RESTRICTIVE LAWS HAMPER MEPI GOALS AND ACTIVITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 ABU DHABI 000417

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2016
TAGS: KMPI KDEM PHUM PGOV AE MEPI
SUBJECT: RESTRICTIVE LAWS HAMPER MEPI GOALS AND ACTIVITIES
IN THE GULF


Classified By: MEPI Regional Office Director Hans Wechsel, reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (U) This message from the MEPI Regional Office has been
cleared by Embassies Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait, Manama, and
Muscat.


2. (SBU) Summary: Restrictive laws that limit the
establishment, funding, and activities of NGOs and other
civil society groups have been and will continue to be a
major impediment for MEPI efforts - and later those of the
Foundation for the Future - to seek and support the growth of
democracy in Gulf countries. (An appendix summarizing each
Gulf country's legal restrictions on civil society has been
included.) Legal restrictions and governmental control over
civil society at times are used to hamper some civil society
activities that are key to advancing MEPI projects and goals.
Furthermore, the current governmental stifling of civil
society limits the number and strength of voices that would
compete with the voices of extremism.


3. (C) Summary Cont: In order to effectively support the
efforts of an independent civil society to fuel democratic
reforms from within, a two-pronged approach is necessary:
First, MEPI should seek programming specifically aimed at
liberalizing the laws that govern civil society groups in the
Gulf. Second, until new legislation is enacted, the USG will
have to press governments to use their discretionary
authority under existing laws to accommodate some of the more
sensitive MEPI projects currently planned for the Gulf. End
Summary.

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The shallow end of the MENA civil society pool
-------------- -


4. (SBU) In a recent effort to identify local groups that
could conceivably undertake small to medium-scale MEPI-funded
projects, posts and the Abu Dhabi RO identified twice as many
groups in Yemen and Jordan than in the six Gulf countries
combined. While the developing status of both of those
countries is a key factor in the existence of larger civil
society communities there, so is the approach of those host
governments' toward the establishment of civil society
groups. Yemen has the most liberal (though still flawed)
legal requirements in the sub-region. Jordan's law gives the
government - like Gulf governments - broad discretion over
the establishment of civil society groups. Unlike Gulf
governments, however, Jordan generally uses that discretion
to let civil society groups proliferate.


5. (SBU) In the Gulf, the financial and administrative
requirements for licensing an NGO or professional association
are more extensive than other sub-regions of the MENA, and
are far more onerous than Western standards. Even when those
obstacles can be surmounted, the government often uses its
broad discretion to prevent licensing. In Qatar, for
example, post officials and Qatari contacts estimate that
less than 15 percent of applications to establish new civil
society groups have been approved. In the UAE, the first
&NGO8 (other charitable and educational civil society
organizations exist) has yet to be established, and at least
two applications known to Embassy officials have been pending
for more than a year. Only a handful of "NGOs" exist in
Saudi Arabia, and they can only be established by royal
decree.

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Can local groups accept USG funding?
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6. (SBU) Official NGOs are not the only possible recipients
of MEPI funds. Other types of civil society organizations,
such as professional associations, community groups, and
universities are also potential recipients. Whether an
official NGO or some other kind of civil society group; local
groups in five Gulf countries cannot accept USG funds without
the host government's written permission. (Note: The
exception is Bahrain, where groups are required to inform the
government of their intention to accept USG (and other
foreign) funding. The GOB can disallow the group accepting
USG funds, but no government response signals consent. Some
groups choose to request and receive government permission to
accept U.S. funds so they do not run into problems in the
future. End Note) Several representatives of civil society
groups in Gulf countries have cited the necessary
governmental approval of MEPI funding as a reason for either
limiting the activities proposed, or not submitting a
proposal to MEPI at all.


