Egypt: The EU Should Call on the Egyptian Government to Respect Freedom of Association (21.4.2010)

In anticipation of the European Union – Egypt Association Council Meeting scheduled for April 27, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) expresses its serious concerns about provisions of the draft bill on NGOs published by the Egyptian newspaper Al Dustour on March 7, 2010.

The EMHRN recalls that the current Egyptian law on NGO does not comply with international law standard regarding freedom of association[1]the EMHRN considers the published amendments threaten to unduly restrict freedom of association in Egypt in violation of the country’s international treaty obligations. Moreover, it regrets that the Egyptian authorities did not consult civil society organizations, particularly the NGO Campaign for Freedom of Association, during the elaboration process of this bill, although the government agreed, during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of last February 19, to the following recommendation “NGOs should be consulted widely and have a substantive role in drafting the new NGO law”. and as such welcomes the government’s initiative to amend it. However,

The EMHRN expresses its deep concerns that the bill would seriously tighten the government’s control over civil society organizations as a number of article of the published law do not meet international standards regarding freedom of association.

The published amendments indeed unnecessarily restrict an association’s freedom by prohibiting association to work in more than two fields, given that an association still cannot pursue activities that “threaten the national unity, violate public order or ethics” (Article 9) as was the case under Law 84. Both terms are overly broad and invite governmental abuse. The published amendments finally continue to require that the Ministry of Social Solidarity grant a license before a new organization can function, whereas international best practice recommends a notification-only process of registration.

Published provisions also curb CSOs’ independence from government[2]. The bill continues to impose administrative authority's approval before obtaining funds from abroad (Article 13), while severe criminal penalties such as up to one year imprisonment for even minor infractions of these onerous obligations can be drastic and constitute a further inappropriate extension of government powers. The amendments finally grants additional power to the General Federation of Civil Associations, thus not only curtailing associations’ activities but also restricting the ability of groups to operate independently.

Ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections, Egypt is witnessing growing human rights violations as illustrated by the recent arrest of peaceful demonstrators on April 6[3]. In addition, The Egyptian government intends to pass laws that would restrict civil and political rights, such as the draft NGOs law as well as the anti terrorism law, given that the uninterrupted state of emergency for 29 years is likely to be extended in May, and the law regulating media broadcasting.

According to the jointly agreed Action Plan within the European neighborhood Policy (ENP), EU and Egypt jointly agreed to “Implement measures that promote the right of assembly and association in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”.

As a result, the EMHRN urges the EU to call on the Egyptian government:

* To respect and implement its commitments related to freedom of association, especially the jointly agreed priorities of the ENP EU-Egypt Action Plan and the recommendations of the UPR;
* Not to adopt the published text in its current form;
* To comply with the Universal Periodic Review recommendations, which stated that the government of Egypt should “continue efforts to reform in the short term Law 84/2002 in order to establish a procedure for setting up NGOs, which is nimble, fast and not subject to administrative discretion”;
* To produce a revised version of the Law 84 taking into consideration the comments of the Egyptian NGOs Campaign for the Freedom to Association.

In this context, the EMHRN calls on the EU to condition any enhancing of EU-Egypt relations to concrete improvements and commitments regarding to Human rights.

[1] See EMHRN Freedom of Association Annual Review 2009 at http://en.euromedrights.org/index.php/publications/emhrn_publications/68/4075.html

[2] For instance, the administrative authority will have the right to enter to the associations premises (Article 16), to withdraw an association's decision (Article 19), to receive copies of the papers to be presented to the General Assembly no less than fifteen days before the meeting (Article 23)

[3] See The EMHRN denounces the repression of Democracy Activists in Egypt http://en.euromedrights.org/index.php/news/emhrn_releases/67/4248.html