The cessation of US aid has hit independent civil society hard. Activists, anti-corruption organisations, and independent media are all at risk

At the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy at People in Need, we have long focused on the protection and support of human rights defenders. In the wake of this unprecedented situation, we have increased financial assistance to key human rights and media organisations that have been affected by the cessation of US funding and that are indispensable to civil society.

These include independent media, which are the only credible source of information for some linguistic minorities, or organisations with many years of experience in documenting human rights violations. A complete shutdown of their activities will ensure that a section of the population gets their information exclusively from media funded by Russia and China or that cases of torture would go unreported and, therefore, unpunished.

The lack of resources will have a major impact on the work of civil society in totalitarian and authoritarian regimes - including the most repressive ones such as Cuba, Belarus, and Vietnam—but also on the work of journalists and anti-corruption activists in countries where they face threats and risks, such as Guatemala and Moldova. These people face enormous pressure from power structures, and stopping funding will worsen their situation and deal a severe blow to civil society's ability to develop, remain active and, above all, to protect and promote fundamental human rights. 

This is an existential crisis for civil society, not only in non-democratic regimes

We are working to fill these gaps, but the lack of resources is significant, and the outage is also affecting us. For example, we supported 27 CSOs last year through the US-funded Lifeline Fund. We have helped to create a network of sanctuaries for activists in Latin America or provide legal aid to the politically persecuted in Central Asia, and we have also relocated activists at risk and provided humanitarian assistance. The Lifeline Fund has been shut down after 14 years of existence, meaning that thousands of activists at risk will go unsupported in the coming years.

The aforementioned budget cuts of 40-100% are an existential crisis for civil societies in repressive environments. Without timely intervention and other sources of funding, many communities will lose access to independent news sources and human rights defenders will find their lives in danger.

The changes will lead to the abolition of many relocation programmes. The end of this aid will affect human rights defenders in Belarus, Venezuela, and other countries where they face imprisonment or death.

What is the impact of stopping funding for CSOs and activists working in the countries where we operate?

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Across the region, media and human rights organisations key to democratic processes, including those working to safeguard fair and free elections, have been most affected. The ability of civil society to counterbalance Russian propaganda by providing reliable and accurate information is now severely limited.

The complex economic situation across the region, coupled with ongoing conflict, systemic corruption and the strong influence of oligarchs, means that human rights actors and independent media have historically relied on grants as a lifeline to survive. However, given the generally low incomes of the general population and the fact that political interest groups control advertising markets, their fundraising options are extremely limited. 

In Eastern Europe, in countries such as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, independent media and human rights organisations have lost between 40% and 90% of their annual budgets, according to our partners on the ground. Funding covered basic expenses such as salaries, rent, utilities, etc. The situation in Georgia is particularly worrying, where independent organisations are facing increasing political repression and where the US has been the main donor. Moldova is facing parliamentary elections this year, which will decide the geopolitical direction of the country.

In Belarus and Russia, the funding freeze has mainly affected legal aid to imprisoned journalists and human rights defenders and their families, support for media in exile and feminist and LGBT+ projects. The vast majority of civil society in Belarus and Russia have been forced into exile in recent years and branded as foreign agents or—in the case of the entire LGBT+ movement—extremists, cutting off their access to fundraising among domestic audiences. This meant that they relied on international grants as a source of steady income. The cessation of US financial support is expected to force about seven out of ten CSOs to close. 

Cuts in funding will inevitably lead to job losses, which will worsen the position of individuals in exile, and employees and their families may lose their visas and residence permits in the new countries. The freeze undermines their financial stability and security, as most cannot return to Russia or Belarus due to the ongoing repression.

The cessation of funding has also had a devastating impact on CSOs in Central Asia, with losses of funding ranging from 50% to 100%. LGBT+ initiatives have also been severely affected. In Azerbaijan, where government repression has been ongoing since the end of 2023, the freeze on US funding has significantly affected civil society and independent media. Human rights defenders and independent journalists who have moved into exile due to persecution have lost 50-80% of their funding and now need support to cover their daily living costs.

Egypt and Libya

In Egypt, budget cuts to CSOs range from 60-100%. The most affected have been legal aid provided to human rights defenders, journalists, and those unjustly imprisoned for freedom of expression and assembly. Some CSOs have also lost the means to transfer project funds into the country (foreign funding is illegal under Egyptian law ). There has been a huge impact on services provided to migrants and refugees in Libya and on monitoring conditions in detention centres.

Vietnam and Southeast Asia

In Vietnam, our information shows that several established NGOs have lost 50 to 60% of their funding. In some organisations, staff have had to move to volunteer positions.

The United States has been a major source of funding for NGOs throughout Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The situation is worse in the area of protection of vulnerable people. In Thailand, which has functioned as a safe haven for relocation and where most refugee relief organisations have depended on US funds, many exiles find themselves in precarious and threatening situations. People who should have been relocated from Thailand to the US remain in place with no prospect of a secure future and at risk of persecution. Thailand does not grant refugee status, and dissidents are at risk of abduction and extradition to the country from which they have fled. There is a well-known case from February this year in which 40 Uighur refugees who had been held in a detention centre for 10 years were extradited to China. 

Latin America 

Cuts in US funding have hit Latin America hard. Of the 95 programmes supporting opposition organisations and political prisoners in countries such as Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, 92 have been cancelled. 

The independent media in Nicaragua is on the verge of extinction. They have no money to operate, they are laying off staff, and some may have to close altogether. People at risk have been left without help, and relocation programmes for human rights defenders have been halted. Former political prisoners from Nicaragua who have found refuge in Guatemala have lost support for basic needs such as food and housing. 

In Costa Rica, the UNHCR office which received financing from the US State Department has had to lay off staff, leading to long delays in processing refugee claims. Human rights organisations have had to close offices, switch to working from home, and reduce working hours.