2024-12-31-accounts

ARTICLE 19

Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Company number: 2097222 Charity number: 327421

ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Contents

Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Report of the Trustees .................................................................................................................................... 2 Statement of charitable objectives ........................................................................................................ 2 A note on partnerships ........................................................................................................................... 2 Vision and mission .................................................................................................................................. 3 Global objectives and activities ...................................................................................................................4 Achievements and performance against objectives .............................................................................. 7 High-level impacts ................................................................................................................................... 7 GLOBAL OBJECTIVE 1: Digital spaces, governance, services, and technologies will be rooted in human rights and enable the diversity of human experience. ............................................................. 7 GLOBAL OBJECTIVE 2: More inclusive, protected, and resilient communities and individuals feel free to express themselves in public and media. ............................................................................... 10 GLOBAL OBJECTIVE 3: Accurate and reliable data and information are publicly accessible and must empower individuals to seize their rights. ................................................................................. 13 GLOBAL OBJECTIVE 4: Make ARTICLE 19 an organisation that will be better connected, agile, resilient, equitable and sustainable. .................................................................................................... 15 Plans for 2025 ................................................................................................................................................ 20 Financial review ........................................................................................................................................... 22 Structure, governance, and management .............................................................................................. 26 Administrative details.................................................................................................................................. 31 Independent Auditor’s report ....................................................................................................................... 33 Financial statements .................................................................................................................. 38

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Abbreviations

AI artificial intelligence

FGPC Finance and General Purposes Committee

FoE freedom of expression HR human resources HRD human rights defender IETF Internet Engineering Task Force LGBTQI+ lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex MEL monitoring, evaluation, and learning MENA Middle East and North Africa MIL media information literacy MoU memorandum of understanding PEBI Project Ecosystem for Business Intelligence RTI right to information SLAPPs strategic lawsuits against public participation

ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Report of the Trustees

The Trustees, who act as the Directors of the Company for the purposes of the Companies Acts and as Trustees for charity law purposes, submit their annual report and the financial statements of ARTICLE 19 for the year. This includes a strategic report.

The Trustees confirm that the annual report and financial statements of the Charity comply with current statutory requirements, the requirements of the Charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102.

Statement of charitable objectives

In setting ARTICLE 19’s programme each year, ARTICLE 19 has regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. The Trustees review the programmes undertaken by ARTICLE 19 to ensure that they fall within the Charity’s charitable objectives and aims.

ARTICLE 19’s objectives are to educate the public and protect freedom of expression (FoE), access to information, and related rights throughout the world, particularly as defined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in international and regional human rights law. The organisation works to achieve its charitable objectives in two ways:

1. Through direct delivery, especially in relation to work in areas where it has its own staff; and

2. Through working with partner organisations, including the provision of financial and capacity support.

A note on partnerships

Work carried out by partner organisations is especially useful in jurisdictions where ARTICLE 19 has no established infrastructure for managing staff and operations or where partners provide knowledge and skills that complement ARTICLE 19’s own international comparative perspective. Partnership also assists in maximising the number of beneficiaries reached. In turn, partnership has both defined and strengthened ARTICLE 19’s effectiveness and legitimacy.

ARTICLE 19 only works with trusted national counterparts with good financial monitoring systems in place. All partners sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ARTICLE 19 on financial procedures to be followed. ARTICLE 19 seeks to conduct a due diligence assessment prior to signing any MoU with implementing partners assessing their governance and internal control measures. Any improvements identified are included in the MoUs and ARTICLE 19 aims to provide organisations with capacity building in those areas, as needed. ARTICLE 19 requires partners to be

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

fully accountable to ARTICLE 19 for their income and expenditure transactions as part of their financial management.

Vision and mission

ARTICLE 19’s vision is for a world in which all people, everywhere, can freely express themselves and engage in public life without fear or discrimination.

In our digital era, ARTICLE 19 is an international think–do organisation that propels the FoE movement locally and globally to ensure that all people realise the power of their voices. Together with our partners, we:

• Think: By developing cutting-edge research and legal and policy analysis to drive change in the world;

• Do: By leading work on the frontlines of expression through our regional offices and reinforcing positive change on the ground; and

• Propel change by sparking innovation in the global FoE movement through our research, campaigns, and advocacy.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Global objectives and activities

This report covers activity undertaken across the ARTICLE 19 group during the fourth year of our current strategy, The Power of Our Voices .

At the start of 2024, the organisation decided to extend The Power of Our Voices by one year to the end of 2026. This decision was taken for two reasons: The Power of Our Voices was forged during the pandemic, which held back some delivery for at least 18 months; and the huge geopolitical shifts we have seen since the end of 2024 required us to pivot our programmatic areas in some parts of the world.

As the organisation prepares for the new strategy, it has posed itself some very important questions that need to be answered:

• How will ARTICLE 19 evolve to meet the challenges ahead in a world that is more populist and hostile to human rights work than when we launched our strategy?

• Based on our Global Expression Report analysis, how will ARTICLE 19 work to ensure that FoE benefits all people, not just those fortunate enough to live in open democracies.

• Looking towards our 40th anniversary in 2027, what needs to change in the external world that we can influence, so the human rights of future generations are protected?

For the duration of the strategy, ARTICLE 19 is working to achieve impact across four global objectives, three of which are programmatic and the fourth of which concerns operational change. These objectives have been set in response to our strategic assessment of the external world, in which we see a global inflection point where attacks on FoE are driving a decline in democracy and human rights.

To recap, what follows is a high-level summary of our global objectives. These objectives and goals are shared with the reader to show the breadth and depth of our ambition. We have also set an action plan that sits behind each strategic goal, with several sub-goals under each.

Global Objective 1: Digital spaces, governance, services, and technologies will be rooted in human rights and enable the diversity of human experience

ARTICLE 19 pioneered the consideration of human rights in the infrastructure of the internet. Our digital work includes people who are often left out of tech discussions, like women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people; and activists from the Global South. With these partners, we will work to define a new internet era – one that respects our FoE and reflects the diversity of human experience.

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ARTICLE 19

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For the year ended 31 December 2024

We will:

• Strengthen global information governance and digital infrastructure to build an internet supportive of human rights;

• Counter disinformation and improve media literacy;

• Challenge mass surveillance and demand a ban on biometrics; and

• Strengthen legislation to keep our data private from governments and Big Tech.

Global Objective 2: More inclusive, protected, and resilient communities and individuals feel free to express themselves in public and media

Progress is often instigated by the people who bear the brunt of government and corporate repression. When they bravely speak out to expose injustice and demand racial, gender, or economic equality, they make things better for all of us. ARTICLE 19 will amplify the voices of those who are the most vulnerable and systemically discriminated against.

We will work with:

• Communities at risk: Human rights defenders, activists, political dissidents, women, indigenous and racialised people, migrants, religious and ethnic minorities and diaspora, and LGBTQI+ communities;

• Infomediaries: Journalists, social communicators, whistleblowers, media workers, and independent and community media outlets – particularly those reporting on corruption, human rights, and the environment; and

• Civil society, community networks, and social movements: Particularly youth, women, minority groups, and those fighting corruption and defending the environment – especially in rural and remote areas.

Global Objective 3: Accurate and reliable data and information are publicly accessible, and must empower individuals to seize their rights

ARTICLE 19 is a thought leader in developing cutting-edge legal analyses, policies, and standards to protect FoE around the world. Wherever decisions affecting people’s lives are made – whether at the international, regional, or national level – we will advocate to make sure their voices are heard.

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ARTICLE 19

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For the year ended 31 December 2024

We will develop policies on new areas impacting FoE, including:

• digital infrastructure;

• pluralism and diversity online;

• state propaganda; and

• disinformation.

And we will ramp up our empirical research, building the evidence base to shape international standards and tailor national solutions.

Global Objective 4: ARTICLE 19 will be an organisation that is connected, agile, resilient, and sustainable

So that ARTICLE 19 is able to effectively and efficiently deliver its strategic goals, our focus is on four interrelated areas of organisational strengthening:

• Connected: Simplifying our communication systems, structures, and ways of working to enable easy collaboration, both externally and internally;

• Agile: Ensuring our technology, processes, and knowledge-management systems are being used efficiently to enable faster, more flexible, and more effective working;

• Resilient: Increasing our capability – humanly, digitally, and financially – to anticipate threats so that we are better placed to manage and recover from the impacts of sudden shocks; and

• Sustainable: Ensuring funding and financial costing models, infrastructure, people, and organisational values and behaviours underpin ARTICLE 19’s long-term stability and enhance its ability to have future impact.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Achievements and performance against objectives

High-level impacts

During 2024, ARTICLE 19’s teams around the world continued to push forward The Power of Our Voices strategy, and succeeded in delivering genuine impacts in the lives of those we serve. Many of these achievements are summarised below, but three high-level impacts are worth noting at this point.

As a direct result of ARTICLE 19’s work:

• All 193 UN Member States adopted our position on a human rights-based approach to AI.

• Nearly 5,000 journalists, activists, and human rights defenders are better equipped to defend expression for all.

• Our advocacy advanced the right to know for over 175 million people.

In the following sections, we provide highlights of our international and regional offices’ impact against our strategic goals and outcomes, along with the challenges we have met in the last year.

Full details of ARTICLE 19’s achievements in 2024 are available through our internal reporting structures, and an interactive summary of key stories for external audiences can be found in our Impact Report.

GLOBAL OBJECTIVE 1: Digital spaces, governance, services, and technologies will be rooted in human rights and enable the diversity of human experience.

International impact

• Artificial intelligence (AI): Following several years of advocacy, the UN adopted ARTICLE 19's position on a human rights-based approach to AI in 2024. In March, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution that called on states and (crucially) other stakeholders to ‘ refrain from or cease the use of artificial intelligence systems that are impossible to operate in compliance with international human rights law or that pose undue risks to the enjoyment of human rights’ . In September, all 193 UN Member States adopted the Global Digital Compact, which will steer the UN’s approach to digital rights for years to come. As a result of ARTICLE 19’s advocacy, the Compact establishes an objective of protecting human rights, and calls on the private sector to apply human rights due diligence and impact assessments for all digital technologies throughout their life cycle.

