- Profit Law (ICNL), the World Movement for Democracy, Article 19, Freedom House, CIVICUS, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, among others; as well as by the United Nations and multilateral organizations, in particular, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Assembly and the Community of Democracies. Strategies to restrict political space for civil society range from restrictions on CSO registration and access to foreign funding, overly burdensome reporting requirements; messages disseminated by government controlled media that de-legitimize CSOs that accept foreign donor funding; requiring that CSOs align their activities with national development plans; and creating government-organized NGOs (GONGOs) to “manage” civil society activity. In some countries, the threats are more dangerous and include attacks on the physical and digital security of CSOs and individual activists.
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