Agrégateur de flux

Le procès des écoutes illégales via le logiciel espion Predator, s'ouvre enfin ce mercredi, trois ans après la révélation du scandale. Quatre personnes seulement se retrouvent sur le banc des accusés - et aucun responsable politique, faisant craindre une « parodie de justice ».

- Le fil de l'Info / Grèce, droite dure Grèce, Médias indépendants, Courrier des Balkans, Politique, Médias, Défense, police et justice

Women’s rights have steadily eroded in Afghanistan since 2021. Credit: UN Women
 
The recent blackout exposed how vital the Internet has become for Afghan women and how, when that connection is lost, hope fades and isolation takes hold.

By UN Women
NEW YORK, Oct 22 2025 (IPS)

When the Taliban recently cut off the Internet and phone networks across Afghanistan, millions of women and girls were silenced. For those with connectivity, the blackout severed their last link to the outside world – a fragile connection that had kept education, work, and hope alive.

Many women in Afghanistan still lack access to the Internet, a basic phone, or the literacy to use digital tools. For those that do, that connection is a rare lifeline to life-saving services and the outside world.

For now, access has largely been restored. But the message was clear: in Afghanistan, this valuable gateway to learning, expression, and services for women and girls can be shut down at any moment.

Afghan women are already banned from secondary and higher education, from most forms of work, and public spaces such as parks, gyms, and sports clubs.

Many women are also receiving humanitarian aid, including in earthquake-affected eastern Afghanistan, and among those returning – many forcibly – from Iran and Pakistan.

The digital and phone blackout intensified feelings of stress, isolation and anxiety among women and girls.

Women entrepreneurs participate in business development training in a UN Women-supported Multi-Purpose Women’s Centre in Parwan province, eastern Afghanistan in January 2025. Photo: UN Women/Ali Omid Taqdisyan

What happens when Afghan women and girls go offline?

In Afghanistan, the impact of Internet and phone blackouts falls more heavily on women and girls. It eliminates what is, for many, a final means of learning, earning, and connecting.

When women and girls lose Internet access, they lose the ability to:

• Access aid: Those who are connected can use the Internet or phones to find out about support available, and aid agencies rely on connectivity to continue operations.
• Learn about disasters: Recent data shows 9 per cent of women use the Internet to access information on climate disasters.
• Seek services and reporting mechanisms for survivors of gender-based violence or those at risk.
• Learn: Online classes and study groups were a lifeline for girls banned from secondary schools, and women banned from universities.
• Work: Online businesses are a vital source of income for many women to sustain their families after being pushed out of many formal roles.
• Connect: Social apps and social media provided safe spaces to support one another and exchange information.
• Be visible: For women already excluded from public life, the digital world is one the last places to exist and resist.

For more on what life looks like for women in Afghanistan today, see our FAQs.

Going dark in the middle of humanitarian crises

The national internet blackout started a month after a 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on 31 August, with major aftershocks continuing throughout September and the emergency response and early recovery continuing.

Despite facing many challenges, women-led organizations have played a crucial role delivering life-saving aid and services to women and girls affected by the earthquake, and Afghan women and girl returnees from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan.

During the blackout, NGOs were forced to halt humanitarian operations and cease field missions to emergency sites. Staff could not process payments or place orders for essential goods destined for women and their families.

When banks went offline, women affected by humanitarian crises were unable to access emergency cash assistance to buy essentials such as food.

The shutdown also made it much harder for survivors of gender-based violence to access help at a time when household tensions were rising across the country, and the risk of violence was escalating.

A UN Women team assessed the earthquake damage in Nurgal, one of the worst affected districts in Kunar province, northeastern Afghanistan.

Online livelihoods switched off

In Afghanistan, waves of directives banning women from most jobs and restricting their movement without a male guardian have systematically pushed them out of public life.

For many women entrepreneurs, the Internet offers a rare space to work, build small businesses, and sell their products – such as nuts, spices, handicrafts, clothes and artworks – to customers within Afghanistan and overseas.

“There is no space for us to work outside our homes,” explained business owner Sama*, from Parwan in eastern Afghanistan. “There’s also no local market where we can display and sell our products.”

With the support of UN Women, Sama built an online shop selling knitted bags, purses and jewelry.

“Through my online shop, I became well known,” she says. “I’m earning money, solving my financial problems, and becoming self-sufficient.”

