Egyptian political and social forces have long been pressing for a new NGO law that would be consistent with international criteria for the rights to assembly and to organise, as enshrined in international human rights treaties and conventions. The exercise of these rights was severely curtailed by Law 32/1964, which severely hampered the establishment of civil society associations and granted the executive authority absolute powers to intervene in their daily operations and activities. Indeed, under that law, the elected membership of any association's board of directors had to be approved by State Security. The fight against this law persisted until 1999, when it was amended by Law 153 of that year. This law was soon declared unconstitutional, paving the way for Law 84/2002. Unfortunately, this latter law was still strongly influenced by the logic of its predecessors as a result of which the right to organise remained heavily restricted. With the 25 January Revolution there was a new surge of hope in the prospect of eliminating the many limitations and obstacles that encumbered civil society. However, these hopes were soon dashed on the shoals of the authoritarian bent of the new government and its desire to reproduce laws that obstruct basic civil liberties. The NGO bill recently proposed by the presidency came as a shock to Egyptian civil society. It breathes the spirit of the dictatorial eras in the ways it restricts civil society work and, moreover, limits the concept of community associations to philanthropic organisations that collect money domestically in the form of “alms”, or that otherwise solicit donations from the public for charitable purposes. As for the rights advocacy community, name a restriction and you will find it in this bill. This is the sector of civil society on which the drafters of this law have set in their crosshairs, together with all international NGOs, whether or not established under international agreements. Meanwhile, they have taken pains to ensure that “group associations”, by which they mean the Muslim Brotherhood and similar groups, can operate in Egypt and abroad with total freedom, even with respect to the funding they receive from abroad via their many international branches. Under the proposed bill, international NGOs or projects they undertake jointly with local NGOs will be subject to the strict control of a coordinating committee made up of representatives of four ministries (to be designated in the executive regulations) and four persons, appointed by the president, from the General Federation. A provision requiring local or international NGOs to submit projects to a government coordinating committee is far worse than the restrictions that existed in the laws of the previous era. Under the bill, the steering committee is granted sweeping powers to intervene in and police the work, activities and programmes of NGOs. The committee has the ultimate say on everything pertaining to foreign funding of Egyptian organisations, granting licenses to foreign organisations wishing to work in Egypt, and the right of Egyptian organisations to join foreign NGO networks or international organisations or bodies, inclusive of those that fall under the UN umbrella. Other provisions leave no shadow of a doubt that the drafters of the law are driven by the same mentality that has long sought to keep civil society work prey to the arbitrary whims of absolute executive control. Under the bill, NGOs are not permitted to establish branches or offices outside the capital. Nor are they allowed to engage in joint activities with foreign organisations or bodies without notifying the coordinating committee. Such provisions seem specifically designed to hamper, above all, rights advocacy organisations that might seek to encourage international solidarity with human rights causes at home or to engage in activities that could set in motion regional or international mechanisms for the protection of human rights. It is significant, in this regard, that under the proposed law any NGO that wishes to work with or join an association or body that has its headquarters abroad must obtain the approval of the coordinating committee.
The writer is secretary general of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights.