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ARTICLE 19

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For the year ended 31 December 2024

• Connecting communities: The UN also passed a new resolution calling on governments to enable small internet providers to connect underserved communities – a solution that ARTICLE 19 pushed for for several years. Our position that connectivity is essential to human rights is being adopted across the UN, bridging the gap towards equal internet access for all.

• Embedding rights into infrastructure: Thanks to six years of ARTICLE 19 advocacy, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) , which shapes how the internet is designed and developed, published new tools in 2024 to help developers protect privacy, resist censorship, and embed human rights into internet infrastructure.

• Supporting a diverse internet: Throughout 2024, ARTICLE 19 translated complex debates about spectrum (the technology that powers Wi-Fi) into accessible insights for civil society to ensure smaller organisations can advocate for a diverse internet in which everyone has a voice. In September, we partnered with the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance for their Global Summit, where we advocated for equitable access to spectrum; and in October, following a decade of advocacy, we represented civil society on a panel at the World Telecoms Standards Assembly : the largest standards-setting event of the International Telecommunication Union, which is responsible for internet infrastructure and technology.

• Regulating social media: The final declaration of the G20 Summit , which took place in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024, highlighted the need to regulate social media – one of ARTICLE 19’s key demands.

Regional impact

● Challenging surveillance and censorship:

• Taiwan: In line with our ‘local to global’ theory of change, ARTICLE 19 supported smaller organisations to engage with the IETF (in addition to our own advocacy at the IETF, mentioned above) – like Taiwanese nonprofit Open Culture Foundation, who advocated at the IETF for legal measures to address surveillance, takedown requests, and censorship. As a result, Taiwan lawmakers are now more aware of the pressing need to build a resilient digital ecosystem.

• Poland: We celebrated a historic win against surveillance. In May, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Anti-Terrorism Act, which allows Polish police and intelligence agencies to conduct secret mass surveillance, violates the right to people’s private and family life. Back in 2020, ARTICLE 19 intervened in support of five applicants who brought the case. The European Court’s decision solidified protection against mass surveillance, which had a chilling effect on the FoE of journalists, NGOs, activists and lawyers, among others.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

• Expression and Big Tech:

• Brazil: Thanks to our advocacy, the Ministry of Finance and the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee adopted our positions on platform regulation, and the Administrative Council for Economic Defence launched a public consultation on competition in digital markets.

• USA: ARTICLE 19 played a pivotal role in two landmark US Supreme Court cases, which challenged state laws in Florida and Texas that sought to limit social media platforms’ ability to moderate content. With our partners, we submitted a crucial amicus brief arguing that these laws violated the First Amendment and international free speech standards. In line with our advocacy, the Supreme Court safeguarded digital rights and set global standards for free speech online. The Court’s decision also highlighted the importance of protecting diverse online platforms, ensuring regulations are narrowly tailored, and recognising that other laws (like competition rules) can address platform power without restricting free expression.

• Ensuring AI respects human rights: Our expertise on the intersection of AI and human rights was increasingly sought out in Mexico in 2024. We introduced a human rights perspective to national debates around AI legislation; were granted a permanent seat on the Senate working group on AI; and collaborated with the administration of justice apparatus in Nayarit on recommendations to incorporate a human rights perspective into the use of AI in the criminal justice system.

• Loosening Iran’s digital chokehold: Following a wave of arrests of ethnic religious minorities in Iran , ARTICLE 19 mobilised the digital ecosystem that we have built over the past 3 years to secure people’s accounts from state intrusion – in as little as 5 minutes. Using our method of ‘training the trainers’, we trained 25 trainers, who trained 1,760 others, who supported 1,487 high-risk people on the ground. We also partnered with Swedish tech company Yubico to distribute over 600 YubiKeys, which provide best-in-show protection against phishing attacks, to human rights defenders (HRDs); equipped the new Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran with the digital tools she needed to begin her mandate securely; and continued to develop, share, and fix VPNs to ensure people in Iran could get online.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

GLOBAL OBJECTIVE 2: More inclusive, protected, and resilient communities and individuals feel free to express themselves in public and media.

International impact

• Training: ARTICLE 19 trained nearly 5,000 journalists, activists, and HRDs worldwide, resulting in them being better equipped to defend FoE for all.

• Clearing the fog of war: In December 2024, ARTICLE 19 published a new policy setting out how and why FoE must be protected in wartime – and the International Committee of the Red Cross included our policy positions in its new framework to help organisations respond more effectively to harmful information during armed conflicts. We also amplified the voices of journalists in Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine on our Silenced podcast, which was selected as The Guardian ’s podcast of the week in June 2024 for its ‘humane’, ‘deeply informative’, ‘impassioned discussion[s]’ with journalists worldwide.

• Progress on protest at the UN: In summer 2024, we celebrated two protest wins at the UN: a new expert report included our contributions on police violence against LGBTQI+ protesters, and a new resolution reflected our calls for authorities not to use biometric technologies or deploy the army during protests. See ‘Regional Impact’, below, for regional and national wins for our #FreeToProtest campaign .

• Protecting journalists: In June 2024, a new UN Human Rights Council resolution called on states to address the increase in strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and mandated a report and workshop to explore their impact. ARTICLE 19 closely supported the passing of the resolution, which was adopted by consensus. See ‘Regional Impact’, below, for regional and national wins for our work to protect journalists.

Regional impact

• Amplifying the voices of local civil society organisations:

• Thailand: On 25 June 2024, HRD Roning Dolah was shot dead outside his home in Thailand’s Deep South: a region plagued by conflict between the government and Malay Muslim separatists. Dolah was the founder of community organisation Duay Jai, which ARTICLE 19 supported throughout 2024 – along with similar small nonprofits, like Network of Victims of the Emergency Law – enabling them to continue their vital work: monitoring human rights violations, ensuring Malay Muslim minorities have a voice in the peace process, and providing much-needed psychosocial support to victims of torture, forced disappearance, and other human rights violations. In line with our ‘local to global’ theory of change, when the UN Committee Against Torture reviewed Thailand’s progress in October 2024, we trained

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

around 70 leaders of small nonprofits to use the process to advocate for their rights, and we supported grassroots groups – including Duay Jai – to speak directly to the UN in Geneva: a process that, they told us, made them feel less alone.

● Defending artistic expression:

• Brazil: In May 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held public hearings in Manaus, Brazil, on the climate crisis. In addition to our formal contribution, ARTICLE 19 organised a side event starring women artists from the Amazon, who used hiphop and graffiti art to call for climate action. At a workshop that ARTICLE 19 coorganised, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights committed to developing regional standards to protect artistic expression. We also helped persecuted creatives to flee danger and reach a safe haven – like a São Paulo artist repeatedly threatened by military police, whose evacuation we supported in May 2024.

• Malaysia: Back in 2023, Borneo Speaks – a collective of women artists and writers in Sabah, Malaysia – attended ARTICLE 19’s training on hate speech. In 2024, they went on to organise their own workshops and publish a toolkit exploring how to challenge discrimination against marginalised youth, scaling ARTICLE 19’s impact among a wider audience. We also supported artists in East Malaysia to produce documentaries, land art, articles, and music videos that creatively challenge hate speech.

● Promoting media information literacy (MIL):

• Middle East and North Africa (MENA): In 2024, ARTICLE 19 developed a new manual to upskill trainee journalists in MIL, which Tunisia’s only public journalism school and Jordan’s only training institute for journalists have already integrated into their programmes.

• Senegal: Our MENA office also joined forces with our Senegal office to help trainee journalists promote free expression while countering hate speech and disinformation.

• Defending the right to protest (#FreeToProtest campaign):

• Poland: Following intensive advocacy by ARTICLE 19 and our local partners, the government agreed the Act on Assemblies required urgent reform and encouraged ARTICLE 19 to participate in the process (set to commence later in 2025) – a huge achievement compared with the previous government’s refusal to engage.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

• Thailand: Throughout 2024, ARTICLE 19 supported the small Thai organisation Law Long Beach to provide free legal aid and holistic security training for young protesters following arrest. We also teamed up with Thai Lawyers for Human Rights to amplify protesters’ voices to the UN Committee Against Torture’s examination of Thailand. The Committee’s final recommendations reflected our calls to protect protesters from violence and to improve detention conditions.

• Mexico: Mexico experienced a wave of police violence against protesters in 2024 – including an assault against an ARTICLE 19 staff member who was helping protesters detained in Mexico City. As a result of our advocacy, the authorities agreed to support collaboration between civil society and the Mexico City government during protests. We are now working with our partners to push for statelevel law enforcement and for public authorities to adopt a Model Protocol for Protest Action.

● Protecting journalists:

• USA/Russia: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich hit international headlines in August 2024 when he was released from prison in Russia, where he had been detained on bogus espionage charges for 16 months. ARTICLE 19 helped Evan’s legal team to access the UN, which found that Russia had violated international law by imprisoning him. He was released a month later – and the UN finding means he can now sue Russia for damages. Publisher of The Wall Street Journal , Almar Latour, personally thanked ARTICLE 19 for making ‘a meaningful impact on the efforts to bring Evan home’.

• Türkiye: In 3 of the 4 cases that ARTICLE 19 intervened in, the journalists were acquitted: Furkan Karabay, Cengiz Erdinç, and Sinan Aygül (the first journalist convicted for ‘spreading disinformation’ in Türkiye, who was sentenced to 10 months in prison in February 2023 for tweeting unverified information). We also shared our expertise in Turkish criminal procedural law with others, helping international observers understand and accurately report on violations of press freedom.

• Poland: Throughout 2024, ARTICLE 19 urged Poland’s new government to act on SLAPPs, including by co-organising the first international Anti-SLAPP Conference in Warsaw in April. At our conference, the Minister of Justice announced plans to decriminalise defamation and insult, and pledged to introduce a Polish anti-SLAPP law. Later in the year, the Minister informed us that his department had swiftly withdrawn 37 SLAPPs instigated by the previous government.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

• Mexico: ARTICLE 19’s in-depth investigation of violence against journalists, Veracruz de los Silencios (Veracruz of Silences), won a Walter Reuter German Journalism Prize 2024.

