- Report is the outcome of an extensive regional data collection effort, conducted in 2025. Drawing on structured inputs from ten countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan), the report examines the civic space and legal environment context affecting community-led HIV and TB responses in EECA.
- Grounded in international human-rights standards, the analysis focuses on four interrelated dimensions that are central to the functioning of civil society and the sustainability of community-led responses: freedom of association; freedom of peaceful assembly; freedom of expression and access to information; and the criminalization of key populations and protection from reprisal.
Prepared by Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) in partnership with Eurasian Coalition for Health, Rights and Sexual Diversity (ECOM), Eurasian Women’s Network on AIDS (EWNA) and Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network (SWAN) to ensure the effects of the shrinking civic space and criminalization relevant to LGBTQI+ communities, people living with HIV, people who use drugs and sex workers are reflected.
Launch of the report took place on 25 February 2025. Below please find the related materials:
- Event recording in English and Russian.
- Presentation of the report findings in English and Russian.
- Presentation from OHCHR representative in English.
- Report “Shrinking civic space & marginalised communities in EECA” in English.
“CIVICUS assessments of the Europe and Central Asia region show a predominantly constrained civic-space environment, with a significant number of countries classified as narrowed, obstructed, repressed or closed. Since approximately 2019–2020, monitoring systems have recorded a steady pattern of deterioration across the region, including new legal restrictions on civil society, increased pressure on independent media, and intensified responses to public protest and advocacy.”
“Laws and provisions on “Anti-Drug Propaganda”, “LGBT propaganda”, “Family Values”, “public morality” and “child protection” narrow the space for evidence-based discussion of key population health and rights, with knock-on effects for HIV prevention, access to accurate information and community empowerment.”
“Community-led organizations across the region have not remained passive in the face of shrinking civic space – through adaptive service delivery, community-led monitoring, coalition-building, strategic litigation and engagement with international human-rights mechanisms, communities continue to assert rights, document harms and influence policy processes despite increasing constraints. These responses highlight both the resilience of community-led movements and the importance of sustained support for evidence-based advocacy in restrictive environments.”