Legal Environment

Regional Situation

Over the past decade, legislation limiting or restricting civic and political space has been adopted in several countries of the East and Horn of Africa. Some laws directly target civil society by imposing restrictions on access to funding, but also give authorities disproportionate powers to limit freedom of association, which effectively stifles the scope and work of human rights organisations. Other efforts have been more circumspect, with lawmakers purposefully employing vague language in national security and media legislation, allowing authorities to selectively target human rights defenders and criminalise their work.