GLOBAL OBJECTIVE 3: Accurate and reliable data and information are publicly accessible and must empower individuals to seize their rights.

International impact

• Advancing the right to know: Globally, our advocacy advanced the right to know for over 175 million people in 2024. See ‘Regional Impact’, below, for national and regional highlights .

• Equipping activists and journalists with the evidence they need: Our Global Expression Report 2024 reached over 110,000 people: nearly 5 times more people than our data reached in 2023 – and over 25 times more than in 2022.

● Defending information integrity:

• UN: In April 2024, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a new r esolution on countering disinformation. Thanks to ARTICLE 19’s advocacy, it reflected many of our positions, including on the ‘essential role’ that free expression plays in defending information integrity. We also played a leading role in the development of the UN’s Global Principles for Information Integrity. Published in September, the principles aim to guide companies, journalists, civil society, governments, and the UN itself in their work.

• G20: In November, the G20 summit’s final declaration included information integrity as one of its key points: one of ARTICLE 19’s advocacy demands.

Regional impact

● Defending people’s right to know

• Mexico: In the vacuum of government support and reliable information before, during, and after Hurricane Otis (which hit Acapulco in October 2023), ARTICLE 19 listened to people on the frontlines and accompanied their fight for their right to information (RTI) throughout 2024. With our support, they submitted 66 freedom of information requests in just 3 months, and reported being better equipped to stay safe, make informed decisions, and use their right to know in future emergencies.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

• Eastern Africa: Finally, after an eight-year campaign spearheaded by ARTICLE 19, the regulations that operationalise Kenya ’s RTI law came into force in 2024. ARTICLE 19 was also appointed to a committee that will assess implementation of the law; taught journalists, activists, and influencers how to use the law in practice; and trained over 300 public officials from all 47 Kenyan counties about their RTI obligations. Across Eastern Africa, countries are looking to Kenya to shape their own legal frameworks: in 2024, Namibia approved an RTI law, and Zambia enacted theirs. ARTICLE 19 is working with Zambian civil society to support implementation.

• Senegal: Following relentless campaigning over many years by ARTICLE 19, on 20 June 2024, the Minister of Justice officially established a National Steering Committee to enable civil society and the public sector to be involved in decisionmaking. This is one of the biggest transparency successes we have seen in Senegal since the country joined the Open Government Partnership in 2018.

• Iraq: In summer 2024, ARTICLE 19 received an urgent call from Tawasoul, our local NGO partner in Iraq, about a damaging new RTI bill that parliament was trying to pass, which threatened to worsen corruption in Iraqi business and government. ARTICLE 19 mobilised our global and regional partners, while Tawasoul set to work building a local campaign coalition. As a result of our joint campaign, MPs announced that they would not support the bill without civil society input and agreed to revise the bill in line with our recommendations, resulting in around 70% of its original provisions being amended.

• Malaysia: ARTICLE 19 and our partners in Malaysia have spearheaded calls for an RTI law in Malaysia since 2019. The campaign gained momentum throughout 2024, and in a huge step forward, the government reached out to us several times for input. This shift – from the authorities ignoring civil society to actively seeking our involvement – was the fruit of many years of sustained advocacy. In December, the government announced that it would table the RTI law in 2025.

• Building resilience to climate disinformation: In 2024, ARTICLE 19 brought together climate journalists, environmental HRDs, and scientists from Algeria , Lebanon , Libya , Morocco , and Tunisia to enhance regional resilience to climate disinformation and media repression. For some participants (especially those from Libya and Algeria, where environmental reporting is harshly restricted), this was their first time working publicly on the subject. We supported them to use their RTI to investigate their countries’ environmental challenges – and to share their findings with the public.

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ARTICLE 19

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• Promoting ethical journalism: The Western Balkans faces a distinct set of challenges, with disinformation campaigns exploiting political instability and social divides in the context of historical conflict. On Debunking Day (11 March) 2024, ARTICLE 19 therefore launched a new campaign, #CheckItFirst, to promote ethical journalism and tackle fake news in Bosnia and Herzegovina , Kosovo , Montenegro , and Serbia . Key impacts included:

• Over 15 million impressions and 30,000 clicks across the region

• Reaching 65% of young Meta users – nearly 1 million people – in our target countries (exceeding our target by more than 20% )

• 70 journalists in the region signing our Ethical Journalism Pledge in under 5 months (exceeding our target by 35% )

• The development and launch of a tried-and-tested AI tool to help journalists in the region fact-check their stories

GLOBAL OBJECTIVE 4: Make ARTICLE 19 an organisation that will be better connected, agile, resilient, equitable and sustainable.

Sub-goal 4.1 – CONNECTED: ARTICLE 19 effectively collaborates and learns, internally and from others, whilst amplifying our message globally

• The Global Identity Project was launched in 2024. This seeks to define a global brand for ARTICLE 19 and more broadly FoE, seeking to better articulate who the organisation is and will result in clearer communication strategies. Research has been conducted through indepth interviews with a series of stakeholders in Kenya, Mexico, Thailand and the US to show how both the organisation and freedom of expression itself are viewed externally. This will be complimented by research from Brazil in 2025 and lead into the development of a new strategy.

• ARTICLE 19 also held its first OPEN 19 event, ‘Taming the Dog Whistle: Reversing Declines in Freedom of Expression in the UK’. This in-person event started with a panel of both ARTICLE 19 staff and external experts before an open discussion on the topic. To grow recognition of ARTICLE 19’s work within the sector and to bring in different perspectives, these events will be held every 3-4 months.

• To improve our internal communications across the organisation, a monthly newsletter called The Big Shift was launched, which shared important milestones and messages about upcoming organisational changes such as the switch to Sage Intacct, the new finance system, the shift to MS 365 and a countdown to our 2025 planning and budgeting process.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Sub-goal 4.2 – AGILE: ARTICLE 19's structures, processes and policies are efficiently

delivering innovative, flexible, and effective working

• In 2024, ARTICLE 19 took the opportunity to restructure how the International Office can deliver our programmatic work under our strategy more efficiently. The role of a Director of Strategy and Impact was created to lead a Strategy Delivery Unit that brought together technical programme-management expertise with thematic expertise in a support team that is better able to deliver not only programme objectives, but do so in a way that is agile, and which can take decisions efficiently and provide a clear and consistent approach to the management of complex, global projects.

• As part of the restructure, the Strategy Delivery Unit’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team, along with the Campaigns and Communications team, reviewed how the organisation defines and measures impact . This resulted in a series of tools and guides to be rolled out in 2025.

• During 2024, ARTICLE 19 initiated a process to establish a strategy for the South Asia region , which will consider the centrality of India as a key regional and global negative player on FoE.

• After several decades of working in and on Russia , ARTICLE 19 was classified as an “undesirable” organisation in February 2024. Given the serious ramifications for the people of Russia, ARTICLE 19 immediately invoked several security measures to ensure partners within Russia were not put at risk, as well as additional measures for others outside Russia. ARTICLE 19 Europe is reassessing its strategy for Russia moving forward.

• The Business Development Team expanded its personnel resources in 2024 in order to better support regional growth. New staff members ensured that each region can be given specific support in order to strengthen their growth and stability. In addition, the team created an Innovation Hub , a space in order to facilitate the creation of ideas for new areas of work. Two projects were undertaken as part of the Innovation Hub in 2024; the organisation’s thinking on information integrity was developed into a strategy paper and work began examining the intersection of FoE and climate justice.

Sub-goal 4.3 – RESILIENT: ARTICLE 19 has the capability to anticipate threats and manage the impact of sudden shocks to the organisation

• The organisation progressed with Project Merge in 2024, migrating platforms and tools onto Microsoft 365. All ARTICLE 19 employees have been registered on the Microsoft dashboard, with email, chat and document sharing functionality now fully transitioned onto the new suite of programmes. This was accompanied with detailed guidance and training on the use of these new systems.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

• In addition to this work has progressed on the creation of a bespoke project-management and MEL tool: Project Ecosystem for Business Intelligence (PEBI) . This will enable the development and management of projects throughout the project lifecycle, from proposal to closure. This will be complimented by a new knowledge-management system, to share learnings across the organisation. Both of these tools are also being developed on a Microsoft platform, and will be rolled out in 2025.

• The Management Development Programme commenced in November 2023 in response to a need to develop consistently high-quality management across the organisation and concluded in October 2024. The five sessions covered topics such as, being an ARTICLE 19 manager, communications, personal effectiveness, people management and performance management. To ensure continuity of people management, two internal programmes will be developed: follow up sessions to strengthen confidence and capability in people management, transfer newly learnt skills and bake these into appraisals as set goals and using key messages from the programme to create a development plan for emerging and new people managers (internal and new to the organisation).

Sub-goal 4.4 – EQUITABLE: ARTICLE 19 integrates diversity, equality, and inclusion into its ways of working, both internally and externally

• In 2024 ARTICLE 19 took steps to ensure that all work was conducted with an equitable lens in its delivery. An empowering example of this is the Internet Freedom Initiative in the Asia Pacific region. An external evaluation found that project staff worked on ensuring diverse groups of participants through maintaining a database of partners disaggregated by gender to ensure availability of diverse speakers and experts. In addition through events, visits and closed meetings, ARTICLE 19 staff addressed policy makers, UN representatives and diplomatic missions on internet freedom and digital rights in Asia, putting gender and inclusion at the centre of the discussions.

