News & research

We share updates, stories, resources and analyses to protect spaces for action and inspire change. Read our latest news!

Content type

Year

Highlighted

Participatory Democracies

Resisting restrictive laws: A practical guide for democracy defenders

Research

01-07-2026

New guide by ECNL and D-Hub provides the most useful legal tools, resources and strategies for pushback against laws that restrict the space for civic activism.

Participatory Democracies

How different security frameworks are combined and misused to restrict and censor activists and civil society

Research

12-06-2026

New study by Stephen Reimer and ECNL unpacks how AML/CFT frameworks often facilitate ‘foreign agent and interference’ laws and transnational repression, inviting civic activists to push back.

Participatory Democracies

Rethinking resilience: New podcast episode

News

12-05-2026

TAI and ECNL brings together civil society leaders and funders to explore how organisations and communities navigate uncertainty, pressure and change – and what it takes to fund resilience.

Just Societies

Civil disobedience in digitally networked spaces

Research

23-03-2026

This research paper explores migrant protests, criminalisation, and relevant international human rights standards.

Digital Spaces

How AI is powering transnational repression

Research

03-03-2026

This scoping study examines the growing use of digital technologies by governments to suppress dissent beyond their borders, with a particular focus on how AI is transforming transnational repression.

Participatory Democracies

Looking beyond the horizon: the future of democratic participation

How could emerging social, technological, political and behavioural shifts reshape democratic life at the European, national and local levels?

News

Participatory Democracies

How de-risking creates compliance risks for banks

New EU legislation will require banks to account for the human rights consequences of their business decisions, including financial exclusion.

Research

Participatory Democracies

Strengthening freedom of association: ECNL's Comments to the UN Human Rights Committee

Read ECNL’s comments on how the upcoming General Comment No. 38 can strengthen safeguards for individuals, organisations and movements to exercise and defend their right to associate.

News

Digital Spaces

Apply for the Digital Rights Exchange Programme: A unique in-person Global Majority–Global North exchange

Build partnerships, exchange expertise and strengthen your digital rights advocacy through this unique CADE opportunity.

News

Digital Spaces

Calling for meaningful civil society participation in the AI for Good Global Commission

Over 45 organisations and experts call on the ITU to ensure civil society expertise can meaningfully inform global digital governance work.

News

Digital Spaces

Four things to know about the EU AI Act Advisory Forum

This explainer looks at why civil society expertise is important in the Advisory Forum, and the key questions that remain about how it will carry out its mandate.

News

Participatory Democracies

Resisting restrictive laws: A practical guide for democracy defenders

New guide by ECNL and D-Hub provides the most useful legal tools, resources and strategies for pushback against laws that restrict the space for civic activism.

Research

Participatory Democracies

How different security frameworks are combined and misused to restrict and censor activists and civil society

New study by Stephen Reimer and ECNL unpacks how AML/CFT frameworks often facilitate ‘foreign agent and interference’ laws and transnational repression, inviting civic activists to push back.

Research

Participatory Democracies

Rethinking resilience: New podcast episode

TAI and ECNL brings together civil society leaders and funders to explore how organisations and communities navigate uncertainty, pressure and change – and what it takes to fund resilience.

News