WUNRN
WUNRN welcomes updates from women's
and human rights NGO's in Pakistan on this new and divisive policy to limit
foreign funding for NGO's.
- A new policy by the Pakistani government to regulate
foreign-funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has come in for sharp
criticism from the social sector, with many saying it could stifle rights-based
groups and affect crucial services provided to the needy.
The government says it wants to ensure transparency in
the working of NGOs that receive foreign contributions, but few are willing to
buy that line.
Farooq Tariq, general secretary of the Awami Workers Party (AWP), minces no words. He alleges that whenever the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) comes to power, it tries to control social organisations through coercive measures.
The PML-N sees rights-based social organisations as
irritants and does not tolerate independent criticism, Tariq says, pointing out
that in the past one of its ministers had called NGOs foreign agents.
He condemned the government for trying to establish
its hegemony over politics as well as the social sector. “They are trying to
imitate the way
The new policy will be applicable to national NGOs
that receive foreign contributions as well as international NGOs. It calls
among other things for prior agreements between the government and these NGOs,
disclosure of sources of funding, details of proposed projects, areas of work,
and details of the geographic location of the projects.
The policy was approved by the economic coordination
committee of the federal cabinet last month and will remain in force till the
bill, the Regulation of Foreign Contributions Act 2013, becomes law.
Some see it as a move to check spying activities
carried out by foreign agencies in the name of social work, especially in the
wake of the Shakil Afridi episode.
A doctor by profession, Afridi was allegedly used by
the
The allegation that an employee of the global charity,
Save the Children, facilitated Afridi’s meeting with the CIA raised suspicion
about NGO activities in
PML-N Senator Tariq Azeem, who worked on the draft
bill, says there is no ulterior motive behind the regulation of NGOs.
International donors have raised similar concerns, he
says. Azeem says USAID has for example asked people to inform it about any
corruption complaints regarding its projects.
Imtiaz Alam, secretary general of the NGO South Asian
Free Media Association (SAFMA), believes the new regulations would
significantly increase bureaucratic hurdles for NGOs.
He thinks there should be no need for NGOs to share
too many details if they get their accounts audited by firms of international
repute. “Civil society on the whole supports transparency, but it cannot
compromise on its freedom and autonomy.”
According to a 2001 United Nations Development
Programme publication (the last year for which figures were
available), the number of registered NGOs in
NGOs play a crucial role in Pakistan, where the
unemployment rate is 11.2 percent, 60 percent of the population is poor, the
maternal mortality rate is 276 per 100,000 live births and more than 350,000
children die before their fifth birthday.
NGOs fear that the new policy will affect their supply
of funds in the new year.
The draft bill proposes a maximum limit of 20 percent
on the use of foreign funds for administrative purposes, confiscation of funds
in case of non-compliance, and a five-year ban on receiving foreign
contributions for those convicted twice.
Salman Abid, Punjab head of the human rights
organisation Strengthening Participatory Organisation
(SPO), fears that the bill once passed can be used to intimidate NGOs.
The proposed law prohibits NGOs from executing
projects that harm the sovereignty, integrity and security as well as
strategic, scientific and economic interests of the state, he points out. “The
question here is who will decide what is against national interest and what is
not.”
He thinks the bill should have been introduced after a
consultative process that includes all stakeholders, especially NGOs.
“Unfortunately they were not consulted.”
Salman Abid believes the state’s concern about spying
activities carried out in the garb of development work may be genuine, but says
it is not right to rein in the entire social sector under this pretext.
The government should use its security apparatus to
identify unwanted personnel instead of making things tough for NGOs, he says.
Many also believe that by asking NGOs to declare the
geographic location of their operation, the state wants to keep them out of
sensitive areas. Others say there may be a more reasonable explanation for this
stipulation.
Abid Suleri, executive director of the think tank
Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), says it could
help NGOs avoid duplication of effort.
Quite often different NGOs carry out similar work for
the same set of people. The government will be able to guide them where they
are most needed, he says.
Abid Suleri thinks the government, which is reeling
under a funds crunch, may gain from these measures as many international donors
may now want to partner with the state directly to avoid cumbersome procedures.
He hopes the government will also look into the
accounts of religious organisations and their militant wings that allegedly
receive foreign aid.
But he too feels that such a law could be used to curb
a vibrant and dynamic civil society.
NGOs, he says, have fought for restoration of
democracy and the judiciary, recovery of missing people, and an end to human
rights violations by the state machinery, among other things. “What will happen
if the government declares all these activities anti-state?”