I. Introduction: Complications
Non-governmental organizations (NGO) operating in Egypt have endured decades of strict government oversight rooted in the fear that their activities will run counter to government policy. This uncertainty is compounded when NGOs seek foreign sources of support, leading Egyptian officials to question whether foreign agencies are seeking to advance their own political agendas through local operations (see Amnesty International Report below). Funding from within Egypt, if obtained, is generally contributed by Egyptian businessmen with agendas.
Egyptian NGOs may be active in many different fields such as education, poverty eradication, human rights, religion, or the political realm, more or less explicitly. Regrettably, this potential is stifled by the many legal obstacles that have arisen from the government’s own incompetence and anxieties, namely:
- Registration, which, prior to the January 25th Revolution, included a check by Egyptian security, who had the power to reject an organization. The security procedures in place after the Revolution remain unclear.
- A permit is required from the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Justice before foreign funding is disbursed. In the Mubarak days, this process could easily take several months.
- Bureaucratic procedures are not always clear—that is, explicitly stated with unambiguous standards.
Organizations in the field of human rights have attracted the lion’s share of scrutiny by Egyptian authorities as they have censured the actions of the government, and security forces in particular, giving rise to many of the restrictive, and sometimes insurmountable measures in place. If an NGO passes the required security check, it must still obtain permission from the Minister of Social Solidarity and Justice for foreign funding, for which there is no guarantee (See Ibrāhīm al-Sa‘danī, Article 6 and Zaynab ‘Abd Allah, Article 9 below).
The issue with these Egyptian procedures is not that they exist, but that many rules are either unwritten or not accessible to applicants. These vagaries expose NGOs to the liberties government bureaucrats take in interpreting regulations. Egyptian authorities rarely state overtly that a particular activity is not allowed, but rather create lengthy bureaucratic obstacles that may delay steps for months or years in the hope that the applicant will simply withdraw from the process.
Some prominent observers of the system who I have spoken with view the aforementioned obstacles as stemming from three main sources. They list Jūdah ‘Abd al-Khāliq al-Sayyīd Muhammad, the Minister of Social Solidarity and Justice, who harbors Socialist tendencies and believes that matters of NGOs should be handled by the state as opposed to civil society. Second on their list is the Minister of Planning and International Co-operation, Fāyzah Muhammad Abū al-Najā, who has repeatedly stirred the pot for NGOs (See Amnesty International Report, below). Lastly, they cite the ambivalence of the military toward NGOs who regards their operations as trivial matters undeserving of the government’s time or resources.
II. Egyptian Media Reporting
1. Rose al-Yusuf, October 2, 2011
Muhammad Sūwayd
“LE 1 Bln Foreign Funds for Caritas.”
A fact-finding committee of the Ministry of Justice found that Caritas had received LE 1 billion in foreign funding. Caritas, according to the committee, has not spent these funds without prior approval of the Ministry of Social Solidarity as required.
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2011/week-40/7-le-1-bln-foreign-fund...
Comment: Caritas-Egypt has been working for many decades in social work, poverty eradication, education, etc. The one billion in foreign funding must be a compilation of all funds over all years Caritas has been working in Egypt. Still, this is not how it was mentioned in the article, thus giving readers the impression that Caritas is wealthy in a period when Egyptians are facing economic hardships.
2. Al-Ahram, September 27, 2011
'Imād Hajāb
“Funds for Unregistered NGOs Raise Questions, says Minister of International Cooperation.”
Minister of International Cooperation expresses fear for un-registered NGO’s involving themselves in political issues in Egypt with foreign funding.
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2011/week-39/35-funds-unregistered-n...
Comment: The allegation of involvement in “political issues” includes human rights, and certainly a human rights critique on Egyptian authorities, but it may also include critiquing government on poverty eradication, for example, or an education issue in addition to other sensitive issues.
3. Al-Ahram, September 13, 2011
Muhammad 'Anaz
“Ansār al-Sunnah Received LE 3M under Supervision of Social Solidarity.”
A spokesperson of the Ansār al-Sunnah al-Muhammadīyah denied that the group had received LE 181 million from Qatar.
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2011/week-37/43-ansar-al-sunnah-rece...
Comment: This demonstrates that fear of foreign influence is not limited to Western donors.
4. Rose al-Yusuf, September 2, 2011
Muhammad Suwayd
“LE181m Qatari funds for Ansār al-Sunnah al-Muhammadīyah.”
A fact-finding committee of the Ministry of Justice found that Qatar had donated LE181 Million to the Ansār al-Sunnah al-Muhammadīyah group in Egypt on February 21, 2011. The donation mainly aims to strengthen Qatar's power in Egypt through the group. Caritas, CEOSS, and Muhammad 'Alā' Mubārak Associations, were also questioned about their funds.