When the blackout struck, women like Sama lost their only source of income overnight – a warning that for many Afghan women, connectivity is not a luxury, but a lifeline.

From blackout to global action

The Internet blackout in Afghanistan was a stark reminder that the digital world is not neutral. It can be space of empowerment. It can also be a tool of exclusion and isolation.

The stories of Afghan women remind us what is at stake: education, mental health, livelihoods, and hope. When women are silenced online, they are cut off further from opportunity and from the world.

How UN Women is supporting women and girls in Afghanistan

Through its flagship programme, Rebuilding the Women’s Movement, UN Women in Afghanistan partnered with 140 women-led organizations across 24 provinces and supported 743 women staff with salaries and training – amplifying resilience even as public life is restricted.

Read more about our work in Afghanistan.

*Name was changed to protect her identity.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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America can make a good deal with China without abandoning the island.

View of a plant owned by Aguas Antofagasta, a company created 20 years ago that now has three desalination plants to supply drinking water to 184,000 families in that desert city in northern Chile. Credit: Courtesy of Acades

By Orlando Milesi
SANTIAGO, Oct 22 2025 (IPS)

Desalination projects are booming in Chile, with 51 plants planned to process seawater and a combined investment of US$ 24.455 billion. However, these initiatives hardly benefit small-scale farmers, who are threatened by the prolonged drought, and cause environmental concerns.

A survey by the Capital Goods Corporation and the Chilean Desalination and Reuse Association (Acades) revealed that these projects, already in the engineering and construction phases, will add 39,043 liters of water per second in production capacity."Using seawater, desalinated or saline, and reusing wastewater relieves pressure on rivers and aquifers, ensuring water for people, ecosystems, and productive activities" –Rafael Palacios.

Fifteen of these projects belong to the mining sector, eight to the industrial sector, eight to the water utility sector, and 20 are linked to green hydrogen, a clean fuel but very water-intensive, which the country aims to be a major producer of.

Of the future plants, 17 are located in the desert region of Antofagasta, in the far north of this elongated South American country, which lies between the Andes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean.

There are 11 projects in the southern region of Magallanes, followed in number by the regions of Atacama, Coquimbo, and Valparaíso, in the north and center of Chile, which concentrate most of the investment.

Rafael Palacios, executive director of Acades, told IPS that this country “faces a scenario in which water availability in northern and central Chile could decrease by up to 50% by 2060, so we cannot continue to depend solely on continental sources.”

“Using seawater, desalinated or saline, and reusing wastewater relieves pressure on rivers and aquifers, ensuring water for people, ecosystems, and productive activities,” he emphasized.

Currently, 23 desalination plants are already operating in Chile with a capacity of 9,500 liters per second. They primarily serve mining needs, but also industrial and human consumption.

One of the large greenhouses for the hydroponic cultivation of vegetables irrigated with desalinated water, on the farm of one of the 90 members of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Altos de la Portada, in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta. Credit: Courtesy of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Altos de la Portada.

Small-scale farmers benefit

Dolores Jiménez has been president for the last eight years of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Altos de la Portada, in Antofagasta. The association has 90 active members who collectively own 100 hectares where they have created a Hydroponic City.

“We have no water problems thanks to an agreement with Aguas Antofagasta. We have an oasis which we would otherwise not have without that agreement,” Jiménez told IPS by telephone from Antofagasta, the capital of the region of the same name.

Aguas Antofagasta is a private company that desalinates water in the north of this country of 19.7 million inhabitants. The company draws water from the Pacific Ocean using an outfall that extends 600 meters offshore to a depth of 25 meters.

In desalination, outfalls are the underwater pipes that draw seawater and return and disperse the brine in a controlled manner, far from the coast and at an adequate depth.

Founded 20 years ago, the company currently desalinates water in three plants in the municipalities of Antofagasta, Tocopilla, and Tal Tal, supplying 184,000 families in that region.

Dolores Jiménez, president of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Altos de la Portada, shows the strength of the crops thanks to the use of desalinated water that reaches small farmers due to an agreement with Aguas Antofagasta. Credit: Courtesy of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Altos de la Portada

In its project to supply the general population, it included the association of small-scale farmers who grow carrots, broccoli, Italian zucchini, cucumbers, medicinal herbs, and edible flowers.

