Putin suggests tougher control, expert thinks

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has today forwarded his resolution on the bill on nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to Boris Gryzlov, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The lower house of the Russian parliament intends to examine the bill in the second reading on 16 December. Mr Yuri Jibladze, President of the Centre for Development of Democracy and Human Rights and a member of the Expert Panel for the Commissioner on Human Rights of the Russian Federation, has analysed the text of the resolution for Caucasian Knot.

In his resolution, Mr Putin recommends excluding or amending some provisions of the bill that contradict international law. Thus, he thinks that foreign NGOs do not need to transform into Russian public organisations as the Duma's first-reading text suggested.

The Federal Registration Service of the Russian Justice Ministry should not request financial and economic records of Russian NGOs and public organisations that do not constitute a legal entity do not need to notify the state of their establishment, according to the president's document.

However, many other provisions that have been criticised by Russian experts and the Council of Europe have not been reviewed, Mr Yuri Jibladze thinks. Thus, nothing is said about the ban for foreigners to found and take part in the operation of Russian NGOs, which the bill stipulates. The principle that all NGOs should get registered with and report to agencies of the Registration Service is left unchanged.

"The president's resolution says nothing with respect to that a registration service official should not be based on his or her own discretion instead of a court of law verdict in deciding on whether the founder promotes extremist activities or money laundering. It only says that the 'proposed registration mechanism for all other Russian non-profit-making organisations should be specified. This specification, in particular, should concern the list of documents to be submitted for registration and the grounds to deny registration. The document also says nothing about officials visiting NGO activities," the member of the Expert Panel for the Russian Commissioner on Human Rights says.

"Moreover," Mr Jibladze continues, "Vladimir Putin suggests introducing new mechanisms of control over public organisations. All international and foreign nongovernmental organisations, as the president thinks, must inform an authorised federal government agency about the goals and objectives of their activities, amounts of allocated and received funds, and specific objectives of their use in a form set by the government of the Russian Federation. The president believes that corresponding notification procedures might be observed as funds are received and depending on the assumed schedule of their use. This means that procedures which the bill says are to be established by the government may turn out to be very tough and burdensome and that they may apply to each project or even money order."

Legal entities (public unions and other non-profit-making organisations) and individuals funded by international and foreign organisations, as well as foreign citizens, should, as Mr Putin suggests, inform an authorised agency about that following a procedure determined by the government of the Russian Federation. He suggests providing for responsibility of Russian legal entities and individuals dodging notification of the authorised agency that in their activities they use funds of international and foreign organisations.

"It is especially important that the bill will not include a definition of prohibited 'political activities' that must not be carried out for foreign funds. This means that great authority of control and restriction on the part of the state will be motivated by officials' arbitrary interpretation of what these very prohibited 'political activities' are. The president (not on paper) has clearly formulated the objective of the bill, but the law will say nothing about it. This is the most dangerous remaining problem," Mr Yuri Jibladze concludes.

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