The risk is especially great for organizations focusing on human rights defense
Defunding is among the most significant risks non-governmental organizations worldwide face at a time when legal needs are rising, according to recent research released by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Eighty-one percent of organizations concentrating on human rights defense reported that lack of funding was among the three biggest risks for them. Seventy-four percent of organizations working in the civil society sector also cited it as a major risk.
To address financial concerns, 36 percent of NGOs are prioritizing the generation of new funding streams.
According to Mandeep Tiwana, CIVICUS Alliance secretary general, civil society’s defunding is “a deliberate tactic being replicated by authoritarians and populists around the world. They fear civil society activists and organisations whom they view as a threat to their unrestrained power, their corrupt ways and desire to perpetuate repressive rule.”
Defunding has also been a factor in rising legal needs globally, with 34 percent of organizations citing it as a key driver. Across Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America, 50 percent of organizations said legal needs had ticked up; in North America and Asia, this percentage soared to 70 and 65 percent, respectively.
Thirty-six percent attributed the increase to new and/or stricter legislation aimed at civil society. Regulatory compliance was a particularly risky area, with related critical legal need increasing by 4.5 percentage points. Critical legal need for data protection soared by 9 percentage points, while that for ‘navigating political restrictions’ jumped by 7 percentage points – for human rights defense-centered organizations, the increase was by 11 percentage points.
“As governments tighten regulations and funding becomes more precarious, smaller, frontline NGOs – especially those defending human rights – are being forced to divert precious time and resources into simply staying compliant and operational,” said Kathryn Beck, Thomson Reuters Foundation’s acting director of access to law, in a statement.
Twenty-five percent of NGOs are also prioritizing the scaling and expansion of programs, while 16 percent are rolling out new programs and projects.
“Every dollar spent firefighting legal and regulatory threats is a dollar not spent on delivering their vital services to communities at risk. Pro bono legal support that doesn’t chip away at these organisations’ limited funds is no longer a 'nice to have' but an essential lifeline,” Beck said.
Thomson Reuters Foundation surveyed about 150 organizations in the civil society sectors in Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Most respondents were grassroots organizations with under 50 staff.
The report was released to commemorate Human Rights Day.
The foundation has been collaborating with law firms and in-house legal teams within its TrustLaw network to support NGOs. It has aided in establishing legal clinics on bolstering regulatory compliance in light of greater government scrutiny, workshops on the post-USAID funding landscape, and legal guidance for organisations dealing with foreign agent laws.
