A new law in Iraqi Kurdistan hopes to separate worthwhile NGOs from those who simply provide an excuse for recreation and a venue for drinking tea.
Once when young Kurdish men wanted to relax, to drink tea and to enjoy themselves in a clubhouse of their own, they would establish a non-governmental organization, or NGO. Once the organization was licensed, the Ministry of the Interior in the semi-autonomous state of Iraqi Kurdistan would then support the NGO financially, with most funds going towards renting the premises.
Of course, the Ministry of the Interior did not treat all NGOs equally. Some would get IQD 1 million (around US$850) while others might be given as much as IQD 20 million (around US$17,000). And usually this was not because they were particularly good at what they did; it was just that the fortunate ones had closer ties to a political party or to government ministers than others.
However on April 6, the parliament in Iraqi Kurdistan approved the draft of a law that might make life for some NGOs a little more difficult. The law, which went into effect on May 1, says that only NGOs with a reasonable proposal or project will now receive state funding. There are an estimated 1,300 NGOs in Iraqi Kurdistan and up until this month, 500 of these received funding from the state government. But from May the Iraqi Kurdish government will cut funding for all NGOs, except those that are visibly active on state-approved projects.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, NGOs considered active have often complained about contemporaries that appear to exist in name only, and without any real goals. The former consider the latter a threat to the good reputation of every NGO in the region. Hemin Saleh, the head of an NGO called Communication for Democracy and Human Rights, believes the draft law is a positive signal because it will eventually show which NGOs are active and which are not. "Many NGOs are just places for drinking tea,” Saleh agreed. “They take some money from the government for rent and they use their office for relaxation.”
Many of the NGOs that don’t get official cash might receive funding through other channels – quite often these are also political in nature but not state sanctioned. However Saleh thought that: “Political parties will stop funding inactive NGOs. They are already under a lot of pressure not to [support inactive NGOs] because it endangers the party’s good reputation.”
Sirwan Abbas Qadir, head of the Future Centre for Youth Issues, a volunteer organization based in Erbil city dedicated to encouraging democratic debate among youth in Iraqi Kurdistan, said that the new law will actually make it easier to establish an NGO. In the past a group would need to wait for a license from the Ministry of the Interior. The licensing process could take up to a year.
"Basically this was based on the mood of those in the Interior Ministry. If they did not want an NGO to be established, they would complicate things,” Qasir explained. The new law means that an NGO need only register its name and it can begin working. Whether or not it receives state funding will depend on its proposed activities.
In 2010 the Future Centre for Youth Issues held a conference and established a working group to look at the proposed NGO law in detail. They favoured state funding based upon proposed projects and advised that ministerial licensing be changed to a simple registration process. Another recommendation was that an independent commission be established to review proposals from, and work by, local NGOs. While the conference's objectives have been partially fulfilled, the last recommendation was not accepted: The new law opts for a parliamentary committee to oversee NGOs’ work.
While Qadir said he still preferred a wholly independent commission, he said that a parliamentary committee would be satisfactory because it would ensure that all interest groups were represented.
Meanwhile members of other NGOs expressed concern about potential cuts in regular state funding. Hemin Malazada, the head of the Organization for Patriotism Issues, which conducts surveys on national issues, said he believed the new law was constructive. Nonetheless he was worried that if his organization did not get regular money – as opposed to funding per project – it would be unable to pay rent on the property it used. "Some NGOs will start thinking about finding an alternative - such as asking for help from European countries or the US. I don’t believe this is good for the Kurdistan region in a political sense,” he explained.
Presently it seems likely that when the law does go into effect many NGOs in Iraqi Kurdistan will be forced to shut down. Additionally establishing an NGO is unlikely to be as attractive a prospect as it has been previously.
Once when young Kurdish men wanted to relax, to drink tea and to enjoy themselves in a clubhouse of their own, they would establish a non-governmental organization, or NGO. Once the organization was licensed, the Ministry of the Interior in the semi-autonomous state of Iraqi Kurdistan would then support the NGO financially, with most funds going towards renting the premises.
Of course, the Ministry of the Interior did not treat all NGOs equally. Some would get IQD 1 million (around US$850) while others might be given as much as IQD 20 million (around US$17,000). And usually this was not because they were particularly good at what they did; it was just that the fortunate ones had closer ties to a political party or to government ministers than others.
However on April 6, the parliament in Iraqi Kurdistan approved the draft of a law that might make life for some NGOs a little more difficult. The law, which went into effect on May 1, says that only NGOs with a reasonable proposal or project will now receive state funding. There are an estimated 1,300 NGOs in Iraqi Kurdistan and up until this month, 500 of these received funding from the state government. But from May the Iraqi Kurdish government will cut funding for all NGOs, except those that are visibly active on state-approved projects.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, NGOs considered active have often complained about contemporaries that appear to exist in name only, and without any real goals. The former consider the latter a threat to the good reputation of every NGO in the region. Hemin Saleh, the head of an NGO called Communication for Democracy and Human Rights, believes the draft law is a positive signal because it will eventually show which NGOs are active and which are not. "Many NGOs are just places for drinking tea,” Saleh agreed. “They take some money from the government for rent and they use their office for relaxation.”
Many of the NGOs that don’t get official cash might receive funding through other channels – quite often these are also political in nature but not state sanctioned. However Saleh thought that: “Political parties will stop funding inactive NGOs. They are already under a lot of pressure not to [support inactive NGOs] because it endangers the party’s good reputation.”
Sirwan Abbas Qadir, head of the Future Centre for Youth Issues, a volunteer organization based in Erbil city dedicated to encouraging democratic debate among youth in Iraqi Kurdistan, said that the new law will actually make it easier to establish an NGO. In the past a group would need to wait for a license from the Ministry of the Interior. The licensing process could take up to a year.
"Basically this was based on the mood of those in the Interior Ministry. If they did not want an NGO to be established, they would complicate things,” Qasir explained. The new law means that an NGO need only register its name and it can begin working. Whether or not it receives state funding will depend on its proposed activities.
In 2010 the Future Centre for Youth Issues held a conference and established a working group to look at the proposed NGO law in detail. They favoured state funding based upon proposed projects and advised that ministerial licensing be changed to a simple registration process. Another recommendation was that an independent commission be established to review proposals from, and work by, local NGOs. While the conference's objectives have been partially fulfilled, the last recommendation was not accepted: The new law opts for a parliamentary committee to oversee NGOs’ work.
While Qadir said he still preferred a wholly independent commission, he said that a parliamentary committee would be satisfactory because it would ensure that all interest groups were represented.
Meanwhile members of other NGOs expressed concern about potential cuts in regular state funding. Hemin Malazada, the head of the Organization for Patriotism Issues, which conducts surveys on national issues, said he believed the new law was constructive. Nonetheless he was worried that if his organization did not get regular money – as opposed to funding per project – it would be unable to pay rent on the property it used. "Some NGOs will start thinking about finding an alternative - such as asking for help from European countries or the US. I don’t believe this is good for the Kurdistan region in a political sense,” he explained.
Presently it seems likely that when the law does go into effect many NGOs in Iraqi Kurdistan will be forced to shut down. Additionally establishing an NGO is unlikely to be as attractive a prospect as it has been previously.