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2011/week-35/35-le181m-qatari-funds-...
5. Amnesty International, 2011
“Broken Promises: Egypt’s Military Rulers Erode Human Rights,”
“Freedom of association has not been spared from threats of further restrictions. Egyptian NGOs – already operating under a very restrictive law – have been threatened with prosecution over receiving foreign funds without permission” (7).
“At time of writing, the investigation is continuing and many NGOs have expressed concern at what seems to be an attempt by the government to intimidate them and stem their scrutiny of its performance and their reporting of human rights violations” (7).
“Amnesty International is concerned that members of Egypt’s human rights organizations, as well as other NGOs, currently under investigation by the Supreme State Security Prosecutor, may face trial before an emergency court with a long history of grossly unfair trials” (15).
Under the Law of Associations, the Ministry of Solidarity and Social Justice has the power to refuse to register organizations. The law also bans the registration of an association if it aims to conduct political or trade union activities (Article 11). The Ministry can also block funding, approve board nominees (Article 34), and has broad powers to dissolve organizations if they are found to have received funding without official permission or to have violated public order or morality (Article 42). Faced with such restrictions, many NGOs in Egypt choose to register as law firms or companies in order to preserve their independence (15-16).
“Investigation by the Authorities”
Due to suspicion and xenophobia that was stirred up by the authorities both under Hosni Mubarak and during the uprising, the SCAF seized upon USAID advertisements for financial support for NGOs in March.
On 6 July, the Minister of Solidarity and Social Justice stated that the USA had violated Egyptian sovereignty by funding civil society without the authorities’ permission. On 12 July, the Minister of Planning and International Co-operation, Fayza Mohamed Aboulnaga [sic], instructed the Ministry of Justice to investigate foreign funding of civil society in Egypt and three months later formally protested US funding of international organizations operating in Egypt (16).
A list of 37 national and international organizations identified by the fact-finding committee as operating without appropriate registration was leaked by El-Fagr newspaper on 22 September. The list named Egyptian human rights organizations working on issues including torture, women’s rights and housing as well as several international NGOs.
The bank accounts of NGOs have come under close scrutiny by the Egyptian authorities. In early August, it was reported that the Central Bank of Egypt had instructed banks to provide the Ministry of Solidarity and Social Justice with information about the financial dealings of NGOs. Egyptian organizations reported that they had subsequently received bank inquiries into funding from foreign sources.
The investigation is understood to be currently in the hands of the Supreme State Security Prosecution, a body charged with investigating national security offences. It has been reported that those found to have breached Egyptian law will face charges of “treason”, “conspiracy” and compromising national security. Amnesty International is concerned that a trial before (Emergency) Supreme State Security Court would violate defendants’ right to a fair hearing before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, as well as the right to appeal against conviction and sentence to a higher tribunal. Such a trial would have potentially devastating consequences for human rights reporting in Egypt.
“Recommendations”
Amnesty International calls on the Egyptian authorities, including the SCAF, to:
- Uphold the right to freedom of association.
- Review Law 84 of 2002 (the Law on Associations) to enable non-governmental organizations to function without impediments such as prior authorization, funding controls and administrative dissolution.
- End investigations by the State Security Prosecution and other bodies into the legitimate activities of NGOs.
LINK: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE12/053/2011/en
6. Al-Maydān, May 5, 2010
Ibrāhīm al-Sa‘danī
“Fresh Measures to Control NGO Assets.”
“Ministry of Social Solidarity and Central Bank of Egypt will not accredit any documents presented by NGOs for banks to deposit, withdraw, or transfer funds except after receiving endorsement from the Ministry of Social Solidarity whose staff is inexperienced in dealing with NGO bank accounts.”
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2010/week-18/45-fresh-measures-contr...
7. Arab-West Report, May 2009
Jonas Rye Nielsen and Sandy Neubert
“Human rights organizations in Egypt.”
In 2002 the Egyptian government introduced the Associations Law 84 that makes it very difficult for an organization to be registered as an NGO and without NGO status organizations cannot engage in fundraising in Egypt.
LINK:http://www.arabwestreport.info/human-rights-organizations-egypt
8. Al-Wafd, 2005
‘Amr al-Misri
“Brokers of Foreign Funding for NGOs.”
Intermediaries of hunting foreign funds have almost become a phenomenon, being so adept in getting funds from foreign embassies, particularly the US Embassy, as well as organizations working in the domain of civil society.
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2005/week-16/13-brokers-foreign-fund...
9. Al-Maydān, August 26, 2004
Zaynab ‘Abd Allah
“Who can bring human rights organizations to account for receiving foreign funding?”
“The new NGO law allows the Minister of Social Affairs to dissolve an NGO that receives foreign funding without the approval of the Ministry.”
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2004/week-35/9-who-can-bring-human-r...
