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Opinion
Civil society organizations (CSOs) are voluntary, non-state, non-profit entities formed by people to address social, political or environmental issues.
– It has been a year since a 90-day freeze on US foreign aid signaled the deepening of a structural dismantling of international solidarity. Today, the “existential threat” to freedom of association that I warned of in my report to the General Assembly last year (A/80/219) is no longer a warning; It is a lived reality.
Thousands of civil society organizations (CSOs) around the world have been reduced to a minimum or are disappearing completely, while others are forced to make transformations that compromise their core missions. This is not only creating more victims of human rights violations but has also left the previous victims alone.
For freedom of association, the impact is devastating. The dismantling of USAID, the Office for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) and other dedicated funds from other countries has cut off the livelihood of NGOs that served as democratic watchdogs around the world (Refugees International).
Therefore, this is not simply a budget change but a coordinated attack on the infrastructure of dissent. In the United States, for example, foundations and nonprofit organizations face “three overlapping crises” (Maecenata Stiftung, Refugees International, others):
- • Political threats: Executive orders targeting DEI and redefining “charity” status to eliminate tax exemptions.
• Organizational attack: explicit defamation of networks such as the Open Society Foundations and investigative letters addressed to major funders such as the Gates and Ford foundations.
• Mass closures: Organizations are laying off up to 95% of their staff, leading to a “generational funding collapse” of the humanitarian system.
Meanwhile, around the world we also see ultra-conservative anti-rights groups and autocratic regimes rushing to fill the void left by established aid agencies. These groups, among others, are reshaping the global health landscape with actions that restrict reproductive rights and LGBTQI+ protections (The Guardian). In the Asia-Pacific region alone, 240 million girls face a “coordinated global backlash” as programs focused on education and gender equality are the first to be cut (Women’s Agenda).
As I reported to the United Nations General Assembly last year, the right of association is an integral part of human nature. When states vilify aid as “criminal” or “corrupt,” they dismantle the lifelines that keep civic space alive (United Nations). We must restore a sustainable aid architecture that serves human dignity and the planet rather than private profit or political control.
But the impact on communities and individuals is too serious. The data emerging in early 2026 is devastating. Since the 2025 freeze, researchers estimate that the dismantling of US foreign aid alone has already caused 750,000 deaths, of which more than 60% are children, a rate of 88 preventable deaths every hour (different sources).
Projections indicate that without restoration, 22.6 million people could die from preventable causes by 2030 (The Guardian).
The “hammer” thrown at the aid system has undone decades of progress:
- • Access to Justice: Deeply affected by the cancellation of grants for community violence intervention programs, legal assistance for crime victims from underserved communities, court-appointed advocates for children in cases of abuse or neglect, services for victims of hate crimes, closure of the safety net for survivors of domestic violence and closure of shelters and hotlines, etc. (CIJ, LLF).
• Democracy and rule of law: the crisis in independent media and civil society reduces critical voices that speak truth to power and weakens checks and balances in democracies and hybrid regimes, while in authoritarian contexts the limitations of dissenting voices increase repression, especially against the most vulnerable groups (Global Coalition for Democracy).
• Human rights: Global and regional human rights protection mechanisms have suffered drastic funding cuts, jeopardizing the protection of human rights around the world. The OHCHR received a 16% cut to its budget for 2026 and several mandates of the Human Rights Council are also being defunded, many of them linked to investigations of human rights violations in authoritarian states (ISHR).
• Global Health: Access to PrEP and life-saving HIV medications has been cut in half for 80% of community organizations. Cholera deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone increased by 361% in 2025 after essential water projects were stopped (Oxfam).
• Education: The abrupt cancellation of nearly 400 USAID-funded educational programs in 58 countries risks leaving millions of children (predominantly girls and refugees) without access to quality learning (ETF).
• Food security: In West and Central Africa, 55 million people are expected to suffer from critical levels of hunger, or worse, by the end of the first half of 2026, including more than 13 million children who will also suffer from malnutrition during 2026 (WFP). In Afghanistan, the monthly reach of emergency food aid plummeted from 5.6 million people to just 1 million (Refugees International).
Perhaps most alarming is the collapse of data collection systems. As USAID programs disappeared, so did reporting requirements that tracked illnesses, deaths, and human rights violations (The Japan Times). We are entering a period in which the true magnitude of suffering and need may never be fully known (Refugees International).
In addition to the funding cut, the existential threat is also related to the reduced possibilities of civil society organizations to raise new funds due to the increase in misinformation or disinformation about the work of CSOs leading to a lack of trust in communities and therefore increasing the reduction of civic space, already greatly affected by anti-NGO laws and persecution (Global Aid Freeze Tracker).
We cannot allow a world without civil society. It is a world without hope, where the most vulnerable are left alone to face the most pressing human crises and wars. The international community must go beyond “business as usual” to restore a sustainable and fair aid architecture that enhances civic engagement rather than advancing its suppression.
gina romero He is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association.
IPS UN Office
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