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Popular organizations under increasing pressure

Book review written by generalsekretaer@npaid.org
In recent years, we have seen an increasing tendency for humanitarian organizations and their employees to be systematically prevented from conducting political or organizational work.

Earlier this year, the leader of one of the Norwegian People's Aid's partner organizations was killed by paramilitaries and forced to go underground and hide. The organization works to defend land rights and reclaim land. Restricting people's ability to express their opinion, disagree with the decisions of the authorities, or be active in organizations is a phenomenon that is constantly spreading. In English, the phenomenon is called "shrinking space" and by this is meant the ever-limited opportunity to take up space in society to fight for the interests or rights of marginalized groups. 

The phenomenon can take many forms and have varying degrees of seriousness, but common to them all is that organizations or individuals are systematically prevented from conducting political or organizational work. Civil society is exposed to everything from laws that hinder funding, intricate rules for registering organizations, criminalizing protests and raiding property, to more serious attacks such as kidnapping, imprisonment without trial, torture, threats, persecution and murder. Only this year have Norwegian People's Aid partners. . .

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generalsekretaer@npaid.org
Westhrin is Secretary General of Norwegian People's Aid.

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Full 100-page MODERN TIMES including the appendix Orientering and Modern Times Review comes out quarterly (March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1) with international book reviews, essays and comments – in addition to the physical newspaper and PDF, the articles are eventually published online here (see also the newsletter).

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