Funding of CSOs

Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia

In 2016, the Croatian government adopted a decree that significantly reduced funds allocated from the national lottery to civil society organisations working on human rights and democratisation. The Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia engaged in public consultations and presented recommendations to the government. The NHRI also raised the issue in its 2016 Annual Report to the parliament. In 2017, the government adopted an amended version of the decree that increased the budget for civil society, although this was still under the level of 2015. In 2019, the NHRI continued work on the topic and issued recommendations to the government to adopt a new National Programme of Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, which would underline the importance of creating and maintaining an enabling environment for human rights and civil society.

ENNHRI

For many years, ENNHRI has strongly advocated for the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) at the regional level. First in its 2023 and then its 2025 rule of law report, ENNHRI recommended the European Commission to strengthen the empowerment, promotion and protection of civil society organisations (CSOs) and HRDs; to continue to ensure structural funding for CSOs and HRDs; and to ensure swift support for CSOs and HRDs when facing threats – including through the set-up of a dedicated EU HRD protection mechanism (in consultation and cooperation with NHRIs).

Ahead of the 2025 EU Civil Society Strategy, ENNHRI built on its work on HRDs, compiling practices and information from NHRIs and ENNHRI. It provided the European Commission with input on key areas requiring targeted action. These include:

• Strengthening protection for civil society and HRDs in the EU;
• Empowering their participation and dialogue in the EU; and
• Ensuring adequate and accessible funding for civil society and HRDs in the EU.

The Strategy underscores the role of NHRIs and ENNHRI in monitoring trends on civic space at national and regional level, and acknowledges the relevance of NHRIs within national protection frameworks.

Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia

In 2023, parliamentary discussions on the draft law on “Transparency of Foreign Influence” commenced in Georgia. From the outset of the legislative process, the Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia (PDO) has strongly criticised the bill, underlining major incompatibilities with international human rights and democratic standards. In this vein, the PDO issued a public statement in 2023 expressing concerns.

After the draft law was initially withdrawn due to major mobilisation by civil society and criticism by international stakeholders, the government launched a large-scale crackdown on protests and a denigratory campaign against civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights defenders (HRDs).

In 2024, the parliamentary majority reintroduced the aforementioned draft law on “Transparency of Foreign Influence”, and the bill was finally adopted later that year.

In its 2022-2024 parliamentary reports, the PDO maintained that such legislation contradicts fundamental principles of a democratic society and damages civil society and HRDs, as it aim to undermine public trust in them.

The law’s adoption in 2024 was shortly followed by a Ministerial order, that obliged CSOs to register as the entities “pursuing the interests of foreign power.” The NHRI determined that the requirements of the order were unjustified and detrimental as the large-scale
publication of individuals’ personal data further exacerbated the law’s restrictive and stigmatising impact on individuals employed by the affected organisations.

Consequently, the PDO submitted a recommendation to the Ministry of Justice, requesting personal data not to be subject to disclosure. The PDO’s recommendation was partially accepted and implemented. Although names and surnames remain publicly accessible, even this partial implementation has significantly mitigated the negative impact of the regulation on the protection of personal data.

At present, the draft law is being challenged before the Constitutional Court of Georgia, and the Public Defender has submitted an amicus curiae brief in the ongoing proceedings.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) aims to provide financial assistance (up to once per treaty monitoring cycle) by commissioning organisations to produce joint shadow reports on behalf of wider civil society. It also funds travel for civil society organisations (CSOs) to participate in UN oral evidence sessions to increase the diversity of representation in UN review processes.

For instance, in 2024 the EHRC offered funding to CSOs in Britain of up to £7,500 to provide in-person evidence to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to inform its 7th periodic review of the United Kingdom.

Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary

In Hungary, civil society organisations (CSOs) sent a letter to the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights complaining about an audit initiated by the Government Control Office. The audit started to review the distribution of funds under the CSO Fund of the European Economic Area (EEA) / Norway Grants. The Commissioner called on the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss the signed agreement, clarify its provisions, and define the Control Office’s powers vis-à-vis this funding with the Norwegian government. In 2020, the Norwegian and Hungarian governments reached an agreement to make funding directly available to CSOs and establish a fund operator independent of the Hungarian authorities. In January 2021, the NHRI received the Ambassador of Norway to Hungary to reinforce their cooperation and enhance the execution of the agreement.

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

In the follow-up to its submission to the 2017 session of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission provided information on how austerity measures impact on the functioning of civil society organisations. The Commission highlighted that funding should be restored to pre-austerity levels while ensuring the sustainability of civil society resources. This is particularly relevant for civil society organisations and community groups promoting women’s rights. The Commission recommended that the state adopt measures to ensure that resources allocated to organisations working in the fields of human rights and equality, including women’s rights, are protected from future budget cuts and in economic recessions.

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

In January 2019, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission published a policy statement on the “Electoral Acts and Civil Society Space in Ireland”. The statement outlined concerns related to the Electoral Act 1997 and its definition of ‘political purposes’ and ‘third party’. The Commission underlined that these are overly broad and can affect the functioning of a range of Irish civil society organisations. They can also restrict their advocacy functions while potentially even constraining their ability to work and seek funding. In 2020, the Commission noted that the General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bill does not address these issues. Therefore, in February 2021 the Commission presented a submission to the Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the above mentioned Bill. It stressed that such regulatory measures should avoid placing undue restrictions on wider civil society activity and suggested that a reform of the Electoral Acts is needed.

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

To empower the advocacy and work of civil society, rights-holders, community-led groups and trade unions in Ireland, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission operates a grant scheme to support human rights and equality projects across Ireland. This scheme supports research programmes, training and resource activities, conferences, events, and cultural initiatives. Under its Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme 2021, the Commission supported 28 projects which encompass a range of issues. They include social exclusion and socioeconomic discrimination; racism and discrimination experienced, in particular, by ethnic and minority communities; and empowering people with disabilities to advocate for their rights.

Slovak National Centre for Human Rights

In 2024, the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights addressed a letter to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in relation to the amendment proposal to the Act on non-profit organisations (hereinafter “NGO Act”).

In the letter, the Centre shared its considerations on the draft law, including its adoption process, which was carried out without consultations with civil society organisations (CSOs), thus weakening and undermining trust in civil society. At the same time, the draft law portrayed civil society as an enemy and contributed to the restriction of democratic space and the stigmatisation of organisations.

Following widespread criticism, an amendment was presented to the National Council reformulating the original proposal. The new proposed legislation replaced the obligation to register as a ‘foreign-backed organisation’ with an obligation to register for the activity of “lobbying”, targeting non-governmental non-profit organisations only. In response to the new amendments, the Slovak NHRI published an opinion on its website, asking the deputies of the National Council not to support the parliamentary bill.

In addition, ahead of the second parliamentary hearing in March 2025, the Slovak NHRI requested a legal review of the draft law from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Shortly before the law was adopted in April 2025, certain provisions were removed, including those relating to ‘lobbying’ activities by non-profit NGOs and to the grounds for dissolution due to non-compliance with the newly introduced requirements.

Nonetheless, ODIHR found that the adopted law still did not meet the strict requirements set by international human rights law to limit the right to freedom of association. It concluded that the law should be fully reviewed.