Nobel laureates, scientists, writers: The threat of fascism is back by Guardian News, agencies   June 2025   On 1 May 1925, with Benito Mussolini already in power, a group of Italian intellectuals publicly denounced his fascist regime in an open letter. The signatories – scientists, philosophers, writers and artists – took a stand in support of the essential tenets of a free society: the rule of law, personal liberty and independent thinking, culture, art and science.   Their open defiance against the brutal imposition of the fascist ideology – at great personal risk – proved that opposition was not only possible, but necessary. Today, 100 years later, the threat of fascism is back – and so we must summon that courage and defy it again.   Fascism emerged in Italy a century ago, marking the advent of modern dictatorship. Within a few years, it spread across Europe and the world, taking different names but maintaining similar forms.   Wherever it seized power, it undermined the separation of powers in the service of autocracy, silenced opposition through violence, took control of the press, halted the advancement of women’s rights and crushed workers’ struggles for economic justice.   Inevitably, it permeated and distorted all institutions devoted to scientific, academic and cultural activities. Its cult of death exalted imperial aggression and genocidal racism, triggering the second world war, the Holocaust, the death of tens of millions of people and crimes against humanity.   At the same time, the resistance to fascism and the many other fascist ideologies became a fertile ground for imagining alternative ways of organising societies and international relations. The world that emerged from the second world war – with the charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the theoretical foundations of the EU and the legal arguments against colonialism – remained marked by deep inequalities.   Yet, it represented a decisive attempt to establish an international legal order: an aspiration toward global democracy and peace, grounded in the protection of universal human rights, including not only civil and political, but also economic, social and cultural rights.   Fascism never vanished, but for a time it was held at bay. However, in the past two decades, we have witnessed a renewed wave of far-right movements, often bearing unmistakably fascist traits: attacks on democratic norms and institutions, a reinvigorated nationalism laced with racist rhetoric, authoritarian impulses and systematic assaults on the rights of those who do not fit a manufactured traditional authority, rooted in religious, sexual and gender normativity.   These movements have re-emerged across the globe, including in long-standing democracies, where widespread dissatisfaction with political failure to address mounting inequalities and social exclusion has once again been exploited by new authoritarian figures.   True to the old fascist script, under the guise of an unlimited popular mandate, these figures undermine national and international rule of law, targeting the independence of the judiciary, the press, institutions of culture, higher education and science, even attempting to destroy essential data and scientific information.   They fabricate “alternative facts” and invent “enemies within”; they weaponise security concerns to entrench their authority and that of the ultra-wealthy 1%, offering privileges in exchange for loyalty.   This process is now accelerating, as dissent is increasingly suppressed through arbitrary detentions, threats of violence, deportations and an unrelenting campaign of disinformation and propaganda, operated with the support of traditional and social media barons – some merely complacent, others openly techno-fascist enthusiasts.   Democracies are not flawless: they are vulnerable to misinformation and they are not yet sufficiently inclusive. However, democracies by their nature provide fertile ground for intellectual and cultural progress and therefore always have the potential to improve.   In democratic societies, human rights and freedoms can expand, the arts flourish, scientific discoveries thrive and knowledge grow. They grant the freedom to challenge ideas and question power structures, propose new theories even when culturally uncomfortable, which is essential to human advancement.   Democratic institutions offer the best framework for addressing social injustices, and the best hope to fulfil the post-war promises of the rights to work, education, health, social security, participation in cultural and scientific life, and the collective right of peoples to development, self-determination and peace.   Without this, humanity faces stagnation, growing inequality, injustice and catastrophe, not least from the existential threat caused by the climate emergency that the new fascist wave negates.   In our hyper-connected world, democracy cannot exist in isolation. As national democracies require strong institutions, international cooperation relies on the effective implementation of democratic principles and multilateralism to regulate relations among nations, and on multistakeholder processes to engage a healthy society.   