Word: ngos
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Their main apprehension centers on a mandatory registration process. Both foreign and local NGOs must register with a government directorate. Registration in and of itself is not a problem, activists say, but the proposed legislation - which will now go before the Parliament and must be signed into law by the President - is vague about the conditions under which the government can refuse to register NGOs. The draft also envisions a government that can pry more directly into the internal management of NGOs. Baghdad will also have discretionary power to either grant additional privileges or remove an organization's benefits...
...have seen in previous years how some government grants have been given to NGOs with political ties to parties in government," says Hashem Assaf, spokesman for the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq, an umbrella group that represents 52 international and national bodies, including Oxfam and Mercy Corps, as well as more than 200 local affiliates. "We, as NGOs, are trying to remain independent." (See TIME's 2005 Persons of the Year: The Good Samaritans...
...blossomed since the fall of Saddam Hussein, who sought to rigidly repress it. There are some 6,250 registered organizations operating in the country today, as well as a Ministry of State for Civil Society Affairs and civil society committees in provincial governments. But there are still limitations. NGOs cannot merge with one another or form networks without the permission of the government. Furthermore, the participation of non-Iraqis, even in international NGOs, will be limited to 25% of an organization...
More worrisome for some groups, the current draft law imposes provisions legalizing monitoring of the finances and accounts of NGOs, as well as their activities. The government must be notified of, and approve donations to civic organizations, giving it leverage over groups that often depend on contributions to survive. Hussain al-Safi, director general of the NGO Directorate, sidestepped a question about why the government should have its fingers on an NGO's purse strings, saying he hadn't read the 12-page draft law in detail. "I've been waiting for the opportunity to have a spare minute...
...pushing Belarus on the need to adopt political reforms. E.U. External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has noted progress, with the release of political prisoners and registering of NGOs and newspapers. But she also said recently that while the E.U. was looking to "reach out" to Belarus, "for that to happen, we want to see more of the political reforms...