In September 2026, ENACT RE project was launched, grounding in the desire to coordinate a common response at EU level to the transnational repression (TNR) issue. As documented by multiple human rights organisations, TNR is not a sporadic occurrence, but a deliberate strategy used by states such as Russia, China, and Iran to silence dissent, shrink civic space, and undermine democratic resilience across borders.
This collaborative action focuses on Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, bringing together four leading organisations (IPHR, FIDU, ECCHR, SCAP) to implement a multi-dimensional response: survivor-safe documentation, community protection tools, legal action, and EU-wide advocacy.
The project will directly support exiled human rights defenders, independent journalists, diaspora-led CSOs, and other civic actors at risk of cross-border harassment, while also engaging national authorities, protection bodies, and EU institutions.
Through strong stakeholder engagement, gender-responsive approaches, and integration with EU-level civic space initiatives, ENACT-RE will lay the groundwork for a coherent, rights-based strategy to protect exiled civil society actors and defend the EU’s democratic values from authoritarian interference.
Project Consortium:
International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) – Belgium (Coordinator)
Italian Federation for Human Rights – Italy
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) – Germany
State Capture Accountability Project (SCAP) – Netherlands
Project duration:
2 years: 09/2026 – 08/2028
ENACT-RE PROJECT – Launch conference:
The Project’s Launch Conference was held online on the 8th of September.
FIDU joined the kick-off meeting led by International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), aimed at marking the launch of the new project, which will focus on the pressing issue of transnational repression (TNR). The event highlighted the objectives and outlined the activities part of the ENACT- RE project.
Complementarity approach:
The program has been shaped by a working approach grounding in the conduct of activities by states independently, while considering the implementation of the operations through strategic alignment with the other Countries. Additionally, the aspect that stands out from the initiative relates to the desire to strength the abilities of the Civil Society Organizations, Human Rights Defenders and Diaspora Communities to recognize, detect and document incidents linked to transnational repression. Based on the state of emergency recorded, the consortium has been established among the four states mentioned above, relying on the point that these Countries got a strong expertise on the cases of TNR, attesting how these states host exiled activists, journalists and diaspora civil society organizations.
Activities:
The four key aspects playing a central role in the project concern:
- The strengthening of a documentation system, gathering the cases and incidents of TNR (including digital TNR)
- The provision of knowledge tools structured around the objective of enhancing the ability to recognize the phenomenon and to deter it;
- The consolidation of a robust network of exile hubs and organizations established to provide assistance;
- The raising of advocacy standards and awareness of the issue at both EU and national levels.