The undersigned organizations for the promotion, protection and defence of human rights denounce certain provisions of the draft legislation governing associations, introduced in the National Assembly, as deadly to liberty. They demand to be included in the drafting of this law, in order to be able to give their input, and emphasise that attempts to legally define their activities should contribute to strengthening their area of freedom and their civic space to manoeuvre, rather than the opposite...the undersigned organizations believe that this bill aims to reduce the freedom of NGOs and other associations, and would restrict them to a role of support to the government. At this point, the bill’s text constrains freedom of association. It clearly shows a manifest intent to control the actions of civil society by reducing the scope of their freedoms and their room to manoeuvre. Several points support this analysis: - The bill cannot be adopted without broad consultation with civil society; - The draft text criminalises the activities of associations working on governance issues; - The creation of multiple legal regimes will cause uneven and arbitrary treatment of different associations and NGOs; - Religious groups should not be barred from participating in democratic debates...the Republic of Congo is committed to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) process, and is therefore required to ensure the free and independent participation of civil society in debates about the management of public resources...the passage of a law restricting the activities of associations would be interpreted as a step backward for civic space and civil society organizations in general, and therefore for organizations participating in the EITI process – and could therefore jeopardise Congo’s EITI status.