Civil society space under threat in EECA - Contribution to the Draft General Comment No. 38 on ICCPR Article 22 (Freedom of association)

Freedom of association is under significant pressure across Eastern Europe and Central Asia as governments increasingly introduce laws that expand state control over civil society organizations and restrict their access to essential funding. Although eleven countries in the region—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Russia—formally recognize this right within their constitutions, the practical environment for non-governmental and community-led organizations remains highly inconsistent. In 2024, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia adopted "foreign-agent-style" legislation, joining several other nations that have implemented or considered similar mechanisms designed to limit organizational independence.