RUSSIA: NGO REGISTRATION UPDATE; DEADLINE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 011275

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA: NGO REGISTRATION UPDATE; DEADLINE
EXTENSION?

REF: MOSCOW 11252

Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: In an October 5 conversation with Russian
Deputy Foreign Minister Yakovenko, the Ambassador urged the
GOR to extend an October 18 deadline for the re-registration
of foreign NGOs and underscored the damage that would result
from a suspension in their external programs. Yakovenko said
the GOR understood, with several well-placed officials
signaling that either the deadline will be extended or NGOs
permitted to conduct their programming after it expires.
Although many have applied or are close to applying for
re-registration, as many as 27 of the 29 unregistered U.S.
NGOs that the Embassy has tracked are potentially vulnerable
to a suspension of activity on October 18, with high-profile
human rights organizations attracting closer scrutiny. The
Ambassador will continue to press for a deadline extension,
and we urge Washington to repeat this message with Human
Rights Ombudsman Lukin on October 11. End Summary

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GOR Shifting Gears: Deadline May Slip
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2. (C) In an October 5 conversation with Deputy Foreign
Minister Yakovenko, the Ambassador warned of the negative
consequences for the GOR's reputation if the U.S. NGO
community was shuttered on October 18. The Ambassador
referred to the October 3 letter from Public Chamber
President Velikhov to the Federal Registration Service,
appealing for an extension in the deadline. If the GOR did
not extend the deadline, the Ambassador urged the authorities
to revert to FRS Movchan's prior interpretation of the NGO
law, according to which programs could proceed while the
registration packages were being scrutinized. Yakovenko said
he understood the magnitude of the issue, undertook to get
back to the Ambassador, and recognized that the first-time
implementation of the law had presented bureaucratic
difficulties.


3. (C) In meetings with U.S. officials and in separate
developments over the course of the last week, there have
been signals that the GOR will modify its October 18 deadline:

-- Chairwoman of the Presidential Administration's Council
for Civil Society and Human Rights Ella Panfilova
emphatically told the Ambassador on October 5 that "nothing
would happen" on October 18, and promised that the deadline
would be extended or the NGOs would otherwise be able to
continue their activities (septel).

-- The October 3 letter from Public Chamber President
Velikhov blamed bureaucratic impediments on the failure of
prominent international NGOs to re-register and appealed for
the deadline to be extended.

-- Human Rights Ombudsman Lukin shared his concerns over the
implementation of the law with EUR DAS Kramer on October 4
(reftel),and noted his private endorsement of the Public
Chamber initiative to extend the deadline.

-- Kremlin-connected Public Chamber Member Vyacheslav Nikonov
asserted to Kramer on October 4 that the deadline would be
extended or abolished; in part, he noted, because of Putin's
October 20 participation in the EU-Russia summit and the
desire to keep this issue off the agenda.

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U.S. NGO Registration Scorecard
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4. (SBU) We do not have comprehensive data on the total
number of U.S. NGOs required to re-register by October 18.
While Federal Registration Service (FRS) officials have
claimed that there are 200-500 foreign NGOs active in Russia,
there is no explanation for the wide divergence in statistics
and no breakdown by nationality. Also included in the FRS
figures are foreign adoption agencies, with 26 American
adoption agencies having successfully re-registered. While
the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) has aggressively
informed its members of the evolution in registration
requirements, it does not maintain a separate list of NGOs.
Instead, the Embassy has closely monitored the registration
fortunes of the 29 NGOs receiving grants or sub-grants from
USAID and PRM, which capture the most prominent U.S. NGOs
active in Russia, in addition to non-USAID recipients Ford
Foundation, Carnegie Center, and AmCham.


5. (SBU) Out of this pool of 32 NGOs, three (CIPE, Project
Harmony, Ford Foundation) have been re-registered; 13 have

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submitted their registration packages as of October 6; 14
have told us that they will file within the next two weeks,
with the status of two other NGOs unclear.


6. (SBU) Since the FRS has up to 30 days to review the
applications, as many as 27 of the 29 unregistered U.S. NGOs
potentially face a suspension of their external activities on
October 18. While the FRS has promised rapid turn-around for
the registration of some NGOs, including AmCham, others --
such as the more controversial National Democratic Institute
-- have received no feedback since filing their applications
and others, including the Charities Aid Foundation, continue
to endure prolonged scrutiny by FRS officials, who remain
focused on picayune details. While political sensitivities
play a role in this process, so do corruption and
bureaucratic incompetence. On the positive side of the
ledger, many of the NGOs contacted report that interactions
with the FRS in recent weeks have gone more smoothly; as
well, FRS officials have agreed to answer legal questions
posed by USAID and submitted by AmCham, and to post the
answers on their website so as to ensure a uniform response
to all NGO applicants.


7. (C) A variety of factors accounts for the late filing of
most U.S. NGOs: many initially believed that October 18 was a
deadline for submission, and not a drop-dead date for
registration; some adopted the strategy of waiting and seeing
how a larger NGO (such as Ford Foundation) fared, as a
lessons-learned model; others were stymied by the
bureaucratic requirements to locate and notarize founding
documents and charter member death certificates, with
low-level FRS officials sometimes bouncing packages on
technical or specious grounds; with some of the NGOs that
have not filed to date being advised by their Russian legal
counsel that they have nothing to fear. Once it became clear
that October 18 was a registration deadline, the Embassy --
in coordination with AmCham -- has attempted to contact all
known U.S. NGOs active in Russia to encourage a rapid filing
of the application packages.


8. (SBU) The results of a suspension of external activities
on October 18 would, in some cases, be dramatic and contrary
to the interests of GOR entities: exchange programs would
grind to a halt, Financial Sector Volunteer Corps assignments
to the Central Bank would cease, child welfare programs would
be cut, recovery programs in the North Caucasus would shut
down, and important HIV/AIDs collaboration -- including with
the Ministry of Defense -- would be suspended. The
cancellation of the bread and butter seminars and
conferences, upon which Carnegie and others depend, would
abruptly terminate high-visibility platforms for US-Russian
exchanges and reverberate throughout the U.S. foreign policy
establishment and Congress.


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Comment
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9. (C) While the GOR remains committed to controlling the
activities of foreign, particularly rights-based NGOs, there
appears to be increasing interest in avoiding a train wreck
that the suspension of activities of non-registered NGOs
would cause on October 18. The Ambassador will continue to
reinforce the need for an extension of the deadline with
senior GOR officials, and we encourage Washington to
reiterate the same message to Lukin during his October 10-12
consultations in Washington.
BURNS