“They support us with water from the pipeline that goes to Mejillones (a coastal city in the region). They financed the connection for us to fill six 30,000 liter tanks, installed on a plot at the highest point. From there, we distribute it using a water tanker truck,” informed Jiménez.

“Now, thanks to a project by the (state) National Irrigation Commission, we were able to secure 280 million pesos (US$294,000) for an inter-farm connection that will deliver water through pipes to 70 plots,” she added.

This will mean significant savings for the farmers.

Jesús Basáez in his farm in Pullally, on the central coast of Chile. There he grows quinoa, which he irrigates with highly saline water that the grain tolerates without problems. Previously, that saline water forced him to stop producing strawberries. Credit: Orlando Milesi / IPS

In Pullally, in the municipality of Papudo, in the central Valparaíso region, 155 kilometers northwest of Santiago, Jesús Basáez used to grow strawberries alongside a dozen other small farmers. But the crop failed due to the salinity of the groundwater, apparently caused by the drought affecting the La Ligua and Petorca rivers and proximity to the sea.

He then switched to quinoa, which tolerates salinity well. Today he is known as the King of Quinoa, a grain valued for its nutritional properties and versatility, which was an ancestral food of Andean highland peoples and has now spread among small Chilean farmers.

Basáez has three hectares planted with white, red, and black varieties of quinoa, which he irrigates with water obtained from a well, as he told IPS during a visit to his farm.

The public University of Playa Ancha, based in the city of Valparaíso, installed a mobile desalination plant on his farm that uses reverse osmosis to remove components from the saltwater that are harmful for irrigation. Pressure is applied to the saltwater so that it passes through a semipermeable membrane that filters the water, separating the salts.

After successful tests, Basáez is now about to resume his strawberry cultivation.

“It was three years of research, and it was concluded that it is viable to produce non-brackish water to grow strawberries again. The problem is that the cost remains very high and prevents replicating this experience for other farmers,” he said. The mobile plant cost the equivalent of US$ 84,000.

The mobile desalination plant installed on Jesús Basáez’s farm to research the high salinity of the water at the site. For three years, teachers and students from the University of Playa Ancha, in the central Chilean region of Valparaíso, researched how to reduce the water salinity on this agricultural property. Credit: Orlando Milesi / IPS

Debating the effects of desalination

Since 2010, Chile has been facing a long drought with water deficits of around 30%. There was extreme drought in 2019 and 2021, and the country benefited from a normal period in 2024, although the resource deficit persists, in a country where water management is also privatized.

A report from the Climate and Resilience Center of the public University of Chile, known as CR2, indicated that current rates of groundwater use are higher than the recharge capacity of the aquifers, causing a decline in reserves.

In the 23 already operational desalination plants, seawater is extracted using outfalls that are not very long, installed along the coastline of a shore that has numerous concessions and uses dedicated to aquaculture, artisanal fishermen, and indigenous communities.

The main problem is the discharge of brine following the industrial desalination process.

“I will never be against obtaining water for human consumption. Although this highly concentrated brine that goes to the seabed has an impact where a large part of our benthic resources (organisms from the bottom of water bodies) are located. On a local scale, except in the discharge area, this impact has never been evaluated,” Laura Farías, a researcher at the public University of Concepción and at CR2, told IPS.

“There is literature that points out that there is undoubtedly an impact. There are different stages of biological cycles, from larvae to settled organisms. There is even an impact on pelagic organisms that have the ability to move. And also an impact at the ecosystem level,” the academic specified by telephone from Concepción, a city in central Chile.

She added that this impact is proportional to the volume of desalinated water.

Jesús Basáez, in the municipality of Papudo, poses showing a mature quinoa plant in one hand and in the other a container designed to sell each kilogram of the grain he produces in its white, red, and black varieties. Credit: Orlando Milesi / IPS

According to Farías, the water crisis has led to desalination being part of the solution, despite its impact on marine ecosystems, coastal vegetation, and wildlife.

“It is a maladaptation, because in the end it will have impacts that will affect the coastal inhabitants who depend on those resources,” she emphasized.

There are currently initiatives to legislate on the use of the coastal zone, but according to Farías, they seek to “normalize, regularize, and standardize those impacts, after these plants already exist and there are others seeking approval.”

Palacios, the director of Acades, has a different opinion.