• Internally ARTICLE 19 carried out a Global Engagement Survey in five different languages, asking staff across the organisation key questions about how they feel about the organisation and their role within it. With commitment to anonymity and confidentiality to all staff, the survey received a positive response rate of 70% across the organisation. However, this meant that on this occasion, a decision was made not to collect some data and were not able to disaggregate results per region or office. A wealth of quantitative data about what the organisation is doing well and what it is not, with results benchmarked against an industry standard. Next steps include; sharing results with transparency; through staff participation, highlighting the top five key themes to focus on; developing a clear timeline to share with the whole organisation and setting up an engagement working group representative of regions to contribute towards changes and improvements.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

• To progress the International Rewards Framework , the People and Culture team have been working with a reputable reward consultant to carry out the following: define reward principles in line with organisational values to further promote equity and consistency; a full review of all job titles and job descriptions; a job family framework, grouping roles together as they share similar skill sets and work; and the design of job levels and grading criteria. A robust reward framework will revolutionise the approach to rewards with a simplified pay structure and ensure pay equity for every role.

Sub-goal 4.5 – SUSTAINABLE: ARTICLE 19 ensures its long-term stability and ability to have future impact

• In a dramatically changing funding landscape, where ARTICLE 19 can no longer rely solely on classic donor channels to sustain impact, ARTICLE 19 has adopted a forward-thinking approach to diversify its funding mix and sharpen skills to engage with new finance models. ARTICLE 19’s business expansion strategy is focused on expanding unrestricted funding

• potential by supporting and delivering new fundraising areas of work:

  1. Market development: Focusing on proactive outreach to institutional donors and foundations to cultivate new relationships, as well as exploring new funding opportunities with existing donors.

  2. Diversification: Targeting new donors for ARTICLE 19- individuals, wealthy individuals and corporations- with totally new activities, such as internet fundraising, fundraising events, direct campaigns, direct email, face to face or direct dialogue, etc., while contributing to strengthening ARTICLE 19’s brand identity. An example is a new partnership with tech company Yubico, who have agreed to donate tech to ARTICLE 19 which will be used to directly aid HRDs who are at risk of state censorship.

• To operationalise the new strategy, the business development team will increase its manpower and evolve to a business development function , where everybody across the organisation will engage in fundraising at different levels, through four outreach methods:

  1. Institutional fundraising, focused on governments and multi-lateral institutions;

  2. Bilateral fundraising, focused on private foundations;

  3. Individual giving, focused on individual donations and corporations;

  4. High net-worth individuals .

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

• As new fundraising opportunities are sought, it is important to ensure that the approach is strategic and sustainable, securing funding that fully covers the real costs of ARTICLE 19’s expertise and function. A new Cost Recovery Policy has been written and will be ratified and launched in 2025. This entails a significant shift in the organisation’s culture to ensure:

• All grants and contracts contribute to cost recovery on a fair-share basis.

• All our donors are treated fairly.

• ARTICLE 19 remains a sustainable and flexible organisation.

• In Bangladesh , the office has been stabilised following the departure of the Director by supporting colleagues to deliver their programmatic work and reinforcing security protocols and measures for the office and for staff during political instability in the country.

• The MENA Regional Office in Tunisia has received continued support in the face of the legal and financial harassment by the government. A civil and criminal lawyer have been engaged to take measures to ensure the financial resilience and viability of the office, ensuring salaries and partners can continue to be paid, and activities can continue.

• In Senegal , efforts have focused on building the fundraising skills of the team, which has resulted in a net increase of new funding sources for the office, mostly locally identified, with support from the International Office. The office also hosted the International Board meeting in Dakar, in January 2025 where Board members were able to meet West African colleagues.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Plans for 2025

ARTICLE 19’s work across the four global objectives will continue to implement a ‘local to global’ approach, taking issues that affect those at the local level and amplifying their concerns in international forums, as well as advocating for countries to apply international standards in their application of legislation related to FoE.

Global Objective 1

• Create direct action plans and recommendations for tech companies on censorship, privacy, and user safety, and conduct advocacy to address these recommendations.

• Ensure sustained pressure on the Iranian government to take decisive actions to guarantee increased diversity of uncensored media.

• Mainstream standards on creating an enabling environment for small, community, and nonprofit internet operators within all relevant UN resolutions.

• Influence progressive international standards on digital issues , in line with our policy positions, within UN resolutions.

Global Objective 2

• Train at least 500 people in Belarus , Moldova , Ukraine , Turkey , as well as exiled communities, to better protect themselves from digital, physical, legal, and psychological threats.

• Create a training reference guide on MIL , targeted at young journalists, to reinforce their capacities to use MIL as a tool to combat disinformation; provide mini grants to student journalists; and a range of other MIL activities in Tunisia and Jordan.

• Develop an advocacy strategy to further the recommendations from the organisation’s new policy on defending freedom of expression during armed conflict.

• Continue to ensure the Law on Peaceful Assembly in Poland is in line with international human rights standards.

Global Objective 3

• Ensure ARTICLE 19 remains the ‘go-to’ organisation for legal and policy expertise related to disinformation and broader information threats at the international (UN) level.

• Increase the capacity of civil society organisations in the Asia Pacific region to exercise the role of watchdog over private companies and governments.

• Support consortia on advocacy to ensure strategic legislative proposals on disinformation comply with international standards.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Global Objective 4

• Roll out a comprehensive training programme across the organisation for Sage Intacct (a finance system), PEBI (a project-management and MEL system), and Baraza (a knowledgemanagement tool).

• By the end of 2025, establish the Innovation Hub internally (to include a strategic plan and innovation policy), and develop two innovation incubator projects.

• Equip staff with the necessary tools to work efficiently and securely by ensuring the implementation and utilisation of IT and security solutions . This includes deploying and maintaining endpoint protection software, YubiKeys, IT Service Management systems, multifactor authentication, password managers, Microsoft 365, and standard corporate email signatures.

• Conduct a full global review of our current benefits and propose a suite of global benefits for all staff , ensuring they are representative (where possible), and equal to local market conditions.. Ensure benefits are competitive to attract and retain talent.

• Roll out training on key donor compliance requirements , such as Fly America and European Commission eligibility rules, and make guidelines available on Baraza (our internal knowledge-management platform).

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Financial review

The financial results for the year ended 31 December 2024 are set out in the Statement of Financial Activities. In 2024 ARTICLE 19 raised £15.0m (2023: £17.4m) and we spent £15.3m (2023: £16.7m). The reduction in income is due to a more difficult donor fundraising landscape.

Income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities based on need. Restricted income has decreased to £10.6m (2023: £13.3m) while unrestricted income has increased to £4.4m (2023: £4.1m). ARTICLE 19 is very appreciative of the continued support and trust of our core unrestricted donors, SIDA and NMFA, which remains critical to our ability to defend FoE and support our regional offices globally.

Total expenditure decreased by £1.4m to £15.3m (2023: £16.7m), in line with reduced restricted and increased unrestricted income. Restricted expenditure decreased by £2.0m while unrestricted expenditure increased by £0.4m.

A transfer of reserves of £0m (2023: £0.5m) from restricted to unrestricted wasn’t needed in 2024. This took place last year, due to close down of projects in Mexico and the revaluation of all reserves in foreign currency into GBP.

As ARTICLE 19 matures as an organisation and restricted activity grows, we acknowledge that we must support this by ensuring strong and effective systems and controls, in particular effective and responsive compliance with our grant obligations. The strategy for 2022–2025 has explicitly addressed this need in its fourth strategic objective focused on making ARTICLE 19 an organisation that will be better connected, more agile, resilient and sustainable to create a strong foundation for our future growth.

Designated reserves and unrestricted general funds

As a group we hold a designated reserve to match the net book value of fixed assets. At the end of 2024 this totaled £170k (2023: £123k). Our free reserves, called general funds, total £0.8m (2023: £1.3m). Free reserves are available to provide operational working capital and to maintain ARTICLE 19’s resilience to resist the financial impact of unforeseen events or unexpected risks surrounding projected income and expenditure.

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Reserves policy

The reserves policy is designed to protect the organisation against areas mentioned in our risk review along with unexpected falls in income, unplanned increases in expenditure, security risks and unexpected fluctuations in exchange rates. Our policy results in a target of £1.8m and in comparing this with the general funds figure of £0.8m there is a shortfall against our target of £1.0m.

We continue to develop plans to increase our sources of unrestricted funds through fundraising, increasing indirect recovery rates and improving the overall cost recovery in order to achieve our reserves target. As recognised in 2023, we needed some investment of our existing reserves in 2024. Due to a combination of these factors we reduced unrestricted reserves by £0.5m in 2024. We recognise that closing the shortfall completely will take time and may, in the short term, require some continued investment of our existing reserves. We continue to monitor our funding position closely.

The trustees have considered the going concern basis of Article 19. Notwithstanding the general funds shortfall and challenging funding environment, the trustees are of the view that cash flow projections provide the necessary financial breathing space to make the necessary adjustments to secure the long term future of the charity. As a result, the accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.

Changes in group structure

There are no new changes in 2024.

Risk review

ARTICLE 19 reviews and updates its risk register and policy regularly, which covers both financial and operational risks. On a quarterly basis, the Board’s Finance and General Purposes Committee (FGPC) reviews the risk register for completeness and the reasons for changes in the risk profile. The six-monthly Board meeting also has an overview of organisational risk as a standing agenda item.

The most significant risks at the end of 2024 are:

1. Political change in key donor countries leading to loss of government funding due to diversion of funding priorities away from human rights work. The risks attributed to Brexit have significantly reduced since 2021, but the risk remains high as we experience a shift in political discussions and views away from human rights, including FoE. The Ukraine conflict remains an ongoing and uncertain event with considerable potential for both short- and longer-term impacts on our funding and operations. Our mitigation measures continue to include good budgetary and expenditure control and lobbying donors who are either higher-

Page 23 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

risk or have the potential to increase their funding. ARTICLE 19 is now fully registered in the Netherlands, enabling us to access European funding post-Brexit. We have launched our high-net-worth individual givers programme and will continue to diversify our funding and donor base.

2. Unplanned loss or incapacity of key staff, especially in smaller Regional Offices, increasing the risk of destabilising Regional Offices and teams. This risk has remained high over the year: several significant changes occurred over a short period of time, including one Regional Office experiencing a change in leadership and another being impacted by longterm absence, which has been mitigated by hiring a Deputy Regional Director. In consultation with staff, notice periods have been adapted to provide more stability and to align with industry best practice. In addition, we have enhanced our wellbeing measures to improve our staff retention.

