The anniversary of the law “On public associations” brought together Belarusian third sector

The round table brought together a wide range of civil society organizations that work in the spheres related to the legal conditions of NGO activities.

On September 18^th, Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs of Belarus and the Center for Legal Transformation hosted a round table “Full-scale Map of Legal Reforms for the Benefit of Civil Society” in Minsk. The event was confined to the 20^th anniversary of the Law “On Public Associations” which was adopted on October 4, 1994.

The round table participants discussed the development of the legal regulation of non-profit organizations in Belarus over the past twenty years and the prospects for improving the legislation in this sphere.

As one of the organizers of the round table, Assembly’s lawyer Yury Chavusau, noted, adoption of the Law “On Public Associations” in 1994 was a positive step, but since then its provisions have been changed significantly and the law now is completely devalued. As a result, the legislation creates unfavorable conditions for the establishment and activities of civil society organizations. In particular, provisions regarding complicated procedure of registration of public associations and foundations, the ban on activities of unregistered organizations, restrictive procedure for obtaining both foreign and domestic donations have a negative impact on civil society. Moreover, this legislation is unstable, changes in it are made frequently and sometimes suddenly, without any discussion with the interested parties.

The round table brought together a wide range of civil society organizations that work in the spheres related to the legal conditions of NGO activities. Among others, the event was attended by representatives of umbrella bodies (RADA youth organization, the Association of additional education and awareness, the Assembly of NGOs), experts and researchers in the field of civil society organizations that promote changes in legislation and develop projects in the field. British expert Lindsay Driscoll, a consultant from Bates Wells & Braithwaite leading law specializing in non-profit law (London) and a member of the Supervisory Board of the International Center for Non-Profit Law (Washington) became a special guest of the round table.

The round table participants spoke about the activities of a number of coalitions promoting changes in the law on non-profit organizations. For instance, Valery Zhurakouski (International NGO “ACT”) talked about his organization’s successful experience in the initiation of legislation on public social order and development of the draft law “On Socially Useful Activities”, which aims to address issues of charity and sponsorship.

Participants also discussed several previous campaigns aimed at influencing legislation on non-profit organizations: the campaign against criminal liability for unregistered organizations’ activities, campaign against the Law “On Noncommercial Organizations”, attempts to influence the content of the new Law “On Public Associations”, etc.

The round table participants discussed the possibility of creating a full-scale map of legal reforms for the benefit of civil society, which would include the priorities and consistent plans of various organizations working in the field of legal reforms. Such a document could be an important means of coordination between advocacy initiatives to improve the legal conditions for civil society organizations.

Based on the article published at belngo.info