Introducing the Countering Anti-Rights Actors work: Law as a tool of resistance

By Dr Seun Bakare, Sibusisiwe Ndlela, Lakshita Kanhiya

Across Africa and globally, we are facing a dangerous rise in attacks on human rights, democratic values, and constitutionalism. These are not accidental developments. They are driven by coordinated, well-funded, and ideologically motivated groups that are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their operations. In recent years, we have seen how anti-rights actors have become adept at using the law itself to suppress dissent, silence marginalised communities, and erode long-standing protections. We believe it is no longer enough to simply assert our rights in the face of this. We must also understand and confront the full architecture of repression that is emerging. This is what has led to the creation of a new thematic area: Countering Anti-Rights Actors (CARA).

CARA is an evolution of the work we began under the Asserting Contested Rights (ACR) framework. It responds to the fact that anti-rights actors today are more organised than ever before, with transnational connections, access to significant resources, and growing influence in political and legal systems. These networks often frame their campaigns using terms like tradition, family values, morality, or sovereignty, but beneath that language lies a determined effort to dismantle hard-won protections around sexuality, gender, reproductive justice, and more. CARA was developed because we understand that our response must be equally strategic, interdisciplinary, and grounded in solidarity with movements on the frontlines.

The CARA approach is shaped by the idea that law is not neutral. It can be a weapon used to exclude and silence, but it can also be a powerful tool for resistance and transformation. That is why our strategy is both defensive and proactive. On one hand, we are using litigation to challenge harmful laws and practices that are being pushed by anti-rights actors. On the other, we are working to anticipate new threats and respond before they become embedded in legal or policy frameworks.

We have already begun to track and map the networks and individuals driving these efforts, including their funding sources and legal strategies. We are producing legal toolkits and early warning systems to help civil society and movement lawyers respond quickly and effectively. Our goal is not simply to fight one-off legal battles, but to build a long-term, sustainable infrastructure of resistance. This includes creating a comprehensive case tracker, a litigation toolkit for responding to disinformation and procedural abuse, and knowledge partnerships that centre movement-aligned analysis.

What makes CARA different is that it brings together litigation, advocacy, media, and research in a coordinated way. Our theory of change is built on the belief that strategic litigation must always be grounded in broader political and social movements. It is not just about winning cases, it is about shifting narratives, exposing injustice, and building power with and for communities that are under attack.

To support this work, we are establishing the Countering Anti-Rights Actors Network (CARAN), a regional network of lawyers who are committed to justice and willing to take on the growing influence of anti-rights movements. After wide consultation within ISLA, it was agreed that this new network would be housed within our Feminist Litigation Network (FLN), where it can benefit from existing structures while also developing specialised tools and approaches. We view this as a means to enhance our organisational coherence while also expanding our reach and responsiveness.

The CARA Institute, scheduled for launch in late 2025 or early 2026, will serve as a training ground for a new generation of movement lawyers. Through a carefully designed curriculum, the Institute will cover areas such as SLAPP suits, disinformation, pseudo-medical expertise, strategic litigation theory, and other thematic areas. We are building this curriculum in collaboration with stakeholders who bring grounded, intersectional expertise to these conversations.

At the same time, we are creating tools that help document and monitor the ways in which anti-rights actors operate, whether through their influence on legislation, their infiltration of judicial systems, or their efforts to rewrite international human rights norms. A long-term case tracker will help us monitor these patterns over five to ten years, across multiple legal systems and thematic areas. Meanwhile, a litigation toolkit and rapid response framework will provide real-time support to advocates as new threats emerge.

CARA as collective commitment

For us at ISLA, the development of the CARA thematic area represents more than just a shift in programming. It is a political and ethical commitment to respond to the scale and seriousness of the threats we are seeing. The rollback of rights is not happening by chance, it is the result of intentional and strategic organising. If we are to defend the gains made over the past decades and imagine new horizons of freedom and equality, we must also organise with clarity, rigour, and courage.

CARA invites collaboration from a diverse range of actors, including feminist lawyers, movement partners, journalists, funders, academics, and anyone committed to justice. We are proud of what we have built so far, and we are energised by the work ahead. In the coming months, we will launch the CARA strategy, host the first cohort of the CARA Institute, finalise our legal tools and curriculum, and deepen our partnerships across the continent.

Our invitation is simple: join us in this work. Not just to push back against what is wrong, but to collectively imagine and build what is possible. Because defending rights is only the beginning. CARA is about transforming systems, reclaiming narratives, and sustaining the kind of legal resistance that is bold, principled, and rooted in justice.

Tags