10. Al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ, November 29, 2002
“The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights: Nothing New in the New Law of National Institutions except Restrictions”
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights issued a report criticizing the new law for civil organizations. It believes that the law puts hard restrictions on the establishment and activities of civil organizations
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2002/week-48/18-egyptian-organizatio...
11. Cairo Times, July 3, 1999
Hisham Qasim
“Government checks rights groups. Minister of Social Affairs Mervat Tellawi leads the counteroffensive against the opposition to Law 153.”
“A government counterattack has thrown the three-week old campaign against the new Law 153 for Associations and Civil Institutions into disarray. Social affairs minister Mervat Tellawi has led a public relations campaign to deflect international criticism of law, which aims to keep a check on the activities of non-governmental organizations. At the same time, it appears, the ministry has maneuvered behind the scenes to break down a front of human rights groups - the most likely targets of the legislation - who vowed to disobey the new law at whatever cost.”
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-1999/week-27/40-government-checks-ri...
12. Al-Ahram Weekly, June 3-9, 1999
Mirz Tadrus
“The law, many NGOs assert, gives the government extensive control over the establishment and liquidation of organizations, and widens the scope of possible administrative intervention.”
LINK: http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-1999/week-23/21-ngos-campaign
III. Experiences of the Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU):
AWR, February 20, 2007
NGO status after three years of struggle
http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2006/week-50/2-ngo-status-after-thre...
The Egyptian Council of State ruled on February 18, 2007, that the Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU) should be recognized as an NGO under Egyptian law, ending a three year struggle to obtain this status.
In July 2003, the founders of CAWU decided to apply for NGO status. Documents were prepared, meetings took place, recommendations were obtained which resulted in a statement from the Ministry of Social Affairs (now Social Solidarity) that the papers for our request for NGO status were complete and had been received on August 13, 2004. The request was rejected on October 27, 2004, claiming we violated art. 11 of the NGO law which specifies that no NGO should be involved in political activities. The claim was not further substantiated and the rejection came 20 days after the maximum time allotted for the Ministry of Social Solidarity to respond to any request made.
Our lawyer, Nājī Mattá Salīb, filed a case with the Council of State. We meanwhile presented our work to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs resulting in the Ministry issuing a formal recommendation to the Ministry of Social Solidarity in February 2005 to accept our request for NGO status. In January 2006, the legal advisory committee of the Council of State ruled that there were no legal objections to granting us NGO status. They further ruled that the objection to our request had been “based on rumors.”
In May 2006, former Dutch Prime Minister Prof. Andreas van Agt visited us with the explicit purpose to support our request for NGO status. Prof. van Agt met with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Endowments as well as with the head of the Arab League and many officials who all supported our request for NGO status.
Following the visit and recommendations we made in July 2006, a new request for NGO status was made with an expanded board, this time headed by former Minister Dr. Mamdūh al-Biltājī and supported by three former ministers and other dignitaries. This request was also rejected in August, 2006, again claiming we violated art. 11 of the Egyptian NGO law without providing any argumentation to substantiate this, http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2006/week-31/1-editorial
Meanwhile, we followed the procedure in the Council of State which resulted in the verdict issued on February 18, 2007, http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2006/week-50/3-state-commissioners-r...
Due to the difficulties in obtaining NGO status, in October 2005 we formed a civil company called Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT). We now have to wait for the verdict of the Council of State to be implemented and then establish a division of work and activities between the NGO and the civil company.
Why was it believed we violated Article 11 of the NGO law? We do not know. We were never provided with any conclusive reasons and neither were the Council of State or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, we have met with prominent Egyptian officials who believed the cocktail we created, Egyptians working with non-Egyptians, Muslims with Christians and people of other beliefs was not understood by officials who had looked at our papers. We hereby want to repeat explicitly that we believe in the need for understanding and respect between peoples of different cultures and beliefs, and believe it is therefore necessary that people of different cultures and religions work together towards this goal. We do wish to change Egyptian and Western societies to make them more tolerant towards people of different cultures and beliefs; that is, with a right to disagree and argue without using polemical language, but we do not want to become engaged in any activity that aims at changing the political structure in Egypt. We want to be a documentation center and forum where people learn about one another, while having no other ambitions but enabling people of different cultures and beliefs better understand one another.
We much appreciate the support and encouragement given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and would like to develop our relations with this ministry.
Eng. Sawsan Gabra Ayoub Khalil, chair
Drs. Cornelis Hulsman, director
Following this decision the Ministry of Social Solidarity recognized CAWU as NGO in 2008. CAWU applied in 2009 for a permit for funding from the Institute for Foreign Affairs, Germany, for a project on peace and reconciliation. It took the Ministry 1.5 years to approve the funding but by that time the Institute for Foreign Affairs had asked the funding to be returned since they had to spend this in the same calendar year and could not move the funding to the following calendar year.
