The Council for the Development of Civil Society (CDCS) urged the National Assembly to close the created Temporary Commission to collect facts and circumstances regarding the activities of George Soros and Alexander Soros and their foundations.
In an unanimously adopted position, the Council notes the following:
“The Temporary Commission aims to stigmatize CSOs’ access to foreign funding, to defame individual organizations, and to create a chilling effect on other organizations. Therefore, by establishing the Temporary Commission, the legislative power violates the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association and international human rights protection treaties to which Bulgaria is a party. We insist that the Temporary Commission be closed.”
The call was issued through an official position sent to the members of Parliament.
The Council’s position also notes that “the defaming narrative against civil society in Bulgaria is a threat to the free exercise of the right to association by every Bulgarian citizen and calls into question the place of democratic values in our society. The political tribunal, masquerading as the Temporary Commission, directly violates both the state’s positive obligation to protect the right to association by creating a favorable environment for its exercise, and the negative obligation to refrain from actions that may stigmatize or delegitimize the activities of civil society organizations.”
CDCS reminds that international organizations such as the OECD, the Venice Commission, and UN human rights mechanisms have repeatedly warned states to avoid stigmatizing practices against civil associations – through public campaigns, restrictions on foreign funding, or the use of institutions as a means of pressure.
The Council describes the establishment of the commission as “another manifestation of anti-democratic tendencies.” CDCS’s statements emphasize:
“The creation of the Temporary Commission is yet another example of an anti-democratic trend in recent years, including a number of legislative initiatives for illegitimate restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of association, which are used solely to stigmatize civil society organizations in Bulgaria and to attack fundamental principles of protecting civil rights – freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly of citizens.”
The Council for the Development of Civil Society was established in 2022 to assist the executive branch in developing and implementing policies affecting the civil sector. One of CDCS’s main functions is to provide positions on normative acts, strategies, and programs related to civil society organizations.
Read the full text of the position.
