Across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, civic space is increasingly under pressure. A growing number of countries in the Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) region are adopting laws and practices that restrict fundamental civic freedoms and limit the ability of independent civil society to operate. These include so-called “foreign agent” legislation, bans on “LGBTQI+ propaganda” and “drug propaganda,” as well as other legal and regulatory measures that constrain public participation and advocacy.
Such developments have a disproportionate impact on organizations providing health, social care, and human rights services to highly criminalized and stigmatized communities, including LGBTQI+ people, people living with HIV, people who use drugs, and sex workers. Increasing legal, financial, and administrative burdens are undermining the capacity of these organizations to carry out essential work and to respond to the needs of the communities they serve.
A first-ever comprehensive regional analysis examining the shrinking civic space in relation to marginalized populations has been conducted by community-led regional networks ECOM, EHRA, EWNA, and SWAN. This research offers critical insight into how restrictive environments are reshaping civil society action across the region.
The report launch event invites participants to engage with the key findings of the regional report “Shrinking Civic Space & Marginalized Populations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.” The report analyzes legal frameworks, enforcement practices, and documented incidents across ten countries—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan—and examines their impact on the ability of civil society and community-led organizations to continue delivering health, social care, and human rights services.
The event offers an opportunity to better understand current regional trends, their consequences for marginalized populations, and the implications for civil society resilience and sustainability in increasingly restrictive environments.
25 February 2026, 11.00-13.00 Kyiv time
