| Countries (A to Z) |
Description |
| Albania |
Citizens Advocacy Office |
| Algeria |
The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH |
| Angola |
Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC |
| Antigua and Barbuda |
Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU |
| Argentina |
Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Confederation or CRA (small to medium landowners' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); business organizations; Central of Argentine Workers or CTA (a radical union for employed and unemployed workers); General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Peronist-dominated labor movement; Piquetero groups (popular protest organizations that can be either pro or anti-government); Roman Catholic Church; students |
| Armenia |
Yerkrapah Union |
| Austria |
Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Social Democratic) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented Association of Austrian Industrialists or IV; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights |
| Azerbaijan |
Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement; Union of Pro-Azerbaijani Forces (UPAF); Karabakh Liberation Organization |
| Bahrain |
Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97 and have recently engaged in protests with occasional low-level violence; protests related to a host of issues, including the 2002 constitution, elections, unemployment, and release of detainees; Sunni Islamist legislators support a greater role for Shari'a in daily life; several small leftist and other groups are active |
| Barbados |
Barbados Secondary Teachers' Union or BSTU |
| Belarus |
Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs |
| Belgium |
Christian, Socialist, and Liberal Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as Pax Christi and groups representing immigrants |
| Belize |
Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR |
| Bermuda |
Bermuda Employer's Union |
| Bhutan |
Buddhist clergy; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant antigovernment campaign; Indian merchant community; United Front for Democracy (exiled) |
| Bolivia |
Cocalero groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB |
| Brazil |
Landless Worker's Movement; labor unions and federations; large farmers' associations; religious groups including evangelical Christian churches and the Catholic Church |
| Bulgaria |
Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
| Burkina Faso |
Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or MBDHP; Group of 14 February; National Confederation of Burkinabe Workers or CNTB; National Organization of Free Unions or ONSL; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities |
| Burma |
Ethnic Nationalities Council or ENC (based in Thailand); Federation of Trade Unions-Burma or FTUB (exile trade union and labor advocates); National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) |
| Burundi |
none |
| Cameroon |
Southern Cameroon National Council |
| Chile |
revitalized university student federations at all major universities; Roman Catholic Church; United Labor Central or CUT includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations |
| China |
no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups |
| Christmas Island |
none |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
none |
| Colombia |
two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN |
| Congo, Republic of the |
Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
| Costa Rica |
Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Costa Rican Exporter's Chamber or CADEXCO; Costa Rican Solidarity Movement; Costa Rican Union of Private Sector Enterprises or UCCAEP |
| Cyprus |
Confederation of Cypriot Workers or SEK (pro-West); Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions or Dev-Is; Federation of Turkish Cypriot Labor Unions or Turk-Sen; Pan-Cyprian Labor Federation or PEO (Communist controlled) |
| Czech Republic |
Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS |
| Côte d'Ivoire |
Federation of University and High School Students of Cote d'Ivoire or FESCI |
| Djibouti |
Union for Presidential Majority UMP (coalition includes RPP, FRUD, PPSD and PND); Union for Democratic Changeover or UAD (opposition coalition includes ARD, MRDD, UDJ, and PDD) |
| Dominica |
Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party) |
| Dominican Republic |
Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS) |
| Ecuador |
Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE |
| Egypt |
despite a constitutional ban against religious-based parties, the technically illegal Muslim Brotherhood constitutes Hosni MUBARAK's potentially most significant political opposition; MUBARAK tolerated limited political activity by the Brotherhood for his first two terms, but moved more aggressively since then to block its influence; civic society groups are sanctioned, but constrained in practical terms; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned |
| El Salvador |
