Support in an Age of Relapse: Assisting Security, Justice and Inclusive Governance in Restrictive Environments

Civil society organizations (CSOs), human rights defenders, media outlets and minority groups are increasingly facing government restrictions, as their civic and political space and funding are squeezed. This paper looks at restrictive environments and the roles that CSOs and the international and funding partners that support them can continue to play in the field of security, justice and inclusive governance, despite the challenges they face. It describes the challenges such externally funded, often smaller CSOs face in conducting lobbying, advocacy, dialogue and other activities, and the coping mechanisms they have used. It makes recommendations for international and funding partners on how to proceed in such restrictive environments, based mainly on the experiences of CSO representatives themselves.