Withdraw draft law on NGOs, HRW tells govt

International watchdog body Human Rights Watch (HRW) called upon the government of Bangladesh to withdraw a draft law which is set to regulate foreign donations coming for the support of voluntary activities, mainly by the non-government organisations (NGOs).   

The New York-based rights body also made a call for the international donors to publicly express concern over the proposed law -- 'The Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act 2014'.

A report published on the HRW website Sunday carries fears that the new law would regulate operations and funding for any group that runs with foreign funds as well as Bangladesh offices of foreign and international organizations.

"The draft law can easily be misused to limit perfectly legitimate activities of NGOs (nongovernmental organisations) and to attack critics," HRW Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said in the report.

The draft law is to be presented to the parliamentary standing committee for consideration, the rights organisation noted. The NGO Affairs Bureau in the prime minister's office would have approval authority over foreign-funded projects.

It would have the authority to "inspect, monitor and assess the activities" of groups and individuals and to close groups and cancel their registration if it deems fit.

"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 said in a hard-hitting remark.

If the draft gets through the house of parliament, the standing committee needs to amend the most problematic provisions so groups won't be starved of funding and subjected to arbitrary restrictions, the report said.

The draft law gives line ministries the authority to require revision of NGOs' projects or to order them cancelled, it said.

It also requires prior approval before anyone involved in voluntary activities travels out of the country for purposes connected with their work on the project, it added.

That 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 report claimed.

The HRW said the government has held consultations with independent groups over the proposed legislation.

Some concerns over the bill have been addressed, but the draft still contains unnecessary, onerous, and intrusive provisions, the rights body said.

The vague and overly broad language would effectively give the NGO Affairs Bureau control over the NGO activities, the HRW said adding that the provision requiring approval for foreign funding would effectively allow government control over the issues groups receiving foreign funding can work on.

It requires groups receiving or planning to receive foreign funding to register with the NGO Affairs Bureau, submit to inspections and monthly coordination meetings with its representatives, and seek approval for all planned activities before receiving the grant, it said.

In addition to the reporting requirements and control measures, the bill proposes tough sanctions for non-compliance by both organizations and individuals, including fines and disciplinary action, the report says.

"These are the kind of restrictions one usually associates with a one-party or authoritarian state, not a democracy like Bangladesh," Robertson said. "Governments should not be in the business of deciding what is and isn't a good project or whether people can travel outside the country," he added.

If there is disagreement over any order under the law, the NGOs or the individuals involved would be able to file an appeal with the prime minister's office. However, the draft states that its ruling would be final, denying recourse to an independent judicial process.

The NGO Affairs Bureau has previously blocked funds to groups and opened investigations "on political grounds", Human Rights Watch said.

It has frequently blocked funds for the respected human rights group Odhikar, apparently in retaliation for criticising the government. Odhikar staff members Adilur Rahman Khan and ASM Nasiruddin Elan have been arrested and harassed and are facing politically motivated criminal charges under the Information Communication and Technology Act, it added.

The HRW mentioned that Ain-o-Salish Kendra, another well-known human rights organisation, has also reported increasing surveillance. In May, there was an attempt by unidentified people to abduct Mohammad Nur Khan, the group's investigations director, who has also been threatened for criticising extrajudicial killings.