labor organizations - Electrical Industry Union of El Salvador or SIES; Federation of the Construction Industry, Similar Transport and other activities, or FESINCONTRANS; National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers or CNTS; National Union of Salvadoran Workers or UNTS; Port Industry Union of El Salvador or SIPES; Salvadoran Union of Ex-Petrolleros and Peasant Workers or USEPOC; Salvadoran Workers Central or CTS; Workers Union of Electrical Corporation or STCEL; business organizations - National Association of Small Enterprise or ANEP; Salvadoran Assembly Industry Association or ASIC; Salvadoran Industrial Association or ASI |
| Eritrea |
Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement)); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement); Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF |
| Ethiopia |
Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF; Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF |
| Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
none |
| France |
historically-Communist labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail) or CGT, approximately 700,000 members (claimed); left-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail) or CFDT, approximately 889,000 members (claimed); independent labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail - Force Ouvriere) or FO, 300,000 members (est.); independent white-collar union (Confederation Generale des Cadres) or CGC, 196,000 members (claimed); employers' union (Mouvement des Entreprises de France) or MEDEF, 750,000 companies as members (claimed) |
| Georgia |
Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile; separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia |
| Germany |
business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups |
| Gibraltar |
Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization; Women's Association |
| Greece |
General Confederation of Greek Workers or GSEE |
| Guatemala |
Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO; Alliance Against Impunity or AAI; Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC; Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF; Mutual Support Group or GAM |
| Guernsey |
none |
| Guinea |
National Confederation of Guinean Workers - Labor Union of Guinean Workers or CNTG-USTG Alliance: National Confederation of Guinean Workers |
| Guyana |
Amerindian People's Association; Guyana Citizens Initiative; Guyana Bar Association; Guyana Human Rights Association; Guyana Public Service Union or GPSU; Private Sector Commission; Trades Union Congress |
| Haiti |
Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH |
| Holy See (Vatican City) |
none (exclusive of influence exercised by church officers) |
| Honduras |
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH |
| Hong Kong |
Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) |
| India |
numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the Northeast |
| Iran |
the Islamic Revolutionary Party (IRP) was Iran's sole political party until its dissolution in 1987; Iran now has a variety of groups engaged in political activity; some are oriented along political lines or based on an identity group; others are more akin to professional political parties seeking members and recommending candidates for office; some are active participants in the Revolution's political life while others reject the state; political pressure groups conduct most of Iran's political activities; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, Tehran Militant Clergy Association (Ruhaniyat), Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh), and Islamic Engineers Society; active pro-reform student groups include the Office of Strengthening Unity (OSU); opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various ethnic and Monarchist organizations; armed political groups that have been repressed by the government include Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), and Komala |
| Iraq |
an insurgency against the Government of Iraq and Coalition forces is primarily concentrated in Baghdad and in areas north, northeast, and west of the capital; the diverse, multigroup insurgency consists principally of Sunni Arabs whose only common denominator is a shared desire to oust the Coalition and end US influence in Iraq; a number of predominantly Shia militias, some associated with political parties, challenge governmental authority in Baghdad and southern Iraq |
| Israel |
Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now |
| Italy |
Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL |
| Jamaica |
New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
| Jersey |
none |
| Jordan |
Anti-Normalization Committee |
| Kazakhstan |
Adil-Soz |
| Kenya |
human rights groups; labor unions; Muslim organizations; National Convention Executive Council or NCEC, a proreform coalition of political parties and nongovernment organizations |
| Korea, North |
none |
| Korea, South |
Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations |
| Kuwait |
a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, secular liberals and pro-government deputies; in mid-2006, a coalition of Islamists, liberals, and Shia campaigned successfully for electoral reform to reduce corruption |
| Kyrgyzstan |
Adilet Legal Clinic |
| Laos |
noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
| Latvia |
Headquarters for the Protection of Russian Schools (SHTAB) |
| Lebanon |
none |
| Liberia |
Demobilized former military officers |
| Libya |
various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence |
| Luxembourg |
ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); Greenpeace (environment protection); LCGP (center-right trade union); Mouvement Ecologique (protection of ecology); OGBL (center-left trade union) |
| Macedonia, Republic of |
Federation of Free Trade Unions |
| Madagascar |
Committee for the Defense of Truth and Justice or KMMR; Committee for National Reconciliation or CRN |
| Maldives |
various unregistered political parties |
| Mali |
Alliance for Democratic Change or ACD; Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA |
| Man, Isle of |
none |
| Mauritania |
Arab nationalists; Ba'thists; General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM |
| Mauritius |
various labor unions |
| Mexico |
Broad Progressive Front or FAP; Businessmen's Coordinating Council or CCE; Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Small Business Chamber or CANACOPE; National Syndicate of Education Workers or SNTE; National Union of Workers or UNT; Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca or APPO; Roman Catholic Church |
| Morocco |
Democratic Confederation of Labor or CDT |
| Mozambique |
Institute for Peace and Democracy (Instituto para Paz e Democracia) or IPADE |
| Nepal |
Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency |
| Netherlands |
Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV (consisting of a merger of Socialist and Catholic trade unions); Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises |
| Netherlands Antilles |
Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC) |
| Nicaragua |
National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
| Niger |
Coalition Against a High Cost of Living |
| Norfolk Island |
none |
| Oman |
none |
| Pakistan |
military remains most important political force; ulema (clergy), landowners, industrialists, and small merchants also influential |
| Panama |
Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP |
| Paraguay |
Ahorristas Estafados or AE; National Coordinating Board of Campesino Organizations or MCNOC |
| Peru |
leftist guerrilla groups include Shining Path |
| Philippines |
AKBAYAN |
| Pitcairn Islands |
none |
| Poland |
All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) |
| Puerto Rico |
Boricua Popular Army or EPB (a revolutionary group also known as Los Macheteros); note - the following radical groups are considered dormant by Federal law enforcement: Armed Forces for National Liberation or FALN, Armed Forces of Popular Resistance, Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution |
| Qatar |
none |
| Romania |
various human rights and professional associations |
| Rwanda |
IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
| Saint Helena |
none |
| Saudi Arabia |
none |
| Senegal |
labor; Sufi and Mouride brotherhoods; students; teachers |
| Seychelles |
Roman Catholic Church; trade unions |
| Sierra Leone |
trade unions and student unions |
| Slovakia |
Federation of Employers' Associations of the Slovak Republic; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; National Union of Employers or RUZ; Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry or SOPK; Entrepreneurs Association of Slovakia or ZPS; The Business Alliance of Slovakia or PAS |
| Solomon Islands |
Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM); Malaita Eagle Force (MEF); note - these rival armed ethnic factions crippled the Solomon Islands in a wave of violence from 1999 to 2003 |
| Somalia |
numerous clan and sub-clan factions are currently vying for power; Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) |
| South Africa |
Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU |
| Spain |
business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; university students; Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions or CC.OO. |
| Sri Lanka |
Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE |
| Sudan |
Umma Party |
| Suriname |
Association of Indigenous Village Chiefs |
| Syria |
Damascus Declaration |
| Taiwan |
Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups |
| Tajikistan |
unregistered political parties: Agrarian Party |
| Tokelau |
none |
| Tonga |
Human Rights and Democracy Movement Tonga or HRDMT |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
Jamaat-al Muslimeen |
| Tunisia |
18 October Group |
| Turkey |
Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK |
| Tuvalu |
none |
| Uganda |
Popular Resistance Against a Life President or PRALP |
| Ukraine |
Committee of Voters of Ukraine |
| United Kingdom |
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress |
| Uruguay |
Architect's Society of Uruguay (professional organization); Catholic Church; Chamber of Uruguayan Industries (manufacturer's association); Chemist and Pharmaceutical Association (professional organization); PIT-CNT (powerful federation of Uruguayan unions); Rural Association of Uruguay (rancher's association); students; Uruguayan Construction League |
| Uzbekistan |
Agrarian and Entrepreneurs' Party |
| Venezuela |
FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action) |
| Vietnam |
groups advocate democracy but are not recognized by government - 8406 Bloc; Democratic Party of Vietnam or DPV; People's Democratic Party Vietnam or PDP-VN; Alliance for Democracy (2006) |
| Western Sahara |
none |
| Zimbabwe |
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition |
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