7. (C) Kuwaiti officials made clear to post that its recent
effort to broadly publicize MEPI funding opportunities was
not welcome. GOK contacts explained that they share the
objectives of MEPI programs, but anticipated two negative
consequences to publicizing outside funding for NGOs: (1) a
conservative backlash within the National Assembly, and (s)
pressure from Iran to be allowed to follow the U.S. precedent
and provide funding to purported religious NGOs with less
benign intentions within Kuwait. (Note: Kuwait's law does
permit foreign funding, though the Government's approval is
required. In practice, the many sources of both public and
private funding available to most Kuwaitis limits interest in
seeking outside funding. End Note.) The Omani Government,
meanwhile, would not approve an Embassy press release on MEPI
funding opportunities for dissemination to local papers.
Even in Bahrain, where the Government has a more liberal
attitude toward reform and MEPI than other Gulf countries,
the Bahrain Transparency Society would not conclude a grant
agreement with MEPI until it had written permission from the
GOB (per the notation above),which delayed the project for 3
months.
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U.S.-based groups are also stymied by law
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8. (SBU) With limited options for supporting democratic
change through direct funding of local groups, MEPI often
funds U.S.-based organizations instead. These organizations
can then hire local representatives, partner with local
groups, or provide services directly to individual program
participants. Many of these U.S.-based organizations still
need some kind of presence on the ground, however, to
implement their projects effectively. Like the establishment
of local NGOs, the ability of foreign or international NGOs
to establish a branch office or resident representative in
Gulf countries is also hampered by restrictive laws and/or
broad governmental discretion.


9. (C) In Bahrain, the lack of legislation allowing the
registration of foreign and international NGOs has forced NDI
to seek the umbrella of an GoB institute to make its
continued presence there legal. NDI and the GoB institute
have not yet been able to reach a mutually acceptable MoU,
however, and the MFA recently asked NDI to suspend its
activities. Per Manama 0092, the Foreign Minister offered to
assist NDI in resolving its status, and direct contacts
between NDI and the Bahrain Institute for Political
Development appear to be yielding positive measures that
should lead to a final resolution of NDI's status soon.


10. (C) In Qatar, the IRI program director has for more than
15 months unsuccessfully sought legal status for IRI in
Qatar. Without legal recognition of IRI, she has been forced
to depart the country at frequent intervals to abide by the
terms of her visitor visa. More importantly, IRI's ability
to work with groups and institutions interested in its
services has been hampered by concerns over its lack of legal
status and/or their inability to obtain explicit permission
from the MFA to conduct an activity with IRI. As a result of
the Government's lack of official recognition of IRI and/or
explicit permission to carry out activities, IRI has been
largely idle in Qatar for several months.


11. (C) New MEPI projects in the pipeline for several Gulf
countries through AIESEC, Freedom House, and IREX, as well as
new phases of bilateral programming through NDI or IRI in
Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, may all face these types of
problems as they try to roll out their programs in 2006. No
U.S. implementer can effectively move programming forward in
the Gulf unless the host government accommodates the project.


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Don't get "political"
--------------


12. (U) Whether directly funded or just partnered with an
U.S. implementer, civil society groups in every Gulf country
are legally prohibited from engaging in "political"
activities. Other vague prohibitions for civil society
groups include undermining "national unity", "social peace",
and even "harmony". Sanctions if the government deems that a
group has violated these provisions range from shutting down
the organization to jailing its leadership.


13. (SBU) Such actions are rare, but occur enough -
including in the past year - that the possibility creates
some degree of "self-censorship" among most civil society
groups. With the exception of Bahrain, where there has been
more political space for civil society than elsewhere in the
Gulf, most groups in the Gulf are cautious about advocating
reform positions on highly political issues that are critical
of government policy. Combined with the above-mentioned
requirement for governmental approval of foreign funding,
MEPI is unlikely to get many proposals from local groups that
are significantly more forward-leaning on political reform
issues than their host governments.

14. (C) Partnering - or even participating - in a
forward-leaning political reform project with a U.S.-based
implementer also gives local groups pause. Many Gulf
countries require civil society groups to report any official
contacts with foreign groups or governments. The UAE
Journalist Association (JA),for example, was eager for a
MEPI project that would provide it the services of an
U.S.-based media law expert, but was concerned that some UAEG
officials might try to thwart the project if informed. To
avoid broadly informing the Government, the JA moved forward
with the project on the condition that its verbal assurances
would suffice, as any written communications to the USG would
have to be forwarded to two UAEG ministries as well.
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Mosque-based "civil society"
--------------


15. (SBU) The ability to organize and get messages out is
central to any group's ability to influence issue debates and
affect public opinion. Without a free and vibrant civil
society, however, it is difficult to for groups in the Gulf
to form and affect public opinion. Islamic extremists,
meanwhile, are able to spread their ideas through existing
networks.


