Freedom of Association under Threat

The EMHRN third report on Freedom of Association presents an overview of the situation of human rights NGOs in countries north and south of the Mediterranean in 2009.

(See the report here) Since the publication of the EMHRN’s last report on freedom of association, in December 2008, there has been very little, if any, improvement in the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region.  On the contrary, individuals’ ability to exercise their right to associate has continued to deteriorate in some respects

In the countries of the eastern and southern Mediterranean, national legislations continue to restrict human rights activists’ ability to get involved with human rights and minority rights associations or groups suspected of having links to opposition movements. Activists are subject to stringent controls by the authorities, including by the judiciary. The situation is especially dire in Libya, where national legislation prohibits the formation of any group considered to be promoting ideas that undermine the Revolution.

Repressive policies against activists sometimes take a violent form. In Tunisia, for example, harassment and physical assaults against human rights defenders intensified in the months preceding the presidential elections of October 2009. In Syria, the arrest on July 28, 2009 of Mohanad Al-Hassani, the president of the Syrian Organization for Human Rights (Sawasiah), who had monitored prison conditions in the country, was an additional reminder of the urgent need to implement the recommendations made by the EMHRN during the past three years.   

While the situation may be less extreme, restrictive laws and practices also are prevalent in other countries of the region. Recent declarations in Egypt and Algeria that national legislations governing associations would be amended, as well as accusations by key figures that human rights organizations were “a threat to national security”, were ominous signs that the extensive powers of the countries’ security apparatuses might be strengthened even further. Similarly, in Israel, the recent debate aiming at restricting the right of NGOs to receive foreign funds constituted a new source of concern, as it highlighted a determination to silence NGOs that denounce human rights violations. Meanwhile the proposed amendments to the 2008 Jordanian Law on Societies would require founding members to seek official authorization prior to incorporating an organization and would impose restrictions on the activities organizations are allowed to engage in. In that, the proposed amendments are indicative of the region’s enduring illiberal legislative approaches, which contravene international standards on freedom of association.

The actual practice of the authorities also often violates international standards in relation to freedom of association, even where legislation is not as restrictive. Thus, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, political and security concerns resulting from the political division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip drastically limit the right to form or join an association, despite the presence of a modern legal framework regulating the establishment and functioning of associations.

The situation is much more favorable in Lebanon and, to a lesser extent, in Turkey, where (Kurdish) minority associations nonetheless face serious obstacles when it comes to freedom of association, and in Morocco, where a number of associations still continue to encounter obstacles in registering due to the administrative authorities’ failure to implement the law. In these three countries, it is important that the authorities institutionalize the positive measures they have taken.

Within the countries of the European Union, the situation with respect to freedom of association continues to be generally positive due to the judicial monitoring of the European Court of Human Rights and the recommendations of the Council of Europe Expert Council on NGO Law. However, some campaigns to disrupt the actions of activists defending the rights of foreigners or minorities prove that there is still no room for complacency.

In this 100-page follow-up report, the EMHRN reviews both violations of the right to freedom of association and progress achieved in the 11 countries south and east of the Mediterranean and in the countries of the European Union. The report also contains a thematic chapter on the problems faced by ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious minority associations and a note on the increasingly important role played by “fake” NGOs (commonly called “government-organized NGOs” or “GONGOs”), both at the national and international level (for instance, at the UN).

_______________________

In Algeria, rumours that spread last year, to the effect that the law on associations was about to be amended didn’t give rise to any public debate or any clarification by the government. In that respect, the EMHRN calls upon the government to maintain Algeria’s liberal legislation that conforms to international standards on freedom of association, to remove all obstacles to the exercise of freedom of assembly, and to encourage the involvement of civil society in the decision-making process in matters of public interest.

Reforming the law on NGOs in a liberal way in conformity with international law. In Egypt, rumours that Law 84/2002 on NGOs was about to be amended didn’t give rise to any public debate or any clarification by the government. On the contrary, accusations by key figures that human rights organizations were “a threat to national security” might be a sign that the extensive powers of the security apparatus will be strengthened even more.

Putting an end to threats against human rights organizations. In Israel, the recent debate aiming at restricting the right of NGOs to receive foreign funds is a new concern, as it highlights a determination to reduce to silence NGOs that denounce human rights violations.

The 2009 Law on societies is still far from meeting international standards on freedom of association. In Jordan, the proposed amendments to the 2008 Law on societies are too superficial to significantly change the nature of the law and do not ease the restrictions imposed on civil society. On the contrary, this new legislation maintains the obligation for Jordanian associations to seek prior approval before they can be incorporated and impose restrictions on activities they are allowed to engage in.

Freedom of association: an oasis in the midst of the desert. In Lebanon, the EMHRN is pleased with new improvements to freedom of association recorded once again this year. The Network calls upon the government to take whatever measures are needed to institutionalize these improvements.

Freedom of association. What rights? In Libya, the few signs of détente on the diplomatic front recorded this year are insufficient to conclude that the situation regarding freedom of association has improved since infringements of that fundamental rights are still commonplace. While the government has freed a number of political prisoners and agreed to expand ever so slightly the exercise of freedom of association, Libya continues to be ruled by a Revolutionary Committee structure that monopolizes all powers.

Local authorities disregarding the law. In Morocco, the situation regarding freedom of association has remained stagnant this year. Due to the refusal of local authorities to fully implement the requirements of the law, a number of associations continue to face hurdles in their attempt to register, underline the need for higher authorities to intervene decisively to ensure that this fundamental right is respected.

The impossibility to exercise the right to freedom of association. In Syria, attacks against the exercise of the right to freedom of association by the Kurdish minority, the intrusion of the government in the associative movement and the detaining of human rights defenders, such as Mohanad Al-Hassani, President of the Syrian Organization for Human Rights (Sawasiah), who had been shedding lights on the conditions of imprisonment in the country, highlight the worsening of the situation this year.

Political and security concerns overriding public freedoms. In the Occupied Palestinian territories, despite the presence of a modern legal framework regulating the establishment and functioning of associations, political and security concerns due to the political division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, are now overriding the system of public freedoms, drastically limiting the right to form or join an association.

A society kept in a stranglehold. In Tunisia, the total paralysis of the oldest human rights organization of the Arab world and Africa, the intrusion of the government in the associative movement – sometimes culminating in virtual coups such as has been the case with the National Union of Journalists – as well as an increase in harassment practices and physical attacks against civil society activists in the months leading to the presidential elections, underline the deterioration of the situation this year.

Removing obstacles to freedom of association and freedom of assembly. In Turkey, the political situation has brought about severe restrictions to the right of a number of associations, in particular those defending the rights of the Kurdish minority, underlining the need to intervene decisively to ensure that this fundamental right is respected.