Minister sends mixed messages on NGO crackdown

A day after the deadline for NGOs to register with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, Minister Ghada Waly sent mixed signals, taking a softer tone in statements on the matter.

Local media reported that Waly decided to postpone looking into the registration of NGOs, pending the issuance of a new law pertaining to civil society, at the request of Minister of Transitional Justice Ibrahim al-Heneidy and Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb.  

Sources inside the ministry reportedly said there is no clear plan on the measures it will take towards unregistered NGOs.

Moreover, on the sidelines of a conference on Tuesday, Waly said the ministry wouldn’t crack down on bodies and companies that practice civil work that are registered under the NGO law or any other law, MENA reported.

Now the deadline has passed, Waly said the ministry would examine which laws certain NGOs are registered under, as well as the nature of their work and sources of funding, adding that the situation for organizations that aren’t registered under any law would be “worrisome.”

In July, the Ministry of Social Solidarity declared it would take swift action against any NGO that did not comply with the provisions of Law 84 (2002), and set a November 10 deadline for such groups to adjust their legal status accordingly. The declaration was issued alongside proposed amendments to the law that were lambasted as repressive by various civil society organizations.

The amendments mandate that NGOs must register to gain official status, thus rendering them subject to the state’s administrative authority. However, critics point out that this contradicts Article 75 of the Constitution, which stipulates that civil organizations are to be established only through official notification.

May al-Sheikh, communications director at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said that the overall atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding the issue is unhealthy. She added that, while some statements reflect a comforting tone, the lack of transparency is unnecessary.   

“We never understood from the beginning who was being targeted and what would happen after November 10,” she told Mada Masr. “And the minister’s recent statements didn’t clarify this.”

Sheikh said that recent statements imply the crackdown rules out companies registered under other laws, which was never stated before. However, NGOs still don’t understand how the ministry will communicate with them, what they will say, or even if they are the organizations in question.

She maintains that this lack of transparency “doesn’t serve democracy,” deploring the lack of communication on the matter from the government, who she says they work closely with.

Despite Waly’s recent statements, Sheikh said, “there are no guarantees.”

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said it is ready to follow Waly’s orders on the situation, and would take legal action based on her recommendations.