The concerns about the environmental impact of desalination on coastal ecosystems are legitimate, but current evidence and technology demonstrate that this impact can be managed effectively, he says.

“In Chile, recent studies show no evidence that the operation of desalination plants has so far caused significant environmental impacts, thanks to constant monitoring and advanced diffusion systems,” he detailed.

He added that “in most cases, the natural salinity concentration is restored within two or three seconds and at less than 20 meters from the outfalls.”

Palacios explained that research by the Environmental Hub of the University of Playa Ancha “confirms increases in salinity of less than 5% within 100 meters.” And in areas like Caldera, a coastal city in the northern Atacama region, they are “less than 3% within 50 meters, limiting the areas of influence to small zones.”

“We are already implementing the first Clean Production Agreement in desalination and water reuse, promoted together with the (state) Agency for Sustainability and Climate Change, advancing towards voluntary standards for sustainable management, transparency, and strengthening the link with communities,” he emphasized.

Promotion du livre | Voyage à reculons dans les Balkans occidentaux | 21.10. | 18h | IF Sarajevo
Promocija knjige | Voyage à reculons dans les Balkans occidentaux | 21.10. | 18h | IF Sarajevo
A travers cet ouvrage, Ombeline Duprat nous entraîne à travers la Bosnie-Herzégovine, la Serbie et le Kosovo, au fil de rencontres et de témoignages intimes. Plus qu'un carnet de voyage, ce récit interroge la mémoire, l'histoire récente et l'art de vivre d'une région souvent réduite à ses blessures. (…)

- Agenda / Dans les Balkans, Bosnie-Herzégovine

Promotion du livre | Voyage à reculons dans les Balkans occidentaux | 21.10. | 18h | IF Sarajevo
Promocija knjige | Voyage à reculons dans les Balkans occidentaux | 21.10. | 18h | IF Sarajevo
A travers cet ouvrage, Ombeline Duprat nous entraîne à travers la Bosnie-Herzégovine, la Serbie et le Kosovo, au fil de rencontres et de témoignages intimes. Plus qu'un carnet de voyage, ce récit interroge la mémoire, l'histoire récente et l'art de vivre d'une région souvent réduite à ses blessures. (…)

- Agenda / Dans les Balkans, Bosnie-Herzégovine

Der Biohort Europa 3 ist mehr als nur eine Aufbewahrungslösung für Ihren Garten. Mit seiner robusten Konstruktion aus wetterfesten Materialien bietet er eine langlebige und sichere Möglichkeit, Ihre Gartenmöbel und Werkzeuge zu verstauen. Ein integriertes Schloss und Bolzen sorgen dafür, dass Ihre Habseligkeiten stets geschützt sind.

Nicht nur funktional, sondern auch ästhetisch ansprechend: Der Biohort Europa 3 fügt sich nahtlos in jede Gartengestaltung ein. Eines seiner herausragenden Merkmale ist der geräumige Stauraum, der genug Platz für all Ihre Gartengeräte und Zubehörteile bereitstellt. Seine pflegeleichten Oberflächen machen die Reinigung zudem unkompliziert und schnell.

Dank einer detaillierten Anleitung ist die Montage des Biohort Europa 3 kinderleicht und kann mit minimalem Aufwand erledigt werden. Erhältlich in verschiedenen Farben und Größen, passt dieses vielseitige Gartenhaus perfekt zu Ihren Bedürfnissen und Vorlieben. Wenn Sie auf der Suche nach einer platzsparenden und zugleich eleganten Lösung sind, werden Sie am Biohort Europa 3 Ihre wahre Freude haben.

Das Wichtigste in Kürze

• Robuste, wetterfeste Konstruktion für langanhaltenden Schutz der Gartenmöbel und Werkzeuge
• Integriertes Schloss und Bolzen bieten erhöhte Sicherheit
• Viel Stauraum für Gartengeräte und Zubehör
• Einfache Montage dank detaillierter Anleitung
• Erhältlich in verschiedenen Farben und Größen

Robuste Konstruktion für langlebige Gartenmöbelaufbewahrung

Der Biohort Europa 3 überzeugt durch seine robuste Konstruktion, die speziell entwickelt wurde, um eine langfristige und zuverlässige Aufbewahrung für Ihre Gartenmöbel zu gewährleisten. Die hochwertige Verarbeitung sorgt dafür, dass Sie viele Jahre Freude daran haben werden.

