Bangladesh: Withdraw proposed law on NGOs, says HRW

Dhaka, July 7, 2014 (New Age): New York-based rights organisation Human Rights Watch on Sunday urged Bangladesh government to withdraw a proposed law saying that it ‘would impose draconian restrictions on already beleaguered non-governmental organisations. In a release, the rights watchdog also urged international donors to publicly express concerns about restrictions that were ‘aimed at silencing government critics.’ The cabinet on June 2 approved the Foreign Contributions (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill seeking enactment of a law on regulation of the activities of non-governmental organisations receiving foreign contributions. ‘The law should be withdrawn. But if it moves through parliament, the standing committee needs to amend the most problematic provisions so groups would not be starved of funding and subjected to arbitrary restrictions,’ read a statement. The proposed law would regulate operations and funding of any organisation with foreign funding as well as Bangladesh offices of foreign and international organisations. As per the proposed law, the NGO Affairs Bureau under the prime minister’s office will have approval authority over foreign-funded projects. It will have the authority to ‘inspect, monitor and assess the activities’ of organisations and individuals and to close organisations and cancel their registration. ‘The draft law can easily be misused to limit perfectly legitimate activities of NGOs and to attack critics,’ said the HRW’s director for Asia, Phil Robertson. ‘Corruption is flourishing in the government and the private sector, so it is more than odd that the government is spending its time passing tough laws that target NGOs,’ Robertson added. The draft proposed empowerment of line ministries to require revision of non-governmental organisations’ projects or to order them cancelled. The bill proposed that anyone involved in voluntary activities would need approval before travelling out of the country for purposes connected with their work on the projects. Such a provision is a potential violation of Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which gives anyone the freedom to leave any country, including their own, the rights watchdog said. ‘The vague and overly broad language would effectively give the NGO Affairs Bureau control over the activities of nongovernmental organisations,’ the statement said. ‘These are the kind of restrictions one usually associates with a one-party or authoritarian state, not a democracy like Bangladesh,’ Robertson said. The NGO Affairs Bureau has previously blocked funds of different organisations and opened investigations on political grounds. It has frequently blocked funds of rights organisation Odhikar, apparently in retaliation for criticising the government. Odhikar secretary Adilur Rahman Khan and director ASM Nasiruddin Elan were arrested and harassed. They are now facing ‘politically motivated’ criminal charges under the Information Communication and Technology Act, the statement said. Another rights organisation Ain-o-Salish Kendra has also reported increasing surveillance.