CIVICUS discusses Ethiopia’s proposed new law to target civil society with Yared Hailemariam, lawyer and Executive Director of the Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Centre (EHRDC), a civil society organisation (CSO) that works to support human rights activists at risk.

In July, Ethiopian authorities introduced draft amendments to the Civil Society Proclamation that would grant government bodies unchecked powers to restrict access to foreign and diaspora funding, suspend or dissolve organisations and eliminate appeal procedures. These measures risk silencing independent voices and further restricting Ethiopia’s already severely limited civic space, undermining civil society’s role in defending rights and promoting transparency and public participation.

What’s the current state of civic space in Ethiopia?

Civic space in Ethiopia is shrinking again. In 2019, a change in government brought hope: a restrictive civil society law was replaced by one that allowed CSOs to work more freely. That law removed barriers to foreign funding and ended bans on advocacy and election monitoring, opening space for independent voices.

But the war in the Tigray region marked a turning point. Civil society was excluded from peace talks and blocked from documenting human rights violations, including massacres and other abuses linked to the conflict.

Now civic space is once again under threat. CSOs are no longer allowed to openly criticise the government or publish reports on human rights violations. Many civic leaders face harassment, intimidation and detention, and some have been forced into exile. The little civic space that remains is reducing. The government is rewriting the old civil society law to make it even more restrictive. We fear we’re heading back to the dark days we thought we’d left behind.

What changes does the new bill propose?

The bill would bring back many of the old restrictions. It would ban Ethiopian CSOs from receiving foreign funding for any activity the government labels ‘political’, including advocacy, civic and voter education and election observation – work central to human rights, accountability and democratic participation.

It would also restructure the body that oversees CSO registration and compliance. The civil society authority’s board would shrink from 11 to seven members, with minimal civil society representation. And its decisions would be final and no longer be subject to legal appeal.

The whole process has been deeply flawed. In 2019, civil society was widely consulted when the law was reformed. This time, there has been no genuine engagement. The Ministry of Justice held only one meeting with a small, hand‑picked group of organisations and deliberately excluded critical voices.

Which groups would be most affected?

If the bill is passed, it would hit human rights organisations hardest. Most already operate with very limited domestic resources and rely on foreign funding to survive. The draft specifically restricts this support, which means many organisations would no longer be able to carry out their work. Foreign organisations would also be barred from supporting local initiatives, further weakening the already fragile human rights ecosystem.

The law would also give authorities sweeping powers to suspend or deregister organisations on vague grounds such as posing a ‘threat to national interest’ or ‘sovereignty’. These terms aren’t defined clearly and could be easily used against critical voices. In practice, any group that tries to work independently or criticise the government could be accused of undermining national unity. This would create a chilling effect, silencing dissent and threatening to shut down meaningful human rights work in Ethiopia. The goal behind this bill is very clear: to control, silence and disable civil society.

What impact would this have on Ethiopia’s democratic development?

Ethiopia’s democratic transition is already at risk, even without this law. Opposition parties are being repressed and many of their leaders, including sitting members of parliament, have been detained or charged under anti-terrorism laws on questionable grounds. The government has also revised the electoral law in ways opposition parties say are extremely restrictive.

Media freedom is under attack. A recent revision of the media law rolled back protections, and Ethiopia now ranks among the top jailers of journalists. In less than a year, over 50 journalists have fled.

This law is just part of a broader authoritarian shift targeting all elements vital to democracy: civil society, independent media and political opposition. If passed, it would only shrink Ethiopia’s political space further. With elections potentially happening in under a year, the government is dismantling all forms of accountability.

How is civil society responding, and what should the international community do?

Unfortunately, civil society has been largely silent, not out of indifference, but out of fear. In January, just before the draft was released, five local human rights organisations, including the EHRDC, were arbitrarily suspended for several months. We were accused of political affiliations, serving foreign agendas and threatening national sovereignty. The authorities even brought up a joint statement we had previously issued criticising the media law as part of their ‘justification’.

Although suspensions were later lifted, we were warned that unless we ‘restrained’ our activities, we risked permanent closure. No one explained what ‘restrain’ meant, but the threat was enough to scare many organisations into silence. When I proposed issuing a statement on the new draft law, most groups declined. They said it was too risky. Fear has paralysed civil society.

At the international level, some human rights organisations are closely assessing the situation and a few are expected to issue public statements expressing their concerns. The diplomatic community has also raised the issue privately. But this isn’t enough. We need stronger and faster action. The international community must publicly oppose this bill and press the Ethiopian government to stop this legislative rollback.