Nützliche Links: MSC World Europa Passagiere: Fakten und Infos

Wetterfeste Materialien schützen vor Regen und Schnee Biohort Europa 3: Ihr Gartenfreund

Die wetterfesten Materialien des Biohort Europa 3 bieten einen optimalen Schutz vor den Elementen, einschließlich Regen und Schnee. So bleibt der Inhalt stets trocken und geschützt.

Es gibt keine schlechten Wetterbedingungen, nur schlechte Ausrüstung. – Alfred Wainwright

Sicherheit durch integriertes Schloss und Bolzen

Biohort Europa 3 legt großen Wert auf die Sicherheit Ihrer Gartenmöbel und Geräte. Aus diesem Grund ist das Gartenhaus mit einem integrierten Schloss und stabilen Bolzen ausgestattet, die Ihnen ein hohes Maß an Sicherheit bieten.

Platzsparend und ästhetisch im Garten integriert

Der Biohort Europa 3 ist nicht nur ein Nützlichkeitswunder, sondern auch eine Bereicherung für Ihren Garten. Dank seiner kompakten Maße lässt er sich platzsparend aufstellen und fügt sich dabei harmonisch in Ihre Grünanlage ein.

Interessanter Artikel: Camping Europa Gardasee: Ihr Outdoor-Abenteuer

.table-responsiv {width: 100%;padding: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;overflow-y: hidden;border: 1px solid #DDD;overflow-x: auto;min-height: 0.01%;} Merkmal Beschreibung Vorteil Robuste Konstruktion Hochwertige und langlebige Materialien Langlebigkeit Wetterfest Schutz vor Regen und Schnee Schutz der Inhalte Integriertes Schloss Mit stabilen Bolzen Erhöhte Sicherheit Viel Stauraum für Gartengeräte und Zubehör Viel Stauraum für Gartengeräte und Zubehör – Biohort Europa 3: Ihr Gartenfreund

Der Biohort Europa 3 bietet reichlich Stauraum für Ihre Gartengeräte und Zubehör. Dank seiner durchdachten Konstruktion können Sie alles übersichtlich und griffbereit aufbewahren. Mit diesem Gartenfreund haben Sie endlich Platz für all Ihre Werkzeuge, ohne Kompromisse bei der Ordnung einzugehen.

Mehr dazu: Gehört Israel zu Europa?: Eine Analyse

Pflegeleichte Oberflächen und einfache Reinigung

Die Oberflächen des Biohort Europa 3 sind besonders pflegeleicht gestaltet. Dank der hochwertigen Materialien und der durchdachten Verarbeitung lässt sich der Schrank mühelos reinigen. Ein einfaches Abwischen mit Wasser genügt oft, um die Oberfläche wieder strahlend sauber zu bekommen. Da kein spezielles Reinigungsmittel erforderlich ist, können Sie mühelos für ein gepflegtes Aussehen sorgen.

Einfache Montage dank detaillierter Anleitung

Die Montage des Biohort Europa 3 ist besonders benutzerfreundlich und erfordert kein spezielles Vorwissen. Dank einer detaillierten Anleitung, die alle Schritte anschaulich erklärt, können Sie das Gartenhaus schnell und problemlos aufstellen.

Verschiedene Farben und Größen verfügbar

Damit Ihr neuer Gartenfreund perfekt zu Ihrem Außenbereich passt, gibt es den Biohort Europa 3 in einer Vielzahl von Farben und Größen. Wählen Sie zwischen modernen und klassischen Farbtönen, um sicherzustellen, dass das Gartenhaus sowohl funktional als auch optisch ansprechend ist. Unterschiedliche Größenoptionen ermöglichen Ihnen die optimale Nutzung des verfügbaren Platzes und sorgen für genügend Stauraum für all Ihre Gartengeräte und Zubehör.

