For non-government organizations in the developing world, a major problem is shrinking sources of funding triggered by tighter budgets in the developed world. But many developing world governments are not helping either. In fact, some are becoming increasingly intrusive towards NGO funding, especially toward rights organizations.
In the ongoing funding for human rights debate, Saskia Brechenmacher and Thomas Carothers talk about how this closing space has become a phenomenon worldwide. Medha Patkar and Lenin Raghuvanshi discuss the Indian government’s paranoia about foreign funding, Tor Hodenfield documents how foreign funding has been all but criminalized in Ethiopia, while Maina Kiai discusses how a similar law was barely averted in Kenya.
The latest in line is the 2014 Foreign Contributions (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act, which was approved by the Bangladeshi government and is likely to be passed during the current parliamentary session. Drafted in a climate of shrinking space for divergent views, the law, aimed at regulating the flow of foreign funds into the country, has been described by some local NGO activists as draconian.