The rule of law must extend beyond borders, ensuring that international treaties, human rights conventions and peace agreements are respected. While existing global governance and international institutions require improvement, their erosion in favor of a world governed by raw power, transactional logic and military might is a regression to an era of colonialism, suffering and destruction.   As in 1925, we scientists, philosophers, writers, artists and citizens of the world have a responsibility to denounce and resist the resurgence of fascism in all its forms. We call on all those who value democracy to act:   Defend democratic, cultural and educational institutions. Call out abuses of democratic principles and human rights. Refuse pre-emptive compliance.   Join collective actions, locally and internationally. Boycott and strike when possible. Make resistance impossible to ignore and costly to repress.   Uphold facts and evidence. Foster critical thinking and engage with your communities on these grounds.   This is an ongoing struggle. Let our voices, our work and our principles be a bulwark against authoritarianism. Let this message be a renewed declaration of defiance.   Nobel laureates: Eric Maskin, Roger B Myerson, Alvin E Roth, Lars Peter Hansen, Oliver Hart, Daron Acemoglu, Wolfgang Ketterle, John C Mather, Brian P Schmidt, Michel Mayor, Takaaki Kajita, Giorgio Parisi, Pierre Agostini, Joachim Frank, Richard J Roberts, Leland Hartwell, Paul Nurse, Jack W Szostak, Edvard I Moser, May-Britt Moser, Harvey James Alter, Victor Ambros, Gary Ruvkun, Barry James Marshall, Craig Mello, Charles Rice   Leading scholars on fascism and democracy: Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Timothy Snyder, Jason Stanley, Claudia Koonz, Mia Fuller, Giovanni De Luna and Andrea Mammone.   http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/13/nobel-laureates-fascism http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/13/no-kings-protests http://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/millions-turn-out-nationwide-for-no-kings-protests-against-trump-administration http://www.nokings.org/watch http://www.nokings.org/next http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan/our-work/carr-ryan-commentary/one-governments-efforts-dismantle-accountability Visit the related web page
	Hungary’s new anti-NGO law further undermines democratic governance by HRW, EU Observer, agencies   21 May 2025   Hungary: Bill Threatens To Eviscerate Democracy. (Human Rights Watch)   A bill introduced by a member of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party is designed to gut civil society and strangle freedom of expression and democratic governance, Human Rights Watch said today.   The proposed law, which should be rejected, gives sweeping powers to a government-appointed body to label foreign-funded civil society and media organizations as threats to national sovereignty and subject them to draconian, punitive measures.   The bill “On the Transparency of Public Life,” empowers the Sovereignty Protection Office, a government-appointed body, to recommend any legal entity receiving foreign support, including European Union funds, be placed on a government-maintained watchlist.   These organizations would be prohibited from receiving donations through the 1 percent income tax designation, a common source of funding, and would be required to obtain legal declarations from every donor that the funds are not of foreign origin.   All foreign support funds must be pre-approved by Hungary’s anti-money laundering body (part of the tax authority). This applies to existing foreign grants which would be frozen and could take months to be reviewed.   “The Hungarian government is escalating its campaign to silence dissent and dismantle independent civil society ahead of next year’s elections,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The European Union has to recognize the grave threat to the rule of law the Hungarian government poses, and act firmly before the flame of democracy is snuffed out.”   This is the latest in a long line of assaults on rule of law and democratic governance in Hungary. Since 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has used his parliamentary supermajority to systematically erode democratic checks and balances.   The bill requires civil society and media organizations' leaders, founders, and oversight board members to submit asset declarations and be designated “politically exposed persons,” currently applied mainly to parliament members and government officials, subjecting them to further scrutiny, including tax audits, asset investigations, and financial inspections.   The anti-money laundering body can issue fines of up to 25 times the amount received. Failure to comply can result in the organization’s dissolution, with its assets transferred to the state. This effectively ends foreign funding as a viable source of revenue for Hungarian civil society and media groups.   