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| Africa North |
| Mursi sends draft NGO legislation to parliament |
| 2013-05-29 |
| CAIRO — Egypt’s president sent a bill that would regulate non-governmental organisations to the country’s interim parliament on Monday after months of criticism by rights groups concerned about stifling of their activities. The text of the bill presented to the Islamist-dominated Shura Council was not made public, but a top presidential aide said that Mohammed Mursi’s legal team took into consideration concerns that had been raised by local and international groups. NGOs allege past versions of the bill were an attempt to regulate the work of civil society by with murky, loosely defined oversight by security agencies of their work. One concern has been that security forces might be allowed to inspect the raw material gathered by human rights groups that collect sensitive testimony from witnesses. Mursi said in a statement Monday that the bill is aimed at committing NGOs to the principles of transparency and striking a balance with “the openness of Egypt” after the uprising that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Under Mubarak, local and foreign NGOs were not allowed to align themselves with political parties, involvement in politics was tightly restricted and elections widely rigged. The United States criticised earlier versions as “a step backwards.” Presidential aides said that under the proposed bill, civil society groups receiving foreign funding will not be allowed to support Egyptian parties or candidates. On the other hand, broad voter awareness activities would be permitted. It was not clear what other restrictions might be imposed on foreign funding for local groups and the work of international NGOs. Those groups have been regarded with suspicion by Egyptian leaders, who have |
| Posted by:Steve White |