Burkina Faso Dissolves 118 Groups in Biggest NGO Purge Yet

Burkina Faso’s military government has intensified its consolidation of power by dissolving 118 NGOs and civil society groups, extending a pattern of restrictions since the 2022 coup led by Ibrahim Traore.

The move follows earlier steps including the January dissolution of all political parties and new limits on civic activity, indicating a systematic narrowing of public space.

The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Mobility announced the dissolution on Wednesday, April 15, "in accordance with current legal provisions," and banned the groups' activities, while warning that "any offender faces the penalties provided for under current regulations," according to Al Jazeera. Minister Emile Zerbo invited the heads of the banned associations to conform to the July 2025 law.

The measure targets 118 associations, many engaged in human rights work, and builds on a July 2025 law that had already restricted NGO and union activities. Within a month of that law, 21 groups lost authorization and 10 faced 3-month suspensions.

Amnesty International said it was “deeply concerned by this flagrant attack on the right to freedom of association,” adding the move is “incompatible with Burkina Faso’s international human rights obligations.”

Ousmane Diallo described it as part of “a much broader effort to silence civil society” through “intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention, and prosecution.”

Rights Groups Question the Legal Basis

Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the World Organisation Against Torture and Observatoire KISAL said the authorities cited the July 2025 law but gave no justification beyond vague allusions to noncompliance. Some of the targeted groups were inactive, but others, including Action by Christians Against Torture and the Burkinabe Coalition for Women's Rights, were operational and appeared to meet the legal requirements, they said.

The July 2025 law gives organizations one year to comply, a deadline that has not yet expired, so the move "appears legally questionable," said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. She called the scale of the shutdown "one of the most significant blows to civil society groups since the military took power."

Authorities have linked restrictions to security concerns, as Burkina Faso faces a prolonged insurgency involving Daesh affiliated terror groups operating in the region.

NGOs with foreign funding are often accused of collusion or espionage. Since 2022, the state has expanded oversight, including a November directive forcing NGOs to move funds into a state-controlled bank, tightening financial control over civil actors.

A Pattern of Restrictions Since the 2022 Coup

The military government, which seized power in September 2022, has suspended, banned or expelled dozens of Burkinabe and international organizations and media outlets, according to Human Rights Watch. Between June and July 2025, authorities suspended or revoked the licenses of about 20 foreign organizations, including Diakonia, Geneva Call and the Tony Blair Institute. Since 2022, more than 70 humanitarian workers have been detained, most of them Burkinabe, according to international media cited by the group.

Foreign organizations must also appoint Burkinabe nationals to key leadership and financial positions under the 2025 law, and, towards the end of 2025, authorities introduced a "statistical visa" that organizations need before conducting surveys or research. In early April 2026, the government threatened "firm measures" against what it called "imperialist labs disguised as NGOs" after a Human Rights Watch report on war crimes by all parties to the conflict.

The dissolution aligns with broader political shifts. At the end of January, the government dissolved all political parties, citing “social division and state failure.”

On April 3, Traore told citizens to “forget democracy,” rejecting Western political models. Critics argue such moves by the government remove institutional checks on its power.

Clash Report has covered the escalation step by step, from the dissolution of all political parties as Traore tightened control, to Traore's declaration that democracy "kills" Burkina Faso, and a later declared battle against Muslim scholars.