(Washington, DC)-A bill in Peru's Congress allowing the government to interfere with the activities of nongovernmental organizations would undermine human rights protections in Peru, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent to President Alan García on Tuesday.
The bill, which was approved in its initial form last week, is under intense debate in Congress after civil society organizations, the press and religious institutions expressed strong opposition to its terms.
If approved in its present form, the bill would give a government agency, the Peruvian Agency of International Cooperation (APCI), the power to "supervise" NGOs, including human rights NGOs, "in accordance with national development policy and the public interest."
"The restrictions envisaged would flagrantly violate Peru's international obligations to protect freedom of expression, association and assembly," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "We have urged President García to take a step back and reconsider the grave implications this bill might have for Peruvian democracy."
If the current bill becomes law, both human rights NGOs and the international donors supporting them would be obliged to register with the APCI. All projects and activities would have to be separately registered both by the donor and the beneficiary as a condition for transfer of funds from the donor, whether the latter is governmental or private.
The bill also introduces a list of infractions punishable by fines and other penalties for organizations that fail to comply with registration and operating requirements. They include a prohibition on the "improper use" by NGOs of resources provided by international donors.
In case of serious infractions, the APCI may cancel an NGO's registration permanently and prohibit its directors and legal representatives from participating in another NGO for five years. The bill does not stipulate expressly the rights of due process or appeal that apply in such serious cases.
The bill is similar to legislation approved by the Kremlin in Russia in January 2006, which has been widely criticized by the international community. One of the effects of the Russian law's adoption was to embolden public officials to try to discredit some NGOs as fronts for foreign governments, and threaten the closure of several NGOs. Some foreign NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, had their activities suspended until they had fully complied with the burdensome re-registration procedures.
The Peruvian Congress approved the bill by a comfortable majority on November 2, with the votes of the governing APRA party and of supporters of former President Fujimori, who is now awaiting possible extradition from Chile to face charges of corruption and human rights abuse.
