Egypt's Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly issued on Saturday a decision to establish a committee tasked with preparing a comprehensive vision on amending the controversial law on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country. According to a statement by the cabinet, the committee will be headed by Egypt's Minister of Solidarity Ghada Wali. It will include representatives from several ministries and state bodies involved with the operations of the organizations. The committee was given a one month deadline to prepare a report with the suggested amendments to the existing law. The amendments presented by the governmental committee will be introduced for a societal dialogue. The social dialogue will bring together ‘involved bodies' and youths interested in non-governmental organisations operations to ensure that the new law is satisfactory to all. The recent decision by the prime minister comes a few days after Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that he will establish a committee to hold a societal dialogue on amending the NGOs law. Egypt's parliament issued the 89-article NGO law in November 2016 and it was ratified by El-Sisi in May 2017. The law has garnered criticism from civil society in Egypt and abroad because due to provisions that place limitations the activities of NGOs. Source: Ahram Online
