Traoré Junta Dissolves 118 NGOs in Mass Crackdown on Civil Society

On April 16, Burkina Faso's Ministry of Territorial Administration and Mobility announced the dissolution of 118 NGOs and civil society associations operating in the country, citing non-compliance with a restrictive July 2025 law regulating civil society organizations and combating money laundering. Many of the dissolved groups focused on human rights advocacy and community development. Territorial Administration Minister Emile Zerbo justified the crackdown as a national security measure. Amnesty International called it 'a flagrant attack on the right to freedom of association,' noting it contradicts Burkina Faso's constitution and its international obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the ICCPR. The dissolution follows a sequence of authoritarian consolidation: the January 2026 ban on all political parties, the November 2025 requirement for NGOs to transfer funds to state-controlled banks, and Traoré's public declaration that citizens should 'forget about democracy.' Rights groups characterize the pattern as a systematic effort to silence civil society through abusive legislation, arbitrary detention, and prosecution of human rights defenders. The European Union and UN human rights office issued statements of concern.