16. (C) The absence of a robust civil society free to
advocate issue positions that are critical of government
policy contributes to a disproportionate influence for
extremists as detractors. A robust civil society would
expand the number and strength of voices that are critical of
government policy without advocating extremism. Along with a
free press and political parties, a robust civil society is
part of an equation for creating a marketplace for ideas in
the Gulf that does not disadvantage moderates.

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Aim programming at liberalizing civil society laws
-------------- --------------


17. (SBU) All of the Gulf posts' democracy strategies
rightly call for strengthening civil society, and MEPI has
some programs available to the Gulf that can contribute to
that. The key to broadly strengthening civil society in the
Gulf, however, is liberalization of the laws that govern its
establishment, funding, and activities. With or without MEPI
support, civil society will not be a significant force for
democratic reform in the Gulf unless the legislative ties
that bind it are loosened.


18. (C) MEPI should seek programming that would work with
existing Gulf civil society groups to promote better civil
society laws from elsewhere in the Arab world, and/or help
them draft new model legislation. Such a project could,
however, quickly run into many of the obstacles described
above. Existing civil society laws could easily thwart a
project aimed at liberalizing those laws. In the current
situation, a civil society law project - like any sensitive
project in the Gulf - will only go forward if host
governments are persuaded to accommodate it.


19. (C) In addition to bilateral efforts to liberalize
civil society laws, it may also be worth raising the issue
through the GCC structure. The GCC Secretariat in Riyadh,
regular GCC ministerials, possible sidebars with GCC
colleagues at FFF events, and the Secretary's annual meeting
with GCC FMs at UNGA, are all potential opportunities.

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Advancing MEPI democratic reform projects this year
-------------- --------------


20. (C) Civil society laws in the Gulf are hindering some
existing MEPI projects. Nevertheless, most of these laws
also give broad discretionary authority to the government.
Until laws are liberalized, "pushing the envelope" of
democratic reform in partnership with civil society groups in
the Gulf will rely on the USG convincing governments on a
case-by-case basis to accommodate some of the more sensitive
MEPI projects. We should expect that in 2006 bilateral
dialogue might be necessary with Gulf governments to advance
several key MEPI regional programs already in the pipeline
through Freedom House, AIESEC, Arab Civitas, and IREX; as
well as bilateral programs through IRI and NDI. Otherwise,
some of these programs - as well as the key aspects of posts'
democracy strategies they are meant to support - simply may
not move forward.

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Appendix: Summary of Civil Society Restrictions
-------------- --


21. (U) Bahrain:

Licensing:
--The Ministry of Social Development licenses civil society
associations and organizations.
--Applications can be rejected by the Ministry for broad,
ill-defined reasons.

Funding:
--Local societies planning to receive funding from foreign
groups or governments must inform the Ministry of Social
Development.
--Bahraini associations must also apply for a fundraising
permit to the Ministry of Social Development. The
application is a lengthy process, and must be tied to a
specific project or activity after which a new permit must be
sought for a new activity/project.

Activities:
--Bahraini associations registered with the Ministry of
Social Development cannot participate in &political
activities8, must adhere to "public order and morals" and
must ensure its activities do not affect the "the safety of
the state, the form of government or its social order."
--Possible sanctions for activities deemed illegal include
dissolution. The Minister also has the right to halt the
implementation of any decision made on the part of the NGO if
it was deemed to contravene the law, NGO regulations, public
order or morals.
--Affiliation with international or foreign NGOs must be
approved by the Ministry of Social Development.
--The Ministry must be notified of any "General Assembly"
meeting 15 days in advance. The NGO must provide the
Ministry with a copy of the invitation letter, the meeting,s
agenda, and all other documents the members receive. The
Ministry can designate a representative to attend the meeting
on its behalf. The minutes of meeting must be provided to
the Ministry within 15 days of its occurrence.


22. (U) Kuwait:

Licensing:
--The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs licenses civil
society associations and organizations.
--Applications can be rejected by the Ministry at its
discretion without citing any provision of law. More common
than outright rejection is a non-response, with applications
left to languish within the bureaucracy.
--Rejections can only be appealed to the Minister. There is
no judicial review.

