Report 2025 Autumn Session INGO Conference

by Wielie Elhorst

From 13-16 October Wielie Elhorst visited the half-yearly meeting of the International NGO Conference of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The European Forum has a participatory status with the Council since 2016. Going to the INGO Conference is one of the responsibilities of the Working Group Political Advocacy of the European Forum. Within the INGO Conference the European Forum is also a member of the Interreligious and Interconvictional (IRIC) Committee that met on the first day of this Autumn session of the conference. Wielie presented the second edition of RICE, the Rainbow Index of Churches in Europe there, which was warmly welcomed. The IRIC-Committee supports research into discrimination based on religion and is therefore an important committee for the European Forum.

Sadly it was reported that the lgbtqia+ activist from Nigeria who spoke at a side event of the Spring 2025 meeting of the INGO Conference, had to flee his country after returning from Strasbourg as he was almost mob lynched in his house. He requested asylum in France. Reporting on legal affairs in several countries, the proposed ‘foreign agents bill’ of Hungary was criticized. This law would even prevent receiving funds from outside of Hungary in the first place (even those of the European Union). One of the criteria used is that funding cannot be directed against the ‘traditional value of family’, making clear that also lgbtiqa+ organisations would (once again) suffer under this new law. A similar kind of law is in the making in Slovakia. On a positive note, Slovakia did respond to the questions of the Expert Council on NGO Law. Serbia is even blocking the bank accounts of some NGO’s and of private people who run these NGO’s, making the work of these NGO’s and of the life of the people concerned completely impossible. Churches here are almost only fostering the 'traditional values’ of the countries concerned, not helping attacked NGO’s and the people working for them at all. Although invited to the INGO Conference session concerned, except Slovakia, none of the countries criticized were present.

In the 2025 Spring Session of the INGO Conference, Wielie was elected to the Board of the OING Service, an association that financially supports activities of the INGO’s connected to the Council of Europe, such as webinars, interpreters, fact finding missions, the work of the Standing Committee of the INGO Conference. INGO’s can become a member of this Service. They then have to pay a yearly contribution. Unfortunately, most INGO’s are not very disciplined in doing so, although the work of the INGO Conference is growing rapidly.

Hotly debated was a statement on the human cost of war with a call for peace and protection in Gaza. There was not so much opposition against the statement in itself as against the supposed boldness of its wording. The statement was carried, nonetheless.

Wielie was able to add the Human Rights Conference held during World Pride in Amsterdam from 4-8 August to the Agenda of the Working Plan of the INGO Conference. The European Forum will also participate in this Conference.