3. State authorities or other bodies affected by our work subjecting our staff or offices to harassment, intimidation, or legal action and posing risks to our registration. Our Security Management Group and Global Management Team continue to monitor and review potential crises and seek to improve our protocols and plans for response and mitigation. The processes and training for ensuring good editorial control of publicly released documents continue to be reviewed and improved. Where possible, cost-effective, and available, professional indemnity insurance coverage has been put in place to mitigate cost impacts.

The following risks are also regarded as important, and are therefore being closely monitored, but sufficient mitigation measures have already been taken to manage the impact on ARTICLE 19’s operations and staff:

• Failure to deliver projects (including meeting donors’ compliance or reporting terms) leading to reputational damage and loss of funding.

• Loss of funds due to internal fraud, including by partners.

• IT failure or malicious cyber-attacks leading to loss of data (including confidential information) or systems failure.

• Lack of fully effective financial-management systems leading to a core funding shortfall and organisational sustainability issues.

• Physical and virtual risks to our staff arising from the politically sensitive nature of our work and that of our partners.

• Lack of effective business-continuity planning impairing ARTICLE 19’s ability to operate.

• Rising complexity and compliance burden of operating in dispersed multiple countries resulting in failure to comply with UK and international tax and employment law, increasing the costs and resource burden on human resources (HR).

• The growth and visibility of our work on sensitive issues, such as China, increasing security concerns for our staff and operations.

Page 24 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Fundraising policy

We are aware of our obligations under the Charities Act to report our fundraising policy. Our funding comes almost entirely from statutory funders, trusts and foundations, and companies. Since 2021, we have also enabled individual supporters to donate to ARTICLE 19 through our website.

We are guided by our Ethical Standards Policy, which sets out three standards that govern how we seek and receive individual and corporate donations and funding. These three standards are:

• Ethical Standard 1: ARTICLE 19 will not accept funds (cash or in-kind) from corporations whose work or activities directly and actively undermine the achievement of our mission, i.e. to promote and defend freedom of expression and information globally.

• Ethical Standard 2: ARTICLE 19 will not enter into a relationship with a corporation that poses a substantial risk to ARTICLE 19’s reputation which could lead to loss of support and credibility.

• Ethical Standard 3: All cash and non-cash funds received from corporations will be disclosed in full and publicly acknowledged by ARTICLE 19, in keeping with our commitment to transparency and accountability.

We do not use professional fundraisers, and we did not receive any complaints in the year. We are also considering registering with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice in 2025 or 2026.

Page 25 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Structure, governance, and management

Governance

ARTICLE 19 is a charitable company limited by guarantee (no 2097222). It was set up by a Memorandum of Association on 5 February 1987. ARTICLE 19 was registered as a charity on 7 January 1987 (registered charity number 327421).

Structure of the organisation

ARTICLE 19’s International Office (based in London):

• i) hosts ARTICLE 19 thematic teams (including digital, protection and media freedom);

• ii) hosts ARTICLE 19 international support teams (including Law and Policy; Communication and Campaigns; People and Culture; Projects, Finance and Operations) and the Executive Director;

• iii) hosts some of the Regional Team for Europe and Central Asia as it transitions from being based in the UK to being based in the Netherlands as part of Stichting ARTICLE 19;

• iv) directly manages the Regional Team for Southeast Asia; and

• v) provides financial, operational and fundraising support to Regional Offices in Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, the United States, Senegal, and Tunisia.

The Regional Offices are of two types:

• i) Subsidiaries: these parts of ARTICLE 19 have local governance boards and take independent management decisions from the International Office. They are treated as subsidiaries in the accounts. These include ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America (ARTIGO 19 Brasil), ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America (ARTICULO 19 Campaña Global por la libertad de expression), ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa (based in Kenya), and Stichting ARTICLE 19 (Netherlands).

• ii) Branches: these parts of ARTICLE 19 may have local advisory boards but do not take independent management decisions from the International Office. These include ARTICLE 19 Bangladesh and South Asia, ARTICLE 19 Senegal and West Africa, ARTICLE 19 Middle East and North Africa, ARTICLE 19 Inc. (USA), and ARTICLE 19 Global Campaign on Freedom of Expression (Canada).

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Affiliate Members are those regional offices that have a governance or advisory board from which they appoint a representative to the International General Assembly. Affiliates are ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America (ARTIGO 19 Brasil), ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America (ARTICULO 19 Campaña Global por la libertad de expression), ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa (based in Kenya), Stichting ARTICLE 19 (Netherlands) and ARTICLE 19 Middle East and North Africa.

The International General Assembly comprises the Trustees of the UK charity together with nominated representatives from the Affiliates.

Board of Trustees

ARTICLE 19 is governed by an International Board of Trustees (‘Directors’ under company law). The International Board of Trustees meets twice a year to provide strategic direction for the organisation, and to monitor the work of the Executive Director and management team.

One Trustee resigned in May 2024, followed by three additional resignations due to retirement in September 2024 and June 2025. Three new Trustees were appointed in January 2025. Our Board, at the time of signing in 2025, consists of:

• Robert Latham (Chair), lawyer specialising in media and intellectual property law

• Gayathry Venkiteswaran (Vice Chair; resigned June 2025)

• David Viney (Treasurer; appointed June 2025), digital technologist

• Mark Salway (Treasurer; resigned June 2025)

• Dr Rasha Abdulla, Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications at The American University in Cairo

• Amira El-Sayed, activist and philanthropic expert

• Prof. David Kaye, Professor of Law and Director of the International Justice Clinic at the University of California, Irvine

• Muluka Anne Miti-Drummond, international human rights specialist and UN Independent Expert on albinism

• Lucia Nader, political scientist

• Charles Onyango-Obbo (resigned September 2024)

• Atanas Politov, lawyer specialising in pro-bono support

• Javier Garza Ramos, journalist

• Aparna Ravi, lawyer specialising in corporate finance and governance

• Lesley Swarbrick, writer and HR expert (with special responsibility for HR on the Board)

• Barbara Trionfi (resigned May 2024)

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ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

The Board’s Finance and General Purposes Committee (FGPC) is responsible for overseeing financial, audit, HR, and operational matters, including risk management. The committee meets a minimum of four times a year, with additional meetings as required. It is chaired by the Treasurer (Mark Salway until June 2025, when he resigned; David Viney, who was appointed as Treasurer in June 2025, since then).

The Board’s Governance Sub-Committee is charged with overseeing and measuring the overall effectiveness of the governance mechanisms of the organisation and recommending new Trustees for appointment to fill vacancies. The committee meets at least three times a year. It is chaired by the Chair

Selection and appointment of Trustees

There is a documented and structured process for the appointment of new Trustees. Nominations and recommendations are first made by existing members and from open recruitment. Their CVs are then circulated to the Governance Sub-Committee of the Board, which arranges for potential candidates to be interviewed for their suitability. The Governance Committee then proposes selected candidates to the General Assembly, who in turn recommend them to the Trustees upon agreement. The Trustees will then vote to appoint a new Trustee. New Trustees are confirmed at the Annual General Meeting of ARTICLE 19.

Induction and training of Trustees

Newly appointed UK Trustees meet with the Chair, the Executive Director, and staff members as part of a documented and structured induction programme; and they receive key ARTICLE 19 organisational and programmatic documents. For non-UK-based Trustees, the induction programme process commences virtually and is completed in person at the time of the next Board meeting.

Setting remuneration of key management personnel

The FGPC sets the pay of the Executive Director and reviews this on a periodic basis, taking into account market conditions and pay in similar organisations. The pay of other key management personnel is determined by a salary scale that is updated annually in line with inflation and applied to all staff.

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of ARTICLE 19 for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Page 28 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and applied them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the detection and prevention of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees of the company who held office at the date of the approval of the Financial Statements as set out above confirm, so far as they are aware, that:

• there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and

• they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part VII of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Page 29 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Auditors

Sayer Vincent LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company’s auditors during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.

We would like to thank everyone, and all organisations, who support our work – donors, staff and Trustees. Our work would not be possible without you.

The Trustees delegated approval of the report and financial statements to the Finance and General Purposes Committee. This report and the financial statements were approved by the Committee on 24[th] October 2025 and are signed on their behalf by:

Robert Latham (Chair)

David Viney (Treasurer)

Page 30 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Administrative details

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Administrative details

Company number 2097222

Charity number 327421

Registered office and operational 72-82 Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4RW address

Trustees Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the time of writing were as follows:

Robert Latham Chair Gayathry Venkiteswaran Vice Chair; Chair of Governance Sub-Committee (resigned June 2025) Mark Salway Treasurer; Chair of Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee (resigned June 2025) David Viney Treasurer; Chair of Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee (from June 2025) Rasha Abdulla David Kaye Lucia Nader Charles Onyango-Obbo Resigned 10 September 2024 Javier Garza Ramos Aparna Ravi Lesley Swarbrick Barbara Trionfi Resigned 20 May 2024

Committees and their members

Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee David Viney Treasurer and Chair of Sub-Committee (since June 2025) Mark Salway Treasurer and Chair of Sub-Committee (until June 2025) Robert Latham Lesley Swarbrick

Page 31 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Administrative details

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Governance Sub-Committee Gayathry Venkiteswaran Vice Chair and Chair of Sub-Committee (until June 2025) Robert Latham Lucia Nader Aparna Ravi Secretary Quinn McKew Principal staff Quinn McKew Executive Director Barbora Bukovská Senior Director for Law and Policy David Diaz-Jogeix Senior Director of Programmes Sara Wilbourne Senior Director of Communications and Campaigns Amir Bayani Director of Organisation Resilience Sue Bowley Interim Director of Finance (from June 2025) Nicola Dodero Director of Finance (until May 2025) Marian Romero Director of Business Development (from August 2024) Inger Wong Director of Strategy and Impact Bankers Barclays Bank PLC, London Solicitors Bates Well 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1BE Auditor Sayer Vincent LLP Chartered accountants and registered auditors 110 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0TG

Page 32 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Independent auditor’s report

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of ARTICLE 19 (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the group and parent charitable company balance sheets, the consolidated statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

• Give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended

• Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice

• Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the group financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

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ARTICLE 19

Independent auditor’s report

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on ARTICLE 19's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, including the strategic report other than the group financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the group financial statements does not cover the other information, and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the group financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the group financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• The information given in the trustees’ annual report, including the strategic report, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements

• The trustees’ annual report, including the strategic report, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements

Page 34 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Independent auditor’s report

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report, including the strategic report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• Adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• The parent charitable company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• Certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• We have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the parent charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied

that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed auditor under the Companies Act 2006 and section 151 of the Charites Act 2011 and report in accordance with those Acts.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high

Page 35 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Independent auditor’s report

For the year ended 31 December 2024

level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

• We enquired of management, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the group’s policies and procedures relating to:

• Identifying, evaluating, and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

• Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud;

• The internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or noncompliance with laws and regulations.

