Holes in New NGO Legislation

Despite improvements to Tajikistan’s law on non-governmental organisations operating in the country, NGO’s still fear that it has the potential to restrict their activities.



On February 14, the lower house of parliament approved a new law on public associations. Member of parliament Nurali Rieev says that it is a significant improvement on the previous version adopted in 1998 and now corresponds to international standards.



He hopes that NGOs will welcome the new legislation given that it takes their proposals into account. But representatives of local NGOs are treading carefully and have expressed concern.



On the positive side, NGOs will have a two-month grace period before they need to pay re-registration fees and they can only be shut down through a court ruling under the new law. Previously, NGOs could be folded on the orders of “relevant bodies”.



But Muattar Haidarova, director of the NGO, Society and Law, suggests that this law actually allows the state to exert more control over foreign organisations operating in Tajikistan.



From now on, foreign nationals can only set up or become members of a non-governmental organisation if they live in the country permanently or have a residence permit.



More red tape has also been added to the process of registration. Although foreign NGOs previously had to register with the ministry of justice, they must now go through an additional accreditation process with the foreign ministry.



Haidarova thinks this contradicts both the civil code and the constitution, which stipulate that foreign nationals have the same rights as Tajik citizens.



NGOs operating in the country were also not consulted while the law was being drafted.



Viktor Kim, member of Tajikistan’s Public Council, which includes political parties, ethnic organisations and NGOs, believes that a public debate should have been instigated, given that the new law affects the interests of over 3,000 NGOs. His council was supposed to be involved in the drafting process, but was never consulted.



Vague wording in the law makes Kim uneasy. One article which states that NGO activity can be suspended if it infringes upon a person’s rights needs to be clarified, he says



“There is no clear explanation on how one should interpret the wording ‘infringement on the rights of citizens’. It may end up being interpreted at the will of an official,” he said.



Despite acknowledging that the law has positive aspects, Nigina Bahrieva, director of the Republican Bureau on Human Rights and Legality, still has criticisms.



According to her, the law does not cover every kind of NGO included in the country’s civil code, which could lead to a reduction in the number of such groups operating in Tajikistan.



Moreover, the law makes it compulsory to register the different branches of a single NGO. Bahrieva asks: if an organisation has national organisation status and is registered with the justice ministry, why should it need a supplementary registration for its branches and representations?



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)