Among the NGOs that signed the statement are the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression.
Announcing the statement, CIHRS said that the new NGO law “would lead to the “nationalization” of civil society, transforming it into a quasi-governmental sector and subjecting it to unrestricted prerogatives of the security apparatus.”
In the memo, the NGOs also expressed their objection to a measure taken by the Ministry of Social Solidarity giving civil society organizations a 45 day period to register with the ministry, or face possible dissolution.
The ministry’s announcement stated:
The announcement comes in an effort from the Ministry of Social Solidarity to overcome the obstacles facing NGOs and with the realization of the importance of respecting NGOs that work in Egypt and the laws that govern them, in the context of the Ministry’s support for civil and foreign organization’s work in Egypt. The ministry urges NGOS that are working without authorization to get approval from the government according to the laws governing NGOs, specifically executive article 84 (2002). NGOs have within 45 days of this announcement to register with the Ministry of Social Solidarity in order to avoid having legal action being taken against them.
The NGOs’ statement describes the measure as a “declaration of war by the government on freedom of association and the work of civil society organizations in Egypt.” The statement added that the decision could “severely undermine the Egyptian legal framework and destroy any remaining confidence in the legal and judicial systems,” and result in the closure of several human rights organizations and the arrest of their staff.
The organizations called on the Egyptian government to “take a number of serious, immediate measures to put a stop to the ongoing deterioration of the state of human rights in Egypt and to provide a positive indication about the sincerity of its intentions to establish a state based on the rule of law and respect for the constitution.” They also called on the ministry to use a 2013 version of the NGO law drafted by a committee formed by former Minister of Social Solidarity, Ahmed Boraie, as a basis for the new bill. They called on the government to revoke the notice issued by the ministry of social solidarity, as well as requesting technical consultations with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights when drafting the legislation relating to civil society.
For an in-depth review of the latest NGO law proposed by the ministry of social solidarity, click here.
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