[CivilSoc] Kyrgyz Government Recalls Law Prohibiting Unregistered Organizations

[Civil Society International]

The following article appears in the quarterly Journal of the International
Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Vol. 4, Issue 1, September 2001.  To see it
and other items in the issue, go to
http://www.icnl.org/journal/vol4iss1/cr_NIS.htm#Kyrgyzstan
The Kyrgyz Government Recalls Draft Law Prohibiting Unregistered
Organizations
By Natalia Bourjaily*
On August 20, 2001, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (KR) issued
Resolution No. 462 recalling the draft law "On the Introduction of Changes
into Certain Legislative Acts of KR," that was introduced by the Resolution
of the Government No. 358 dated July 18, 2001.  The draft law sought to
amend existing Kyrgyz legislation to prohibit the existence of all
noncommercial and commercial organizations that have not been registered
with the state.  The draft law also provided for administrative liability
for the officials of unregistered organizations and imposed unduly
burdensome reporting requirements on the NGOs that were designed to monitor
and control their sources of financing.  The proposed changes, if
implemented, would have imposed substantial restrictions on the freedom of
association in the Kyrgyz Republic in violation of the Kyrgyz constitution,
its legislation, and the country's international obligations.
In response to this threat, a wide coalition of nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) expended extensive efforts in lobbying the President,
the Parliament, and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic against the
approval of the draft law introduced by Resolution No. 358.  ICNL provided
substantial technical advice and assistance to these NGOs and prepared a
detailed analysis of the draft law.[1]  Yuri Khvan, ICNL's local partner,
had numerous meetings with members of the Kyrgyz Parliament, local NGOs,
USAID and its grantees, bringing attention to the inconsistencies of the
proposed amendments with international law and good practices concerning the
freedom of association and the ramifications of the draft law's approval.
The expert commentary prepared by ICNL was used by the NGOs in providing
convincing legal grounds to force the Government to recall Resolution 358.
The NGO community will, however, need to remain diligent, since the
resolution was recalled for further redrafting and could subsequently be
proposed again.
It should be noted that this is not the first time the Government of the
Kyrgyz Republic has tried to prohibit the activity of unregistered NGOs.  A
similar draft law was introduced by the Government last year -- that attempt
too was defeated after the NGO community made a concerted effort against the
draft law's passage, and ICNL experts provided a legal analysis of its
provisions to the Parliamentary deputies and the NGOs.  By working with both
state bodies and the NGOs, ICNL has managed to maintain its commitment to
its role as an expert and honest broker between the state and NGO sector
while assisting in protecting the freedom of association in the Kyrgyz
Republic.
Questions or requests for additional information may be directed to Yuri
Khvan in Bishkek (icnl@counterpart.org.kg) or Alexander Nisengolts, ICNL's
regional director in Almaty (anisen@icnl.org).
* Natalia Bourjaily is ICNL's Program Director for the NIS, based in
Washington, DC.  She can be reached at nbourj@icnl.org.
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[1] Those comments are available in ICNL's Online Library and Database.