• We inspected the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

• We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the group operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the group from our professional and sector experience.

• We communicated applicable laws and regulations throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.

• We reviewed any reports made to regulators.

• We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.

• In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business.

Page 36 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Independent auditor’s report

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulations made under section 154 of that Act. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Jonathan Orchard (Seniorstatutory auditor)

5 November 2025 for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor Invicta House, 108-110 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TG

Sayer Vincent LLP is eligible to act as auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

Page 37 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) For the year ended 31 December 2024

						2024					2023
			Unrestricted	Restricted		Total		Unrestricted		Restricted	Total
	Note		£	£		£		£		£	£
Income from:
Donations and Legacies	2a		4,406,011	-		4,406,011		4,109,375		-	4,109,375
Charitable Activities	2b
Africa projects			-	544,805		544,805		-		501,530	501,530
Asia projects			-	1,815,507		1,815,507		-		2,110,721	2,110,721
Latin America projects			-	2,559,627		2,559,627		-		2,774,522	2,774,522
Law & Policy projects			-	1,020,491		1,020,491		-		181,498	181,498
Europe & Central Asia projects			-	999,672		999,672		-		2,463,410	2,463,410
Middle East & North Africa projects			-	1,039,405		1,039,405		-		1,205,409	1,205,409
Global thematic projects			-	2,605,256		2,605,256		-		4,099,267	4,099,267
Intercompany			-	-		-		-		-	-
Total Income			4,406,011	10,584,763		14,990,774		4,109,375		13,336,357	17,445,732
Expenditure on:
Cost of raising funds	3		302,708	167		302,875		240,146		4,202	244,348
Charitable Activities	3
Africa projects			557,414	387,464		944,878		506,283		393,284	899,567
Asia projects			456,437	1,703,700		2,160,137		237,328		2,037,375	2,274,703
Latin America projects			1,157,534	2,587,201		3,744,735		1,425,357		2,876,864	4,302,221
Law & Policy projects			463,679	352,822		816,501		492,275		403,473	895,748
Europe & Central Asia projects			498,649	1,583,495		2,082,144		203,228		2,109,591	2,312,819
Middle East & North Africa projects			370,634	1,239,254		1,609,888		267,717		1,222,579	1,490,296
Global thematic projects			982,969	2,595,721		3,578,690		989,593		3,335,425	4,325,018
Total Expenditure			4,790,024	10,449,824		15,239,848		4,361,927		12,382,793	16,744,720
Net Income for the year before transfers	4	-	384,013	134,939	-	249,074	-	252,552		953,564	701,012
Transfers between funds						-		511,555	-	511,555	-
Net income for the year after transfers		-	384,013	134,939	-	249,074		259,003		442,009	701,012
Reconciliation of Funds
Total funds brought forward			1,386,108	5,254,036		6,640,144		1,127,105		4,812,027	5,939,132
Total funds carried forward			1,002,095	5,388,975		6,391,070		1,386,108		5,254,036	6,640,144

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 21 to the financial statements.

Page 38 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Balance sheet For the year ended 31 December 2024

2024 2023 £ £ Note Fixed assets: Tangible assets 10 180,784 122,541 180,784 122,541 Current assets: Debtors 16 764,349 996,094 Cash at bank and in hand 7,054,810 6,870,414 7,819,159 7,866,508 Liabilities: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 17 1,608,873 1,348,905 6,210,286 6,517,603 Net current assets 6,391,070 6,640,144 Total net assets Funds: Restricted income funds 21 5,388,975 5,254,036 Unrestricted income funds - Designated funds 180,784 122,541 General funds 821,311 1,263,567 Total unrestricted funds 1,002,095 1,386,108 Total funds 6,391,070 6,640,144 The group	2024 2023 £ £ 121,152 82,321 121,152 82,321 567,282 1,044,732 3,814,098 3,610,211 4,381,380 4,654,943 1,390,015 1,028,395 2,991,365 3,626,548 3,112,517 3,708,869 3,116,135 2,565,089 121,152 82,321 124,770 - 1,061,459 3,618 - 1,143,780 3,112,517 3,708,869 The charity	2024 2023 £ £ 121,152 82,321 121,152 82,321 567,282 1,044,732 3,814,098 3,610,211 4,381,380 4,654,943 1,390,015 1,028,395 2,991,365 3,626,548 3,112,517 3,708,869 3,116,135 2,565,089 121,152 82,321 124,770 - 1,061,459 3,618 - 1,143,780 3,112,517 3,708,869 The charity
		82,321 1,044,732 3,610,211
		4,654,943 1,028,395
		3,626,548
		3,708,869
		2,565,089 82,321 1,061,459
		1,143,780
		3,708,869

:behalf by

Robert Latham Chair

David Viney Treasurer

Page 39 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Statement of cash flows For the year ended 31 December 2024

Note £ £ Cash flows from operating activities Net cash provided by operating activities 22 184,396 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of fixed assets 98,618 Net cash (used in) investing activities 98,618 Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year 85,778 Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 6,870,414 Change in cash and cash equivalents due to other movements 184,396 Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 23 7,054,810 2024	£ £ 819,070 22,805 22,805 796,265 6,276,061 594,353 6,870,414 2023	£ £ 819,070 22,805 22,805 796,265 6,276,061 594,353 6,870,414 2023
		796,265 6,276,061 594,353
		6,870,414

Page 40 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

ARTICLE 19 is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the United Kingdom. The registered office address is 72-82 Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4RW.

b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charity and its wholly-owned subsidiaries ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America (ARTIGO 19 Brasil), ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America (ARTICULO 19, Campaña global por la libertad de expression), ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa (based in Kenya) and ARTICLE 19 Netherlands (Stichting ARTICLE 19) on a line by line basis.

Transactions and balances between the charity and its subsidiaries have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. Balances between the entities are disclosed in the notes of the charity's balance sheet. A separate statement of financial activities, or income and expenditure account, for the charity itself is not presented as a summary of the result for the year is disclosed in the notes to the accounts.

The SORP 2015 stipulates that where overseas offices are legally registered in their country of operations as separate legal entities, this is an indication that they should be treated as subsidiaries for accounting purposes. However, having reviewed the governance and management procedures in place, oversight from ARTICLE 19 in the UK is such that other overseas offices (USA, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Senegal and Canada) are in substance branches and so are included in the results and position of the charity.

c) Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

e)

Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

f) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Income and expenditure that meets these criteria is charged to the fund. Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes. Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

• Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose;

• Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of training/workshops, grants to partners, events, campaigns and publications undertaken to further the purposes of the charity, and their associated support costs;

• Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

Page 41 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

1 Accounting policies (continued)

h) Allocation of support costs

Resources expended (note 3) are allocated to a particular activity where the cost relates directly to that project. The cost of overall direction and administration of each activity consists of salary and overhead costs for the central function. This is apportioned on the following basis which is an estimate based on staff time and the amount attributable to each activity.

 Cost of raising funds 4%

 Africa projects 7%

 Asia projects 10%

 Latin America projects 33%

 Law & Policy 9%

 Europe & Central Asia project 9%

 Middle East & North Africa projects 9%

 Global projects 20%

i) Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

j) Fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £500. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use. Where fixed assets have been revalued, any excess between the revalued amount and the historic cost of the asset will be shown as a revaluation reserve in the balance sheet.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

 Office equipment 4 years

 Computer Equipment 3 years

 Office fit out Duration of lease

k) Grants to partners

Grants payable are made to third parties in furtherance of the charity's objects. Single or multi-year grants are accounted for when either the recipient has a reasonable expectation that they will receive a grant and the trustees have agreed to pay the grant without condition, or the recipient has a reasonable expectation that they will receive a grant and that any condition attaching to the grant is outside of the control of the charity.

l) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

m) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

n) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

o) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans, which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

p) Pension Scheme

ARTICLE 19 operates a group pension scheme with Scottish Widows that pays an employer contribution of 8% for its employees in the UK. From November 2016, ARTICLE 19 joined the auto-enrolment scheme with the same pension provider.

q) Foreign exchange policy

ARTICLE 19 hold funds in the currency in which those funds will be transferred to its Regional Offices and to its partners. Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into Sterling at the average rate of exchange for the year. Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the net movement in funds for the year.

Page 42 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

2a Donations and legacies Unrestricted £ Institutional donors Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Note 28) 725,111 Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Not 1,793,980 Sub-total of Institutional donors 2,519,091 Other income Wellspring Philanthropic Fund 434,918 Ford Foundation 382,493 Hewlett Foundation 384,970 MacArthur Foundation 117,384 Open Society Foundation - Other voluntary income 567,155 Sub-total of Other donors 1,886,920 Total 4,406,011	Restricted £ - - - - - - - - - - -	2024 Total £ 725,111 1,793,980 2,519,091 434,918 382,493 384,970 117,384 - 567,155 1,886,920 4,406,011	2023 Total £ 741,487 1,755,227
			2,496,714 315,858 418,703 - 120,968 205,397 551,735
			1,612,661
			4,109,375

All donations and legacies income received in 2024 and 2023 were unrestricted.