The Sovereignty Protection Office would be able to conduct on-site inspections and search homes. The office could seek police assistance to conduct the inspections, raising serious concerns about privacy and due process.   The 2023 Sovereignty Protection Act gave the office the power to investigate anyone the authorities deem to be pursuing vaguely defined “foreign interests.” A case over this law initiated by the EU Commission in October 2024 against Hungary before the Court of Justice of the EU is pending.   The bill provides no meaningful legal recourse, raising potential violations of the right to a fair procedure and effective legal remedy. A decision by the tax authority to refuse to allow foreign funding can be challenged but only directly to the Supreme Court and even a reversal would not address the other more significant harm.   The bill treats all foreign funding – including from the EU – as potentially harmful to Hungary’s sovereignty. Any activity capable of influencing public opinion is deemed a potential threat, particularly those that could affect voter intent or democratic debate.   This means work by any organization – including media organizations, political parties, and intergovernmental bodies – that highlights abuses by the Hungarian government could be potentially liable to sanctions.   By framing public debate and criticism of the government as existential threats to the state, the Hungarian government is attempting to crush the pluralism that sustains democracy with a bill that bears the hallmark of the infamous Russian foreign agent legislation, Human Rights Watch said.   The bill comes on the heels of problematic fundamental law and other law changes adopted in April, which pose serious threats to (LGBT) people, the freedom of assembly, and the rights of some Hungarians with dual citizenship.   Orban’s government has undermined judicial independence, restricted independent media and civil society, vilified migrants and asylum seekers, continued unlawful border pushbacks, limited access to asylum, targeted LGBT people with discriminatory laws, and rolled back protections for women and girls. Over the past six years, Orbán has increasingly governed by decree, invoking successive states of danger or emergency to bypass parliamentary oversight and consolidate executive power.   Efforts by EU institutions to hold the Hungarian government accountable – through infringement proceedings, European Union Court rulings, and the suspension of EU funds –have so far had limited effect.   In 2018, the European Parliament triggered the article 7 procedure against Hungary, citing a systemic threat to the EU’s core values as set out in the Treaty on European Union. If upheld, such a breach could lead to the suspension of Hungary’s voting rights in the EU Council.   EU member states should take this most recent attack on the rule of law and democratic governance as a clear signal and use the upcoming General Affairs Council meeting in May 2025 to immediately move article 7 proceedings forward to a vote, Human Rights Watch said.   If the bill is adopted by parliament, the European Commission should immediately open new infringement proceedings against Hungary for the rights abusive and anti-democratic law. In the meantime, the commission should seek interim measures to suspend the effect of the earlier Sovereignty Protection Act given the role of the Sovereignty Protection Office as an instrument against civil society and media and potentially to be vested with further powers under the new bill.   “Hungary is being dragged deeper into authoritarianism by a government that has shown blatant disregard for the fundamental values of the European Union.” Williamson said. “The EU Council has to stop stalling on article 7 and take robust action on Hungary before it is too late.”   15 May 2025   Hungary’s new anti-NGO law is a full-frontal assault on the EU Commission, by Daniel Hegedus. (EU Observer)   Europe has been facing illiberal, authoritarian challenges to pluralist democracy with growing intensity and frequency since the inauguration of the second Trump administration.   Emboldened by both the retreat of US democratic leverage and the disturbingly familiar aspirations of the current US government, Europe’s illiberal actors are increasingly willing to deploy authoritarian tactics to maintain their grip on power — often amid mounting domestic opposition and eroding legitimacy.   Following the introduction of Slovakia’s anti-CSO law on 16 April, a Hungarian MP from the ruling Fidesz party submitted a draft bill on 13 May that may soon become the fifth piece of anti-NGO legislation in Hungary since 2017.   This time, however, the bill’s design surpasses all previous efforts in its open attack on basic democratic norms and fundamental rights in Hungary, as well as on the core principles of EU law and the authority and competences of the European Commission.   