The International Office for Human Rights Action on Colombia

Joint statement on the attacks on NGOs in the European Parliament

More than 570 other organisations, are joining forces to denounce attacks on European civil society organisations by certain Members of the European Parliament and call all democratic forces to counter this narrative.

European civil society organisations (CSOs) are currently facing an unprecedented attack coming from certain Members of the European Parliament. The attack, spearheaded by some MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP) and by the farright groups, is fuelled by disinformation. The attack resorts to misleading arguments to artificially fabricate a scandal, and is carried and amplified by badly informed media articles. At a time when democratic values are being eroded across the EU and Member States, and civic actors acting for these values are increasingly under attack, this renewed offensive on funding for CSOs and on our legitimacy in the democratic process risks not only shrinking European civic spaces further but weakening democracy as a whole.

We call on all democratic forces to oppose false narratives and disinformation around the role of civil society organisations, to protect our unique role in European democracy and to support public funding for civil society. Civic participation is an essential pillar of our shared European values. We call on decision-makers to ensure a robust legal framework in which civil society and citizens organisations can thrive and play their role in interacting with policy-makers in order to have a more fully informed decision-making process. Democracy is about the right of citizens to be collectively heard for building an inclusive society and a shared European future and properly funded independent CSOs are a crucial tool for that.

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