Calls for Greater NGO-State Cooperation

NGOs in Tajikistan must be firmer in their approach and actively engage with the state in order to influence policies, say NBCentralAsia observers.



At an international conference on cooperation between NGOs and the Tajik state was held in Dushanbe on July 9-10, organised by the Perspektiva+ public foundation with support from both the government and US NGO the Soros Foundation, participants agreed a set of proposals aimed at improving cooperation between the state and NGOs, discussed how these could be implemented, and sent their ideas to the government.



Director of Perspektiva+ Oinihol Bobonazarova says the conference helped explore ways of increasing cooperation between the state and NGOs.



Observers polled by NBCentralAsia say that while interaction between the authorities and NGOs is improving, it is still too limited and NGOs must become bolder if they want to shape policies.



While 3,000 NGOs are registered in Tajikistan, no more than a thousand are active, and the sector is often accused of being passive and ineffective in promoting its interests at state level.



Guljahon Bobosadykova, head of the Association of NGOs for Gender Equality and the Prevention of Violence Against Women, says that while interaction has improved recently, the authorities must pay more attention to NGO proposals.



Political scientist Shokirjon Hakimov said that NGOs choose to put up “the least resistance” in an effort to please the authorities.



He argues that they should work closely with political parties and use that leverage to nominate their members for election. A failure to do this means “they have no representatives in parliament or any other representative body”, he said.



A passive attitude has allowed the government to adopt a law on public associations, which “is actually directed against their interests”, he added, refering to a law to regulate public association activity adopted by parliament on the second attempt in March this year.



Many observers noted that international NGOs were able to hold more sway than local groups because they were much more forceful about lobbying their interests.



Ahmad Madeyuev, director of the Kyrgyz Centre for Social Technology, who is currently visiting Tajikistan, says that cooperation between the state and NGOs remains a crucial issue for the whole of Central Asia.



He notes that President Imomali Rahmon also mentioned the need to involve NGOs in carrying out national programmes in his parliamentary address this year.



“The ideological basis already exists and it would be good to take the next step and establish a real partnership so that both sides realise the level of their competence and responsibility for participating in and solving…the issues,” concluded Madeyuev.



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