If the draft law titled On Transparency in the Public Sphere enters into force, it will make it outright impossible for civil society organisations (CSOs) that are critical of the government or advocate for women’s and LGBTQI+ rights to receive any form of support from abroad — including dedicated EU funding under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.   According to the draft legislation, the country’s Sovereignty Protection Office — a state authority established in December 2023 to intimidate civil society and independent media in Hungary — will be empowered to propose that the government place organisations it deems as allegedly threatening Hungary’s sovereignty on a special list.   Once listed, these organisations will lose their tax-benefit status, including the right to receive one percent of Hungarian citizens’ income tax donations, and will be barred from receiving any form of financial support from foreign sources.   If they do, they will be fined up to 25 times the original grant amount, which must be paid within 15 days of the relevant authority’s decision.   With severely restricted rights to appeal in court and their bank accounts subject to monitoring and even suspension of transactions, the law effectively eliminates the ability of critical CSOs and independent media outlets to receive grants and donations from abroad. This further amplifies the already significant resource advantage held by government-controlled NGOs (GONGOs) and media outlets.   Even Hungarian supporters of these organisations must attach a “private deed with full evidentiary force” to their donations, proving the domestic origin of the funds. Should the Sovereignty Protection Office accuse them of channelling foreign funding, they risk facing criminal charges for alleged forgery.   The domestic political logic behind the law is more than evident. Any critical act that may cast doubt on the democratic or constitutional character of Hungary — or question the primacy of marriage, family, and a person’s biological sex at birth — is deemed a threat to the country’s sovereignty if allegedly supported by foreign funding aimed at influencing public opinion or voting behaviour.   The clear goal is to suffocate what remains of Hungary’s critical civil society and to intimidate independent media ahead of the highly contested 2026 elections — elections that, according to all available independent polling data, the incumbent Fidesz party would lose if held today.   This is an explicitly authoritarian piece of legislation, surpassing even Russia’s foreign agent law in its lack of legal remedies, and it serves unambiguously anti-democratic purposes.   However, the challenge posed by the law to the authority of EU law and institutions is equally serious. Labelling entire EU policy fields — such as anti-discrimination — and specific commission programmes — like CERV — as threats to a member state’s sovereignty goes far beyond the typical infringement on the free movement of capital, as seen with Hungary’s 2017 anti-CSO law.   This new legislation directly challenges the primacy of EU law and the legitimacy of the European Commission’s policy agenda.   Furthermore, introduced in close proximity to Slovakia’s anti-CSO law and set against a political backdrop in which both European radical-right groups and MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP) are attacking EU funding provided by the commission to civil society organisations — including through the CERV program — the Hungarian government is attempting to exploit the commission’s divided attention and its potentially limited capacity to respond robustly amid this wave of coordinated political attacks.   Despite these complicating factors, the EU Commission must recognise the unprecedented nature of this attack, not only on the last remaining bulwarks of pluralist liberal democracy in an increasingly authoritarian Hungary, but also on the EU legal order and the commission’s own institutional prerogatives.   If the commission fails to respond with equal determination, the damage to the integrity of the EU legal order could be far-reaching. It must recognise the urgency of the situation and the fact that it cannot allow this law to enter into force and unleash its destructive impact.   Instead of pursuing separate approaches to the Slovak and Hungarian anti-CSO laws, the commission must recognise their shared roots and characteristics — and respond with a unified approach: by immediately requesting interim measures from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to suspend their implementation following the initiation of the respective infringement procedures.   Based on past infringement proceedings and ECJ case law concerning previous Hungarian legislation, there is no doubt that the draft law constitutes a fundamental violation of EU law, nor that the damage it would cause will be impossible to remedy if its implementation is not suspended.   In an era of increasingly emboldened would-be EU autocrats, the commission must step up its game and respond with determination and vigour.   