MINISTRY OF ECONOMY DISSOLVES 1,620 NGOS

UNCLAS KABUL 000589

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFA-A, CG CJTF-76

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM IR RS BO AF UNGA SEP
SUBJECT: MINISTRY OF ECONOMY DISSOLVES 1,620 NGOS


1. (U) SUMMARY. Following a Feb 4 deadline, the Minister
of Economy (MoE) Mir Mohammad Farhang announced that some
1,620 NGOs had been dissolved for not re-registering with the
MoE as required by the Law on NGOs, which was enacted in June

2005. Current records indicate that there are 556 NGOs
registered with the MoE, (367 national and 189
international.) The International Center for Not-for-Profit
organization noted that the action of the MoE is fully
compliant with the law. We do not expect this to have a
significant impact on the operations of the NGO community in
Afghanistan. END SUMMARY.

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BACKGROUND
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2. (U) In June 2005, President Karzai decreed the Law on
NGOs, which required all existing NGOs to re-register within
six months of its enactment. According to Article 47.1, "An
organization that received a certificate of registration
prior to the enforcement of this Law shall, within six months
from the enforcement date, submit its re-registration
application along with relevant documentation to the NGO
Department of the Ministry of Economy (MoE)." Article 35
provides for the dissolution of an NGO, "where the
organization does not re-register within 6 months. According
to Article 47.1 and Article 47.5, if an NGO is denied
re-registration, the MoE is obliged to submit the grounds for
denial in writing to the NGO. (NOTE: Prior to June 2005
there were approximately 2,355 registered NGOs operating
throughout the country and not all had formally registered
with the MoE. Some NGOs were registered at the provincial
and district levels. END NOTE.)


3. (U) In a February 7 press release, Farhang stated that
the MoE had dissolved 1,620 NGOs, (1,497 national and 123
international),for failing to re-register with his Ministry
prior to the Feb 4 deadline. Records from the MoE indicated
that when the deadline expired, a total of 556 NGOs, (367
national and 189 international),had re-registered with the
MoE. Noting that there were still a number of unregistered
NGOs in possession of funds from donors for projects yet to
be implemented, Farhang stated that those NGOs would be
identified, pursued, and punished for not fulfilling their
commitments.


4. (U) Comment. This is the second incident involving NGOs
within the past year. In early 2005, then-Minister of
Planning Ramazan Bashardost banned the activities of some
1,935 NGOs on charges of corruption and looting of funds that
were earmarked for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. When
he failed to win support from the newly formed cabinet,
however, Bashardost resigned and a compromise was reached in
the form of the June 2005 Law on NGOs. While Farhang's
actions may be perceived as similar to Bashardost's, they
are actually quite different as Farhang's actions are within
the law and Bashardost's were based on emotions. Although
the number of NGOs that were registered before the enactment
of the Law on NGOs (June 2005) differs from that quoted by
the MoE, some NGOs and businesses that were registered as
NGOs have not attempted to re-register or may have registered
as businesses. The number of successfully registered NGOs is
well within the expected range, and we have not heard
complaints from the NGO community. End Comment.
NEUMANN