Egyptian rights groups demand that Al-Sisi drops "repressive" NGO law

A number of Egyptian rights groups have demanded that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi should drop an NGO law which they believe is “repressive”. They are insisting that the president should not ratify the draft.

A statement signed by 29 NGOs said that the bill, proposed by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, is “a repressive project aiming to silence civil society organisations and rights groups.” According to the NGOs, if passed, the law would make the work of foreign NGOs “almost impossible.”

They listed 12 criticisms of the law and likened it to proposals by ousted President Mohamed Morsi in May 2013, which stipulated that a coordination committee including representatives of eight government agencies would be tasked with approving NGOs. A provision in the bill would give the administrate authorities the right to reject the establishment of an NGO within 60 days of its application, even though the constitution enshrines the establishment of an NGO “by notification”.

The signatories include the Cairo Centre for Human Rights Studies, the Freedom of Thought and Expression Foundation, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Nadim Centre, the Egyptian Commission on Rights and Freedoms, the Arab Organisation for Criminal Reform and the New Woman Foundation.