May 2025 in Europe and Central Asia: A free expression and civic space round-up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Cathal Sheerin, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

The spectre of ‘foreign agent’ legislation is haunting Europe. Introduced by authoritarians, and presented as necessary for ‘state security’, the true aim of such legislation is always to silence ...

Automated moderation on social media is blocking Arabic sexual and reproductive health content, leaving activists scrambling to keep vital information accessible.

A wave of laws cloaked in the language of national security, international compliance, and public morality is sweeping across Africa. These measures silence individuals and dismantle the organisations ...

Across the Middle East and North Africa, broad national security, counter-terrorism, and public morality laws are increasingly restricting civil society organisations. Governments are wielding vague ...

In the Americas, constraints and pressures on civic space are mounting. While recent years have seen a rise in troubling legislation restricting access to information and enabling state surveillance, ...

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese journalists bravely reporting amid life-threatening risks and demand that all governments, press freedom organisations, and human rights bodies ...

While PECA has been used to stifle journalists, it has also been used to intimidate the country’s various marginalised communities. Journalist Kunwar Khuldune Shahid explores the effects of Pakistan’s ...

Sulemana Braimah evaluates the critical role of the media through three decades of Ghana's political history. This statement was originally published on mfwa.org on 10 July 2023. The speech below was ...

Your State has committed to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms. This is what the Sustainable Development Goal 16.10 affirms. Is your government meeting its commitment ...

Signatories urge the government of Nepal and Parliament to refrain from developing and implementing legislation that empowers government with overreaching powers, including through overbroad and vague ...

Uganda's growing use of AI highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive national framework to protect citizens' digital rights. This statement was originally published on cipesa.org on 14 February ...