Shrinking civic space threatens rights, health, and safety. Join us to explore its impacts on LGBTQI+, people living with HIV, people who use drugs, and sex workers in EECA.
25 February 2026, 11.00-13.00 Kyiv time | Zoom
The link to the full report will be available on the day of the launch event.
An increasing number of countries in Central Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) region are introducing laws and practices restricting civic freedoms and narrowing the space for independent civil society actions – such as “foreign agent”-type legislation, ban of so-called “LGBTQI+ propaganda” and “drug propaganda” and other legislative and regulatory restrictions. These measures impose additional legal, financial, and administrative pressures on organizations providing health and social care to highly criminalized and stigmatized populations: LGBTQI+ communities, people living with HIV, people who use drugs, sex workers.
A first ever comprehensive analysis of the shrinking civic space in relation to marginalized populations has been implemented by community-led regional networks: ECOM, EHRA, EWNA and SWAN.
The Report launch event will provide participants with the insight into the findings of the regional report “Shrinking civic space & marginalized populations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia“ which examines legal frameworks, enforcement practices and documented incidents in ten EECA countries — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan – and their impact on the ability of civil society and community-led organizations to continue delivering health, social care and human rights services.
