PARAGUAY: ‘Transparency Should Strengthen Democracy, Not Turn Criticism of Those in Power into a Cause for Suspicion’

by CIVICUSFriday, August 14, 2026Inter Press Service &nbsp: CIVICUS discusses the challenges posed by Paraguay’s ‘anti-NGO law’ with Hugo González, executive director of the Paraguayan Network of LGBTQ+ Artists (REPAR+), a civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes the rights of LGBTQI+ people, which has joined the constitutional challenge against this law. Hugo GonzálezThirty-eight CSOs have appealed to the Supreme Court of Paraguay to block Law 7363, which regulates CSOs. Presented as a transparency measure, the law subjects organisations to a registration and monitoring regime that civil society considers disproportionate. Its implementation further restricts Paraguay’s constrained civic space, with groups working on gender equality and sexual diversity under particular pressure.What are the problems with Law 7363?The law was enacted in November 2024, and its regulations came into force in October 2025. It applies to CSOs that receive or manage private or public funds from national or international sources and use those funds to influence public policy or state activities. The regulatory decree defines influence broadly, including reports, press releases and other forms ...