Newly adopted NGO Bill to annihilate the human rights movement

PRESS RELEASE - THE OBSERVATORY

On November 15, 2016, theEgyptian Parliament concluded the revision of the 89 articles of the new NGOlaw, drafted by its Abdel Hadi el Qasabi, and adopted it. The new law, whichwill replace Law No. 84/2002 on Associations and Foundations, containseven more draconian provisions than the one proposed in September[1]by the Cabinet and will close the remaining space for conducting human rightswork in Egypt. The law will now be referred to the State Council for legal review, and then it willbe sent back to the Parliament.

The Observatory is particularlyconcerned about the attempt of the Egyptian Parliament to redefine authorisedfield of action for civil society organisations as being necessarily determinedby the State’s agenda. In particular, Article 14 of the new law states thatNGOs will be only allowed to engage in activities that conform to nationaldevelopment plans. Moreover, NGOs are not allowed to conduct work that maycause harm to “national security”, “law and order”, “public morals”, or “publichealth”, terms that are subject to the discretionary interpretation ofgovernment agencies. In addition, public surveys, research and reports willhave to be reviewed by the Government and approved both before they are carriedout and also after, prior to their publication.

“The provisions included in this newlyadopted law leave no doubt about which role the Egyptian State wants civilsociety to play in this new Egypt: none. By redefining the limits of civilsociety, the Egyptian authorities are trying to create an illusion of nationalorder and security, while continuing to judicially harass NGOs and human rightsdefenders” declaredGerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General.

The new legal framework sets thegoal of NGO work as “to achieve theirpurposes in the fields of development and social welfare to achieve socialdevelopment goals within the scope of the state plans and development needs andpriorities.” Thus, human rights work will not be a permissible activityfor NGOs. It will also require all NGOs to (re)-register under the new law,regardless of their prior status. At the same time, the administrativeregistration process is even more complex under this law, and practically bansforeign funding, since under Article 24 the Government must explicitly authoriseall foreign funding applications. Any failure to comply will exposeorganisations to judicial dissolution (Article 43).

Moreover, foreign NGOs may onlyoperate in Egypt with the authorisation of the National Foreign NGO RegulatoryAgency, a body comprising representatives of different ministries including theInterior and Defence, as well as security and intelligence officials. Finally,Article 87 provides that any breach of the law shall be punishable by up tofive years in prison and a fine of up to one million Egyptian pounds (approx.100,000 Euros).

“All this shows a clear intention by theauthorities to isolate the Egyptian human rights movement from the rest of theworld, by cutting access to vital foreign funding, prohibiting the conduct ofactivities by foreign NGOs in Egypt and multiplying restrictions againstEgyptian human defenders. If this law is approved, it will have a devastatingimpact on Egypt’s vibrant civil society” added FIDH President, DimitrisChristopoulos.

The Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective ofthis programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repressionagainst human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, theEuropean Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by internationalcivil society.

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