Page 43 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

2b Income from charitable activates by donors Unrestricted £ Institutional donors European Commission - Global Affairs Canada - The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation - Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency - UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (Note 26) - US Department of State - The United States Agency for International Development (USA - Other Institutional donors - Sub-total of Institutional donors - Trusts and Foundations Ford Foundation - Hewlett Foundation - Luminate Foundation MacArthur Foundation - Mercator Stiftung - Open Society Foundation - Other Trusts and Foundations - Sub-total of Trust and Foundations - Other donors DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance - European Partnership for Democracy - IREX - Free Press Unlimited - National Endowment for Democracy - Open Technology Fund - Stichting Hivos - UNESCO - Wellspring Philanthropic Fund - Other donors - Sub-total of Other donors - Total -	Restricted £ 631,969 214,119 4,502 142,920 1 3,466,197 421,887 510,185 5,391,780 902,637 - 1,144,971 - 65,886 55,440 247,564 2,416,498 246,397 160,609 185,090 1,224 - 510,370 540,333 223,537 177,037 118,614 615,722 2,776,485 10,584,763	2024 Total £ 631,969 214,119 4,502 142,920 1 3,466,197 421,887 510,185 5,391,780 902,637 - 1,144,971 - 65,886 55,440 247,564 2,416,498 246,397 160,609 185,090 1,224 - 510,370 540,333 223,537 177,037 118,614 615,722 2,776,485 10,584,763	2023 Total £ 414,002 190,700 46,811 - 1,413,520 4,770,195 - 606,771
			7,441,999 836,417 283,454 129,587 319 - 1,848,142 278,815
			3,376,734 - 209,664 - 115,595 483,899 433,749 239,672 81,938 118,165 834,942
			2,517,624
			13,336,357

All income from charitable activities received in 2024 and 2023 was restricted.

Page 44 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

3a Analysis of Expenditure (current year)

Staff costs (Note 5) Grants to partners (Note 7) Project expertise costs Training, events & workshops Media and publications Project travel costs Project support costs Governance costs Total Expenditure 2024 Support Governance Total expenditure 2024	Cost of raising funds Africa projects Asia projects Latin America projects Law & Policy projects Europe & Central Asia projects Middle East & North Africa projects Global projects Governance costs Head Office support costs 2024 Total 233,216 430,321 707,023 2,136,643 605,370 637,336 627,011 1,726,422 - 1,635,460 8,738,802 - 40,380 486,477 - - 944,474 75,591 152,176 - - 1,699,098 - 88,367 167,256 88,654 28,087 7,058 274,126 409,111 - 2,085 1,064,744 - 109,341 201,520 3,713 19,510 8,915 123,873 227,737 - 21,507 716,116 4,351 8,012 57,548 45,721 1,340 198 47,295 76,367 - 357,388 598,220 8,957 22,517 60,167 322,466 29,766 66,133 89,121 266,567 - 75,259 940,953 378 69,088 74,984 450,994 18,463 - 29,260 74,730 53,562 - 641,814 1,376,347 - 2,237 5,966 4,512 - 3,986 631 5,400 82,836 - 105,568 Charitable activities
	246,902 770,263 1,760,941 3,052,703 665,610 1,697,360 1,312,378 2,917,342 82,836 2,733,513 15,239,848
	54,327 169,479 387,455 671,678 146,453 373,466 288,759 641,896 - 2,733,513 - - 1,646 5,136 11,741 20,354 4,438 11,318 8,751 19,452 82,836 - - -
	302,875 944,878 2,160,137 3,744,735 816,501 2,082,144 1,609,888 3,578,690 - - 15,239,848

Page 45 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

3b Analysis of Expenditure (previous year)

Staff costs (Note 5) Grants to partners (Note 7) Project expertise costs Training, events & workshops Media and publications Project travel costs Project support costs Governance costs Total Expenditure 2023 Support Governance Total expenditure 2023	Cost of raising funds Africa projects Asia projects Latin America projects Law & Policy projects Europe & Central Asia projects Middle East & North Africa projects Global projects Governance costs Head Office support costs 2023 Total 178,993 456,824 683,713 2,238,170 615,563 517,539 629,855 2,019,434 - 1,466,035 8,806,126 - 96,532 811,402 16,679 - 1,419,002 21,271 1,003,227 - - 3,368,113 - 35,625 244,953 106,081 5,500 3,010 271,049 108,014 - 14,375 788,607 - 84,786 188,205 9,277 9,069 14,703 145,849 126,786 - 12,364 591,039 - 631 11,622 29,325 18,398 7,363 45,319 131,487 - 383,424 627,569 4,571 42,285 73,575 352,632 31,557 100,475 107,515 226,576 - 97,775 1,036,961 487 26,687 27,537 784,759 8,298 76,385 55,231 29,212 - 389,624 1,398,220 - 2,308 3,375 11,332 - - 2,029 - 109,041 - 128,085 Charitable activities
	184,051 745,678 2,044,382 3,548,255 688,385 2,138,477 1,278,118 3,644,736 109,041 2,363,597 16,744,720
	57,638 147,103 220,164 720,717 198,218 166,654 202,821 650,282 - 2,363,597 - - 2,659 6,786 10,157 33,249 9,145 7,688 9,357 30,000 109,041 - - -
	244,348 899,567 2,274,703 4,302,221 895,748 2,312,819 1,490,296 4,325,018 - - 16,744,720

Page 46 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

4 Net income for the year

This is stated after charging:

This is stated after charging:
	2024	2023
	£	£
Depreciation	40,375	282,764
Operating lease rentals:
Property	260,406	393,800
Equipment	-	-
Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit	54,481	36,000
Other services	74,709	34,758
Losses/(gains) on foreign exchange	70,671	204,349

5 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key managemenet personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

Staff costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages Social security costs UK Employer's contribution to defined contribution pension schemes Regional staff costs Termination costs Other staffing costs	2024 £ 2,712,922 319,397 218,112 3,263,175 - 2,225,196 8,738,802	2023 £ 2,448,728 284,079 193,814 3,528,538 - 2,350,967
		8,806,126

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding pension costs) during the year between:

£60,000 - £69,999 £70,000 - £79,999 £80,000 - £89,999 £90,000 - £99,999 £100,000 - £109,999 £110,000 - £119,999 £120,000 - £129,999 £130,000 - £139,999	2,024 No. 5 3 6 2 - - - 1	2,023 No. 8 6 4 2 - - - -

Included within Other staffing costs are fees payable to programme and non-programme consultants of £1,355,953 (2023: £872,407). Total employee benefits including pension contribution and employer's national insurance for key management personnel were £862,515 (2023: £828,109).

Redundancy and termination payments totalled £nil in 2024 (2023: £nil).

The charity trustees were not paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2023: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2023: £nil).

Trustees' expenses represents the reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £6,773 (2023: £6,769) relating to attendance mainly at International Board meetings.

Page 47 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

6 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was:

Fundraising Africa projects Asia projects Latin America projects Law & Policy projects Europe & Central Asia projects Middle East & North Africa projects Global projects Grants to partners ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights Cambodian Center for Human Rights Digital Security Lab Ukraine Free Press Unlimited Fundación Karisma Fundacion Universidad de Palermo International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law (INCL) International Commission of Jurists Internews Europe Justice Center for Legal Aid Open Culture Foundation Open Net Peter & Moreau Rights for Justice Foundation Stichting Hivos St. World Benchmarking Alliance Foundation The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation Small grants Confidential partners	2024 No. 4 21 29 63 10 13 18 11 169 2024 £ - 9,035 38,651 83,801 - - - 76,418 16,166 25,494 46,948 44,809 26,719 81,450 5,601 67,480 38,064 340,248 787,626 1,688,510	2023 No. 3 23 35 64 10 10 16 16
		177
		2023 £ 31,925 25,678 - 131,074 92,996 58,363 378,760 269,361 264,316 - - 77,638 - 69,249 218,025 - - 373,623 1,377,104
		3,368,112

7 Grants to partners

Small grants include grants to partners below £25,000 in the year.

Confidential partners are organisations which need to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of their work.

8 Related party transactions

None.

9 Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and applied for charitable purposes.

Page 48 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

10 Fixed assets

11	Computer Office equipment equipment The group £ £ Tangible fixed assets Cost or valuation At the start of the year 196,593 145,321 Additions in the period 90,159 8,459 Revaluation of foreign currency asset - - At the end of the year 286,752 153,780 Depreciation At the start of the year 157,496 109,420 Charge for the period 31,821 (4,124) Revaluation of foreign currency asset - - At the end of the year 189,317 105,296 Net book value at the end of the year 97,435 48,484 Net book value at the start of the year 39,097 35,901 The charity Tangible fixed assets Cost or valuation At the start of the year 144,114 53,547 Additions in the period 74,369 3,059 Revaluation of foreign currency asset - - At the end of the year 218,483 56,606 Depreciation At the start of the year 117,664 45,219 Charge for the period 24,125 1,794 Revaluation of foreign currency asset - - At the end of the year 141,789 47,013 Net book value at the end of the year 76,694 9,593 Net book value at the start of the year 26,450 8,328 Subsidiary undertaking - ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America (Campaña Global por la libertad de expression)	Computer equipment £ 196,593 90,159 - 286,752 157,496 31,821 - 189,317 97,435 39,097 144,114 74,369 -	Office equipment £ 145,321 8,459 - 153,780 109,420 (4,124) - 105,296 48,484 35,901 53,547 3,059 -	Fixtures & Fittings £ 63,391 - - 63,391 15,848 12,678 - 28,526 34,865 47,543 63,391 - - 63,391 15,848 12,678 - 28,526 34,865 47,543	Total £ 405,305 98,618 -
					503,923
					282,764 40,375 -
					323,139
					180,784
					122,541
					261,052 77,428 -
		218,483	56,606		338,480
		117,664 24,125 -	45,219 1,794 -		178,731 38,597 -
		141,789	47,013		217,328
		76,694	9,593		121,152
		26,450	8,328		82,321

sidiary undertaking - ICLE 19 Mexico and Central America (Campaña Global por la libertad de expression)
Incoming resources Turnover Income from ARTICLE 19 Expenditure Total incoming resources for the year Funds held Total funds brought forward Total incoming resources for the year Total funds carried forward The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and reserves was: Assets Liabilities Funds Amounts owed from the parent undertaking are shown in note 15.	2024 £ 2,441,147 49,182 (2,105,385) 384,944 2,215,333 384,944 2,600,277 2,754,904 (154,627) 2,600,277	2023 £ 2,059,995 68,748 (2,193,059)
		(64,316)
		2,279,649 (64,316)
		2,215,333
		2,334,996 (119,663)
		2,215,333