FAQ: Antworten auf häufig gestellte Fragen Wie groß ist der Biohort Europa 3? Der Biohort Europa 3 ist in verschiedenen Größen erhältlich. Die Standardausführung hat die Abmessungen 244 cm x 316 cm x 209 cm (L x B x H), aber es gibt auch kleinere und größere Varianten je nach Bedarf. Welche Farben stehen für Biohort Europa 3 zur Verfügung? Der Biohort Europa 3 ist in mehreren Farben erhältlich, darunter Silbergrau, Dunkelgrau-Metallic, Quarzgrau-Metallic und Dunkelgrün. Damit können Sie das Gartenhaus gut an die Optik Ihres Gartens anpassen. Benötige ich für die Montage spezialisierte Werkzeuge? Für die Montage des Biohort Europa 3 sind keine spezialisierten Werkzeuge erforderlich. Ein einfaches Heimwerkerset mit Schraubendreher, Wasserwaage und Gummihammer reicht in der Regel aus. Ist eine Genehmigung für den Aufbau des Biohort Europa 3 notwendig? Ob eine Genehmigung erforderlich ist, hängt von den örtlichen Bauvorschriften ab. Es ist empfehlenswert, sich vor dem Aufbau bei Ihrer Gemeinde zu informieren, ob eine Genehmigung erforderlich ist. Kann der Biohort Europa 3 im Winter genutzt werden? Ja, der Biohort Europa 3 kann das ganze Jahr über genutzt werden. Die wetterfesten Materialien und die robuste Konstruktion schützen den Inhalt auch bei extremen Wetterbedingungen wie Schnee und Frost. Wie viele Personen werden für die Montage benötigt? Für die Montage des Biohort Europa 3 werden mindestens zwei Personen empfohlen, um den Aufbau sicher und effizient durchführen zu können. Gibt es eine Garantie auf den Biohort Europa 3? Ja, der Biohort Europa 3 kommt mit einer Garantie von 20 Jahren auf das Material. Diese Garantie deckt Material- und Herstellungsfehler ab. Kann ich zusätzliche Regale oder Aufbewahrungslösungen in den Biohort Europa 3 integrieren? Ja, der Biohort Europa 3 bietet die Möglichkeit, zusätzliche Regale und Aufbewahrungslösungen zu integrieren, die separat erhältlich sind. Diese helfen, den Stauraum optimal zu nutzen. Ist der Biohort Europa 3 auch für den Einsatz in Küstennähe geeignet? Ja, dank seiner hochwertigen und korrosionsbeständigen Materialien ist der Biohort Europa 3 auch für den Einsatz in Küstennähe geeignet, wo er den salzhaltigen Luftbedingungen standhält. Können Ersatzteile für den Biohort Europa 3 nachbestellt werden? Ja, für den Biohort Europa 3 können jederzeit Ersatzteile nachbestellt werden. Der Hersteller bietet einen umfangreichen Kundenservice, über den Ersatzteile unkompliziert bezogen werden können.

Der Beitrag Biohort Europa 3: Ihr Gartenfreund erschien zuerst auf Neurope.eu - News aus Europa.

Credit: Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters via Gallo Images

By Inés M. Pousadela
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Oct 21 2025 (IPS)

When thousands of Georgians filled the streets of Tbilisi in 2023 to protest against their government’s proposed ‘foreign agents’ law, they understood what their leaders were trying to do: this wasn’t about transparency or accountability; it was about silencing dissent. Though the government was forced to withdraw the legislation, it returned with renewed determination in 2024, passing a renamed version despite even bigger protests. The law has effectively frozen Georgia’s hopes of joining the European Union.

Georgia’s repressive law is just one example of a disturbing global trend documented in CIVICUS’s new report, Cutting civil society’s lifeline: the global spread of foreign agents laws. From Central America to Central Asia, from Africa to the Balkans, governments are adopting legislation that brands civil society organisations and independent media as paid agents of foreign interests. Foreign agents laws are proliferating at an alarming rate, posing a growing threat to civil society. Since 2020, El Salvador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe have all enacted such laws, while many more states have proposed similar measures.

Russia established the blueprint for this architecture of repression in 2012, when Vladimir Putin’s government introduced legislation requiring any civil society organisation that received foreign funding and engaged in broadly defined ‘political activity’ to register as a foreign agent. This offered an impossible choice: accept a stigmatising designation that effectively brands organisations as foreign spies, or cease operations. Russia repeatedly expanded its crackdown, and by 2016, at least 30 groups had chosen to shut down rather than accept the designation. The European Court of Human Rights has unequivocally condemned Russia’s law as violating fundamental civic freedoms, yet this hasn’t prevented other states eagerly adopting the same model.