http://euobserver.com/rule-of-law/ar96012839 http://euobserver.com/the-eus-unsung-heroes/ar8f388ae7 http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/21/hungary-bill-threatens-eviscerate-democracy http://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/21/eu-urged-to-act-over-hungarian-legislation-which-could-restrict-free-press http://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/14/hungary-considering-law-to-monitor-and-ban-groups-seen-as-threat-to-national-sovereignty   14 May 2025   Mali abolishes multiparty politics across the country. (Human Rights Watch/Amnesty International)   This week, Mali’s National Transition Council adopted a bill that effectively abolishes multiparty politics across the country. The new law officially bans opposition political meetings, speeches, and organizations. The action unfortunately came as no surprise given the ruling military junta’s recent attacks on the political opposition.   The law formalizes a political atmosphere in Mali in which freedom of expression is increasingly restricted. Days earlier, the country’s media regulatory body, Haute Autorite de la Communication (HAC), suspended TV5, an international French-language television network, because the authorities deemed its reporting of the May 3, 2025, anti-junta protests in the capital, Bamako, to be “biased” and “unbalanced.” The HAC also accused TV5 of “defamation of the armed and security forces.”   The new law coincides with the junta’s recent jailing and enforced disappearance of several political opponents, activists, and dissidents.   On May 8, two political opposition leaders, Abba Alhassane and El Bachir Thiam, went missing, sparking fears they may have been forcibly disappeared. Neither have been located, raising concerns for their safety.   Three days later, Abdoul Karim Traore, the youth president of the opposition party Convergence pour le developpement du Mali (CODEM), went missing in Bamako. Like Alhassane and Thiam, Traore took part in the May 3 protests. He was a witness to and publicly denounced Alhassane’s abduction. International media has reported that Traore is being held by state security officers.   A day before Traore disappeared, unidentified men in Bamako assaulted democracy activist Cheick Oumar Doumbia, who also took part in the protests. Pro-junta activists have increasingly called for violence against democracy activists and those who participated in the protest.   And on Monday, Abdrahamane Diarra, the communication secretary for the opposition party l'Union pour la Republique et la Democratie (URD), was detained and interrogated by security forces in Bamako. Diarra, a vocal opponent of the dissolution of Mali’s political parties, was later released, but the authorities’ message has become undoubtedly clear: the space for voicing dissent is closing.   These past few weeks have marked dark days in Mali as the military authorities again raise the stakes for activists advocating a return to democratic civilian rule. The junta should instead release those unjustly held and uphold the right to free expression.   http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/14/malis-junta-further-shutters-political-space http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/05/mali-dissolution-political-parties-step-wrong-direction-warn-un-experts http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/05/mali-curbs-political-rights-risk-further-deepening-human-rights-concerns http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/mali-dissolution-political-parties/ http://www.fidh.org/en/region/Africa/mali/mali-is-sinking-into-authoritarianism http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/12/2025-human-rights-roadmap-african-union http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/15/rising-food-prices-deepen-nigerias-poverty-crisis http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/20/prosecutions-insulting-president-continue-turkiye http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/18/un-general-assembly-should-act-north-korea http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/05/hide-numbers-control-message/   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/04/approval-amendments-apci-law-seriously-affects-freedom-association-peru-un http://www.fidh.org/en/region/americas/peru/serious-threat-to-civic-space-in-peru-organizations-condemn-law-that http://www.fidh.org/en/region/americas/peru/the-peruvian-state-attacks-civil-society-ngos-and-international http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/03/20/peru-veto-anti-ngo-law http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/06/12/peru-congress-ramps-assault-democratic-system http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/05/el-salvador-profundiza-el-asedio-a-la-sociedad-civil/ http://cristosal.org/EN/2025/05/21/ruth-lopez-a-life-committed-to-transparency-and-the-defense-of-human-rights/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/05/el-salvador-un-experts-demand-protection-ruth-lopez-after-enforced Visit the related web page
	View more stories