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II. Recommendations

In order to comply with its international obligations regarding freedom of association, the government of Egypt should:

• Amend Law 84/2002 to ensure that all non-profit groups formed for any legal purpose are allowed to acquire legal personality by.

o Making registration and membership of NGOs entirely voluntary;

o Abolishing penalties for participation in unregistered NGOs; and

o Removing restrictions on the ability to affiliate with other NGOs, whether domestic or foreign.

• Remove all restrictions on peaceful activities that amount to the exercise of internationally-recognized human rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom to participate in public life by:

o Amending Article 11 of Law 84/2002 to eliminate its restrictions on political and trade union activities; and

o Specifying in the amendments that any language on “public order or morals,” which also appears in Egypt’s Civil Code, should be interpreted in a narrow and proportionate fashion, in conformity with Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the jurisprudence of the U.N. Human Rights Committee.

• Cease security force vetting of NGO registration requests, founding members, and candidates for board membership. In particular:

o Remove the government’s ability to approve or reject founding members or board members. Associations should not be required to inform the administrative authority in advance of board nominees. Amend Article 34 accordingly; and

o Remove the government’s ability to object to organizational decisions as set out in Article 23.

• Ensure that any involuntary dissolution of an NGO takes place only by judicial order, and only as a result of the most egregious violations by amending Article 42 to remove the administrative authority’s power to dissolve an NGO.

• Permit receipt of donations or transfers from foreign donors, as long as all foreign exchange and customs laws are satisfied. Amend Article 58 accordingly. In particular:

o State clearly any restrictions and make all criteria transparent; and

o Make clear that the absence of a government response to a request for approval of foreign funding within sixty days means that approval has been given.

• Allow NGOs to work in the thematic and geographical areas of their choosing. Abolish the requirement that NGOs seek permission from the Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs (MISA) for working in more than one field of activity or governorate.

• Review both Law 84/2002 and its executive (implementing) regulations so as to create a reporting system that is less complex, intrusive and burdensome, and abolish provisions that inappropriately prescribe internal governance mechanisms.

In addition, the government should:

• Remove additional licensing requirements for NGOs to engage in field research, carry out media activities, and publish publications;
• Ensure that MISA officials are adequately trained and have sufficient resources to carry out their obligations under the NGO law;
• Ensure that MISA officials enforce a unified set of procedural requirements for NGO registration and reporting procedures; and
• Establish capitalization requirements for foundations that are uniform and do not represent an unreasonable or arbitrary barrier to their establishment.

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