The pretence that these laws promote transparency is fundamentally disingenuous. Civil society organisations that receive international support are already subject to rigorous accountability requirements imposed by their donors. In contrast, governments often receive substantial foreign funding yet face no equivalent disclosure obligations. This double standard reveals the true purpose of these laws: not transparency, but control. In practice, almost any public interest activity can be deemed political under foreign agents laws, including human rights advocacy, election monitoring and efforts to strengthen democracy. States deliberately leave definitions vague and broad to allow discretionary enforcement and targeting of organisations they don’t like.

The impacts can be devastating. Nicaragua provides a particularly extreme example of the use of foreign agents laws to dismantle civil society. President Daniel Ortega has used such legislation as part of a comprehensive repressive arsenal that has shuttered over 5,600 organisations, roughly 80 per cent of all groups that once operated in the country. State security forces have raided suspended organisations, seized their offices and confiscated their assets, while thousands of academics, activists and journalists have been driven into exile. With only state-controlled organisations remaining operational, Nicaragua has become a full-blown authoritarian regime where independent voices have been eliminated and civic space has slammed shut.

In Kyrgyzstan, a foreign agents law passed in March 2024 has had an immediate chilling effect. Organisations have scaled back their activities, some have re-registered as commercial entities and others have proactively ceased operations to avoid fines for non-compliance. The Open Society Foundations closed its long-established grant-making office in the country. Meanwhile, in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele’s government imposed a punitive 30 per cent tax on all foreign grants alongside stigmatising labels and registration requirements, forcing major civil society organisations to shut down their offices.

Foreign agents laws impose systematic barriers through complex registration processes, demanding reporting requirements and frequent audits that force many smaller organisations to close. The threat of harsh penalties – including heavy fines, licence revocations and imprisonment for non-compliance – creates a climate of fear that frequently leads to self-censorship and organisational dissolution. By restricting foreign funding while offering no measures to expand domestic funding sources, governments make civil society organisations dependent on state approval, curtailing their autonomy. And by forcing them to wear the stigmatising ‘foreign agent’ label, governments ensure they lose public trust, making it harder to mount a defence when further crackdowns follow.

Yet there are grounds for hope. Civil society has shown remarkable resilience in resisting foreign agents laws, and street mobilisation and legal challenges have sometimes stalled or rolled back these measures. Ukraine’s rapid reversal of its 2014 foreign agents law following mass protests showed that immediate pushback can come when the political moment is right. Ethiopia changed its restrictive 2009 law in 2019, while Hungary was forced to drop its 2017 law following a 2020 European Court of Justice ruling. In May 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitutional Court suspended a foreign agents law, recognising it violated freedom of association.

International legal pressure has been vital. The European Court of Human Rights’ categorical condemnation of Russia’s legislation established crucial precedents. These decisions provided a foundation for challenging similar laws elsewhere. However, authoritarian governments may adapt their strategies and implement new versions of restrictive legislation, as seen in Hungary’s 2023 introduction of a new ‘sovereignty protection’ law.

The acceleration of this trend since 2020 reflects broader patterns of democratic regression around the world. Authoritarian political leaders are capitalising on legitimate concerns about foreign interference to create legal tools that serve their repressive agendas. The danger extends beyond current adopters. Bulgaria’s parliament has rejected foreign agents bills five times, yet a far-right party keeps reintroducing them. Turkey’s autocratic government shelved its proposed law following public backlash in 2024, only to reintroduce an amended version months later.

Coordinated resistance is essential before foreign agents laws become normalised. There’s an urgent need for international courts to expedite consideration of cases and develop emergency procedures for situations where civil society faces immediate threats. Democratic governments must avoid adopting stigmatising legislation, impose targeted sanctions on foreign officials responsible for enacting foreign agents laws and provide safe haven for activists forced to flee. Funders must establish emergency mechanisms with rapid-disbursement grants, while civil society must strengthen international solidarity networks to share resistance strategies and expose the true intent of these laws.

The alternative to coordinated action is to watch idly as independent voices are systematically silenced. Civil society’s right to exist and operate freely must be defended.

Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Head of Research and Analysis, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

 

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Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

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Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

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Source : © Union européenne, 2025 - PE

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Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

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Forrás : © Európai Unió, 2025 - EP

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Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2025 - EP

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2025 - EP