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Experts tell Congress Hungary, Slovakia and El Salvador laws target dissent and threaten civic space
Summary
Panelists at the Tom Lantos hearing described recent anti‑NGO laws in Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Nicaragua and El Salvador as instruments to silence critics; witnesses urged condemnation, targeted funding for independent civil society and sanctions for sponsors of repressive legislation.
Daniel Hegedusch, regional director for Central Europe at the German Marshall Fund, told the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission that anti‑NGO legislation in parts of Central Europe is not about transparency but about constraining public dissent.
"The real goal of anti‑NGO laws is simply public dissent," Hegedusch said. He described Slovakia's spring 2025 law as imposing "stricter transparency requirements and obligations than those faced by state institutions," and he cited the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights' finding that such rules "cannot be justified as necessary…
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