The obstacles CAWU faced have been extremely discouraging for board members, making them largely inactive. CAWU in 2011 needed to look for new board members willing to engage in the challenge to develop activities in difficult circumstances.
IV. NGO Registration: The U.S. Model
In order to thoroughly assess the Egyptian system for NGOs, it is necessary to present other models of NGO regulations for comparison. In doing so, one can place Egyptian regulations in the broader context of civil society standards and determine the strengths and weaknesses of the current system.
The registration process for NGOs in Western countries is markedly disparate from that in Egypt. If an organization wishes to be recognized by the United States government, for example, they are required to meet the standards outlined here under the Electronic Federal Code of Regulations for a Private Voluntary Organization (PVO). According to these regulations, no restrictions are placed on the function of the organization except in these cases:
- An international organization planning operations outside the U.S. must adhere to the Foreign Assistance Act or the Public Law 480 (U.S.C. § 1712 (1982)), also known as “Food for Peace”.
- An organization’s operations have earned the designation of a terrorist organization.
- An organization’s activities are “contrary to the national defense, national security, or foreign policy interests of the United States” (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov).
The term “national security,” as applied in these regulations, must be defined as Egypt’s definition is quite broad and its parameters unclear, making an organization’s compliance with this standard unfeasible. By offering transparency in the government’s initiatives, PVOs in the U.S. are better equipped to abide by laws, such as the Foreign Assistance Act or Public Law 480.
Most recently, U.S. President Barack Obama stated in the National Security Strategy of 2010 that the term “national security” encompasses the following elements:
- Defense: “[…]to prevent and deter threats against the United States, its interests, and our allies and partners; and prepare to defend the United States in a wide range of contingencies against state and non-state actors”.
- Diplomacy: “Diplomacy is as fundamental to our national security as our defense capability. Our diplomats are the first line of engagement, listening to our partners, learning from them, building respect for one another, and seeking common ground.”
- Economic: “America—like other nations—is dependent upon overseas markets to sell its exports and maintain access to scarce commodities and resources. Thus, finding overlapping mutual economic interests with other nations and maintaining those economic relationships are key elements of our national security strategy.”
- Development: “Development is a strategic, economic, and moral imperative. We are focusing on assisting developing countries and their people to manage security threats, reap the benefits of global economic expansion, and set in place accountable and democratic institutions that serve basic human needs.”
- Homeland Security: “Homeland security traces its roots to traditional and historic functions of government and society, such as civil defense, emergency response, law enforcement, customs, border patrol, and immigration.”
- Intelligence: “Our country’s safety and prosperity depend on the quality of the intelligence we collect and the analysis we produce, our ability to evaluate and share this information in a timely manner, and our ability to counter intelligence threats.”
- Strategic Communications: “Across all of our efforts, effective strategic communications are essential to sustaining global legitimacy and supporting our policy aims.”
- The American People and the Private Sector: “[…]we must tap the ingenuity outside government through strategic partnerships with the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and community-based organizations.”
Accordingly, non-governmental organizations can look to these elements laid out in the National Security Strategy of the U.S. and find the specific elements that define “national security” in the U.S. The most important of these elements is the emphasis on the “American People and the Private Sector”. This section of the document points to the value of “nongovernmental organizations” and the need for the private sector; “Such partnerships,” the document reads, “are critical to U.S. success at home and abroad” (16).
To complete registration, a PVO is required to submit an 11-page form for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) found here. Among other details, PVOs are required to provide the organization’s purpose, financial information, including donors and grants, and for taxation purposes, Internal Revenue Service classification and Federal Employer Identification.
Presently, there are 575 registered PVOs in the U.S. according to the USAID website for the PVO registry. Their purposes range from “Child Survival,” to “Democratic Initiatives,” to “Women in Development”. As previously stated, PVOs are not restricted from registration by purpose unless they are considered a terrorist organization, violate human rights laws under the Foreign Assistance Act/Public Law 480, or their purpose contradicts national defense, security, or foreign policy interests of the U.S.
V. Conclusion
Registration of Egyptian NGOs is wrought with complications. Organizations in Egypt have, for many years sought funding from foreign donors, and this, unfortunately, has brought with it many obstacles. The security checks and various other procedures involved in registering an NGO make the process long and arduous and often disappointing when the organization becomes entangled in the bureaucratic system. Various articles listed in this paper indicate that such difficulties occur and that the military is often suspicious and unwelcoming of organizations with foreign connections.
The U.S. model points to the processes that organizations face when registering there. The USAID website points to clear instructions and rules for PVOs, making the registration process much less convoluted. NGOs of all types are registered and only those with intentions that are harmful to U.S. national security are excluded. Having such a model for comparison makes the difficulties that Egyptian NGOs of all types face that much more evident.