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ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

12 Subsidiary undertaking -

ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America (ARTIGO 19 Brasil)

Incoming resources Turnover Income from ARTICLE 19 Expenditure Total incoming resources for the year Funds held Total funds brought forward Total incoming resources for the year Total funds carried forward The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and reserves was: Assets Liabilities Funds Amounts owed from the parent undertaking are shown in note 15. sidiary undertaking - ICLE 19 Eastern Africa Incoming resources Turnover Income from ARTICLE 19 Expenditure Total incoming resources for the year Funds held Total funds brought forward Total incoming resources for the year Total funds carried forward The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and reserves was: Assets Liabilities Funds	2024 £ 830,305 127,511 (947,124) 10,692 9,677 10,692 20,369 273,929 (264,252) 9,677 2024 £ 436,141 183,677 (432,791) 187,027 22,060 187,027 209,087 281,396 (72,330) 209,066	2023 £ 961,949 104,117 (1,141,018)
		(74,952)
		84,626 (74,952)
		9,674
		124,431 (114,754)
		9,677
		2023 £ 304,720 186,700 (508,697)
		(17,277)
		39,336 (17,277)
		22,059
		123,405 (101,345)
		22,060

• 13 Subsidiary undertaking - ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa

Amounts owed from the parent undertaking are shown in note 15.

Page 50 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

14 Subsidiary undertaking - ARTICLE 19 Netherlands

Incoming resources Turnover Income from ARTICLE 19 Expenditure Total incoming resources for the year Funds held Total funds brought forward Total incoming resources for the year Total funds carried forward The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and reserves was: Assets Liabilities Funds Amounts owed from the parent undertaking are shown in note 15.	2024 £ 547,589 - (1,211,204) (663,615) 684,207 (663,615) 20,592 176,492 (155,900) 20,592	2023 £ 1,907,084 - (1,253,764)
		653,320
		30,887 653,320
		684,207
		886,140 (201,933)
		684,207

15 Parent charity

The parent charity's gross income and the results for the year are disclosed as follows:

Gross income Result for the year	2024 £ 10,375,223 (168,120)	2023 £ 11,852,416 204,235

Page 51 of 55

ARTICLE 19

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

16 Debtors

• 17

Debtors
Trade debtors Prepayments Accrued income Other debtors Intercompany Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Trade creditors Taxation and social security Pension contributions due Deferred income Accruals Other creditors Intercompany	2024 £ 106,090 239,752 302,647 115,860 - 764,349 2024 £ 487,856 160,783 19,881 153,125 88,004 699,227 - 1,608,876 The g The g	2023 £ 554,443 204,755 205,690 31,206 - 996,094 2023 £ 392,432 327,556 24,047 29,268 (45,749) 621,351 - 1,348,905 roup roup	2024 2023 £ £ 106,090 551,835 192,941 164,901 237,947 93,393 30,304 17,418 - 217,185 567,282 1,044,732 2024 2023 £ £ 433,633 307,742 93,016 260,716 20,156 22,022 29,268 29,268 72,065 (49,401) 527,753 458,048 214,125 - 1,390,016 1,028,395 The charity The charity
				1,028,395

18 Deferred income

Deferred income consists of a balanced owed from ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa to ARTICLE 19, and Brazillian deferred income

Balance at the beginning of the year Income deferred in the year Amount released to income in the year Balance at the end of the year	2024 £ 29,268 123,857 - 153,125 The g	2023 £ 29,268 - - 29,268 roup	2024 2023 £ £ 29,268 29,268 - - - - 29,268 29,268 The charity	2024 2023 £ £ 29,268 29,268 - - - - 29,268 29,268 The charity
				29,268

19 Pension scheme

The charity has a defined contribution pension scheme with Scottish Widows for UK employees.

The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund with Scottish Widows.

The pension costs represents contributions payable by the charity to the fund in the year and amounted to £218,112 (2023: £193,814) (see note 5). Contributions totalling £19,881 (2023: £24,047) were payable to the fund at the balance sheet date and are included in creditors (see note 17).

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ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

20a Analysis of group net assets between funds - current year

Fixed assets Net current assets Net assets at the end of the year 20b Analysis of group net assets between funds - prior year Fixed assets Net current assets Net assets at the end of the year 21a Movement in group funds - current year Restricted funds: Cost of raising funds Africa projects Asia projects Latin America projects Law & Policy projects Europe & Central Asia projects Middle East & North Africa projects Global Thematic projects Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds: Designated funds: fixed asset fund General funds Total unrestricted funds Total funds 21b Movement in group funds - prior year Restricted funds: Africa projects Asia projects Latin America projects Law & Policy projects Europe & Central Asia projects Middle East & North Africa projects Global Thematic projects Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds: Designated funds: fixed asset fund General funds Total unrestricted funds Total funds	At 1 January 2024 £ (4,202) 58,388 357,647 1,520,180 (614,190) 315,430 469,626 3,151,157 5,254,036 122,541 1,263,567 1,386,108 6,640,144 At 1 January 2023 £ (49,858) 284,301 2,236,653 (392,215) (38,389) 486,796 2,284,739 4,812,027 129,763 997,342 1,127,105 5,939,132	General unrestricted £ - 821,311 821,311 General unrestricted £ - 1,263,567 1,263,567 Income & gains £ - 544,805 1,815,507 2,559,627 1,020,491 999,672 1,039,405 2,605,256 10,584,763 58,243 4,347,768 4,406,011 14,990,774 Income & gains £ 501,530 2,110,721 2,774,522 181,498 2,463,410 1,205,409 4,099,267 13,336,357 - 4,109,374 4,109,374 17,445,731	Designated £ 180,784 - 180,784 Designated £ 122,541 - 122,541 Expenditure & losses £ (167) (387,464) (1,703,700) (2,587,201) (352,822) (1,583,495) (1,239,254) (2,595,721) (10,449,824) - (4,790,024) (4,790,024) (15,239,848) Expenditure & losses £ (4,202) (393,284) (2,037,375) (2,876,864) (403,473) (2,109,591) (1,222,579) (3,335,425) (12,382,793) (7,222) (4,354,704) (4,361,926) (16,744,719)	Restricted £ - 5,388,975 5,388,975 Restricted £ - 5,254,036 5,254,036 Transfers £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - Transfers £ - - (614,131) - - - 102,576 (511,555) - 511,555 511,555 -	Total funds £ 180,784 6,210,286
					6,391,070
					Total funds £ 122,541 6,517,603
					6,640,144
					At 31 December 2024 £ (4,369) 215,729 469,454 1,492,606 53,479 (268,393) 269,777 3,160,692
					5,388,975
					180,784 821,311
					1,002,095
					6,391,070
					At 31 December 2023 £ (4,202) 58,388 357,647 1,520,180 (614,190) 315,430 469,626 3,151,157
					5,254,036
					122,541 1,263,567
					1,386,108
					6,640,144

Purpose of restricted funds

Represents funds received from donors relating to agreed projects. The funds will cover expenditure planned for the following financial year.

The split of the restricted funds represents the location where expenditure has taken place, but not necessarily which ARTICLE 19 entity signed the grant agreement.

The restricted balances which are in deficit in 2024 is due to spending on grants where the income is not due from the donor until 2024, and/or income recognised under Global Thematic projects while expenditure is incurred across different teams.

Purpose of designated funds

The designated fund is matched against the net book value of the fixed assets of the charity, which are not readily realisable.

Page 53 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

22 Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial activities) Depreciation charges Foreign exchange (gains)/losses (Increase)/decrease in debtors Increase/(decrease) in creditors Net cash provided by operating activities	2024 £ (249,074) 40,375 70,671 231,745 259,971 353,688	2023 £ 701,012 27,590 204,349 46,523 (160,404)
		819,070

23 Analysis of group cash and cash equivalents

ysis of group cash and cash equivalents
Cash in hand Cash at bank Total cash and cash equivalents	At 1 January 2024 £ 3,313 6,867,102 6,870,414	Cash flows £ (151) 184,547 184,396	Other changes £ - - -	At 31 December 2024 £ 3,162 7,051,649
				7,054,810

24 Operating lease commitments

The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows for each of the following periods:

Less than one year One to five years	2024 2023 £ £ 98,265 133,394 162,141 260,406 260,406 393,800 Property	Equipment 2024 £ - - -	2023 £ - -
			-

25 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

Page 54 of 55

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

ARTICLE 19 Notes to the financial statements For theyear ended 31 December 2024
26 Income from UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Project name Project identifier Project code Protecting Rights, Openness and Transparency Enhancing Civic Transformation (PROTECT) GB-CHC- 1148404-GB- CHC-327421- DFID- PROTECT 06622 27 Income from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency Income received 28 Income from The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Income received 29 Post balance sheet events None	Income recognised 2024 £ - - 2024 Total SEK 26,000,000 26,000,000 2024 Total NOK 10,000,000 10,000,000	Cash received 2024 £ - - 2024 Total £ 1,942,501 1,942,501 2024 Total £ 725,111 725,111	Income recognised 2023 £ 1,413,520	Cash received 2023 £ 1,416,180
			1,413,520	1,416,180
			2023 Total SEK 24,000,000 24,000,000 2023 Total NOK 10,000,000 10,000,000	2023 Total £ 1,755,227
				1,755,227
				2023 Total £ 741,487
				741,487

Page 55 of 55