From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Jan 27 2009 - 09:05:00 EST
Ethiopia curb on charities alarms human rights activists
* <http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/marktran> Mark Tran
* <http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian> The Guardian,
* 27 January 2009
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/humanrights> Human rights activists have
accused the Ethiopian government of tightening its grip on power through a
new law on charity funding that they claim will criminalise human rights
work and clamp down on political debate ahead of next year's elections.
At the core of the charities and societies proclamation (CSO law) that came
into force this month, is a provision stating that any organisation
receiving over 10% of its funding from abroad is a "foreign NGO".
Once designated as "foreign", an organisation is not allowed to engage in
activities concerning democratic and human rights, conflict resolution or
criminal justice.
Ostensibly, the law is designed to ensure those who engage in Ethiopian
politics should be Ethiopian nationals. However, not even the largest human
rights groups in <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ethiopia> Ethiopia can
raise enough money domestically in what is one of the world's poorest
countries.
Ethiopian officials say the law is simply in line with the constitution,
which forbids foreigners from taking part in domestic political activities.
But human rights groups and Ethiopians abroad view the law as a draconian
act by an increasingly authoritarian government, especially since the
contested elections of 2005.
The critics of the Meles Zenawi government say the law is but the latest in
a series of measures aimed at cracking down on dissent, ranging from the
censorship of the media to the arrest of opposition leaders. The US and
Britain have tried to persuade the Ethiopian government, which is a major
beneficiary of foreign aid, to dilute the measure.
"We appreciate that some of our concerns have been addressed," the Foreign
Office said in a statement. "However, core elements of the legislation,
notably the provisions on foreign funding and social advocacy, have not been
changed. We are concerned that the law could limit the legitimate activities
of Ethiopian and international CSOs undertaking development work in
Ethiopia."
The outgoing Bush administration, which viewed Ethiopia as an important ally
in its "war on terror", said this month that the law may restrict US
government assistance to Ethiopia.
Organisations such as the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, the main group
carrying out human rights monitoring, and the Ethiopian Women Lawyers
Association, a women's advocacy group, depend overwhelmingly on foreign
money - by as much as 90%.
The only associations in Ethiopia that do not rely on foreign funds are the
so-called mass associations, known as gongos, which are dismissed by critics
as "impostors of democracy" because they are essentially ruling party or
government-run organisations.
The law also provides for the establishment of a regulating body - the
Charities and Societies Agency - with extensive, albeit unclear and
arbitrary, powers over the registration of charities and over how they work.
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