Burkina Faso: the dissolution of 118 civil society organizations in Burkina Faso increases risks for human rights defenders
Front Line Defenders expresses deep concern following the communiqué issued on 15 april 2026 by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Mobility, announcing the mass dissolution of civil society organisations in Burkina Faso. The communiqué N°2026-169/MATM/CAB states that 118 Burkinabè civil society organisations are now “deemed dissolved”. This decision, presented as an application of Law N°011-2025/ALT of 17 july 2025 on freedom of association, raises serious concerns regarding respect for freedom of association and the protection of human rights defenders in Burkina Faso. By stripping a large number of organisations of their legal existence, it risks significantly restricting civic space, hindering legitimate human rights work, and further exposing civil society actors to heightened risks of harassment, criminalisation, and reprisals.
According to available information, a large majority of the organisations “deemed dissolved”, approximately eighty, were primarily engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, including civil and political rights, the rights of women and children, and democratic governance, and were for the most part headquartered in Ouagadougou, the capital. Several organisations had been operating since the 1990s and 2000s, forming part of a long-established civil society network. The communiqué further states that these associations “are prohibited from carrying out any activities across the entire national territory” and that “any violation will be subject to the sanctions provided for under the applicable regulations.” No adversarial procedure, individual notice, or avenue for appeal is mentioned.
On 21 April 2026, the Government of Burkina Faso suspended a further 359 associations on similar grounds, notably for failing to renew their governing bodies in accordance with their statutes, internal regulations, and applicable law. This clearly demonstrates that the dissolution of the 118 organisations is not an isolated measure, but rather part of a broader operation to control the associative sector. As early as 2025, the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT), a non-elected body, adopted Law N°011-2025/ALT of 17 July, repealing Law N°064-2015/CNT, which had previously governed freedom of association in Burkina Faso. This new law, promulgated by decree of the country’s current president, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power through a coup d’état in September 2022, requires all existing associations to comply with its provisions within a one-year period.
According to information and reports from Front Line Defenders’ local partners indicate that this new legal framework is significantly more repressive, strengthening administrative requirements, tightening control over funding, and expanding the sanctioning powers of the authorities. This tightening is already affecting the operational capacity of civil society organisations, exposing their activities to increased restrictions and even dissolution on potentially instrumentalised legal grounds.
In a context already marked by growing restrictions on fundamental freedoms, continued shrinking of civic space marked by the suspension of media outlets, the expulsion of foreign journalists, the arrest of human rights defenders, and the banning of various international organisations.
The dissolution of 118 civil society organisations in Burkina Faso is already bringing a chilling effect on the work of human rights defenders, thereby undermining their ability to operate freely, particularly in documenting human rights violations.
Front Line Defenders considers that the scope of this decision goes far beyond mere administrative compliance. It constitutes a tool for political control over civic space. Burkina Faso is a State party to several regional and international instruments, including the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, a universal standard which affirms that States have an obligation to protect individuals and groups defending human rights and to ensure that they are able to carry out their activities without hindrance.
Front Line Defenders calls authorities of Burkina Faso for the immediate reversal of the decision to dissolve the 118 organisations and for their activities to be allowed to resume, while ensuring that human rights defenders in Burkina Faso are able to carry out their work freely and without fear of reprisals.
Front Line Defenders remains in close contact with human rights defenders in Burkina Faso and wishes to express its unconditional solidarity with them during this particularly difficult period. It also reiterates its commitment to continue documenting the situation of human rights defenders in the country and to advocate before relevant regional and international mechanisms to ensure their protection.