Funding:
--Associations are prohibited from accepting funds or
benefits from any source outside of Kuwait without the
approval of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
--The Board of Directors must annually submit to the Ministry
complete financial accounts for the previous year's
activities, and its draft budget for the next year.

Activities:
--Associations are prohibited from &engaging in politics,
religious conflicts, or other activities that may incite
sectarianism or discrimination.8
--Possible sanctions for activities deemed illegal include
dissolution, fines, and imprisonment.
--The Ministry can designate a representative to attend the
meetings of any General Assembly meeting.
--Affiliation with international or foreign NGOs is
prohibited without the permission of the Ministry of Labor
and Social Affairs.


23. (U) Oman:

Licensing:
--Ministry of Social Development licenses civil society
associations and organizations, except some licensed under
special laws. State security services must screen
applications and membership rolls as an obligatory step in
this process.
--Applications can be rejected by the Ministry for broad,
ill-defined reasons.
--Rejections can only be appealed to the Minister. There is
no judicial review.

Funding:
--The Minister,s approval, after proper vetting with state
security services, is required before funds can be accepted
from any source outside Oman.

Activities:
--Allowable fields in which associations may work include
care of orphans, care of children and women, women,s
services, care of the old, care of the disabled and special
groups, care for the environment, and any other sphere or
activity that the Minister of Social Development approves
along with the Council of Ministers.
--Associations &may not engage in politics or interfere in
religious matters, and must avoid tribal or sectarian
groupings.8
--Possible sanctions for activities deemed illegal include
dissolution, fines, and imprisonment.
--The Minister of Social Development may rescind any decision
or action taken by an NGO's Board of Directors.
--Associations may not send delegations outside Oman or host
delegations from outside the country before obtaining the
approval of the Ministry.
--Affiliation with international or foreign NGOs must be
approved by the Minister.
--Associations are subject to the Ministry,s "supervision";
including the right to attend activities, and the right to
enter an association's office(s) and examine its records and
documents.


24. (U) Qatar:

Licensing:
--The Ministry of Civil Service Affairs licenses civil
society associations and organizations.
--Applications can be rejected by the Ministry without
justification or comment.
--Rejections may be appealed only to the Cabinet of
Ministers. There is no judicial review.
--Membership of all civil society groups must be at least 80%
Qatari.
--NGO licenses cost $14,000.

Funding:
--Ministry approval is required before funds can be accepted
from any source outside Qatar.
The association,s board of directors must annually present
to the Ministry complete financial accounts for its previous
year's activities and its draft budget for the next year.

Activities:
--"Involvement in political matters" is prohibited.
--Possible sanctions for activities deemed illegal include
dissolution, fines, and imprisonment.
--Affiliation with international or foreign NGOs must be
approved by the Ministry.
--The association,s activities are subject to the
"supervision and control" of the Ministry.


25. (U) Saudi Arabia:

There are no specific provisions in Saudi law that deal with
the establishment, funding, or activities of civil society
organizations. The few "NGOs" in country were established by
decree. Some professional associations have been allowed to
form. All "civil society" organizations exist and operate
under governmental control.


26. (U) UAE:

Licensing:
--The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs licenses civil
society associations and organizations
-- Applications can be rejected by the Ministry at its
discretion without citing any provision of law.
--Rejections can only be appealed to the Minister. There is
no judicial review.

Funding:
--Groups must obtain a special permit from the Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs before funds can be accepted from
any source outside the UAE.

Activities:
--Groups may undertake social, religious, cultural,
educational, and technical activities, and/or provide
humanitarian or charitable services.
-- Groups are &prohibited from engaging in politics, or in
activities that may raise religious, ethnic, or sectarian
conflicts.8
--Possible sanctions for activities deemed illegal include
dissolution, fines, and imprisonment.
--Groups are not allowed to participate in any conferences or
meetings abroad without a permit from the Ministry of Social
Affairs.
--Affiliation with international or foreign NGOs must be
approved by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the
Ministry of Interior.
-- The Ministry of Social Affairs has the right of
&direction and technical supervision8 over any
association's projects and programs.

SISON
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