NGO RE-REGISTRATION STATE-OF-PLAY AS OF OCTOBER 17

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 011637

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DEPT FOR EUR/RUS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM PREL PREF RS
SUBJECT: NGO RE-REGISTRATION STATE-OF-PLAY AS OF OCTOBER 17

Classified By: DCM Daniel A. Russell. Reasons: 1.4 (b,d).

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Summary
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1. (U) With the October 18 NGO re-registration deadline
looming, the Federal Registration Service reports that:

-- 80 NGOs have been re-registered, 42 of them U.S. NGOs;
-- 70 re-registration applications are pending;
-- only three NGOs have to date been denied re-registration.
One of them, a Turkish NGO, has re-submitted its documents.


2. (U) At an October 16 press conference, FRS Director
Movchan elaborated the following framework for the
re-registration process:

-- October 18 is the deadline for "submitting notification of
an intention to re-register." NGOs not re-registered by
October 18 will have as much time as necessary to provide the
necessary documentation thereafter;

-- However, those NGOs not re-registered by October 18 will
be allowed to engage only in "internal activity," (activities
necessary to keep their offices running),while being
re-registered by the FRS. Movchan's comments repudiate
assertions by other senior officials that the GOR would
extend the deadline to allow the full range of NGO activities
to continue, and come despite DFM Yakovenko's previous
comments to the Ambassador that the GOR understood the
consequences of a freeze on NGO activity. In an October 17
conversation with First Deputy Foreign Minister Denisov, the
Ambassador again urged that NGOs be permitted to continue
activities pending re-registration. Denisov said he
understood the problem. End summary.

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Registration Service Director Holds Press Conference
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3. (U) Just days before the re-registration deadline, Federal
Registration Service (FRS) Director Sergey Movchan on October
16 held a press conference intended, Movchan said, to dispel
myths and quell anxiety among NGOs navigating the process.
Among Movchan's comments:

-- it is a "myth" that the FRS will not accept documents
necessary for re-registration after October 18;

-- the FRS will not close NGOs that have not submitted all of
their documents and been registered by that date;

-- it is not/not true that foreign NGOs already working in
Russia but not re-registered by October 18 will be closed;

-- October 18 is the final date for submitting notification
of intention to re-register. If NGOs meet that notification
deadline, they will have indefinite, additional time to
submit further documents deemed by the FRS necessary for
re-registration;

-- until an NGO is re-registered, it will not be able to
carry out program activity. It will be allowed to keep its
office, pay its staff, and other bills;

-- re-registration is necessary in order to produce one,
comprehensive list of all foreign NGOs working in Russia. At
present, there is no such comprehensive list;

-- to date, three NGOs have been denied registration. One of
them, a Turkish NGO, has re-submitted its documents;

-- to date, 80 NGOs have been re-registered;

-- of that number, 42 U.S. NGOs have completed the
registration process;

--72 re-registration applications are currently being
examined by the FRS. Forty of those are U.S. NGOs.

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Re-registering U.S. Concerns with MFA
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4. (C) In an October 17 conversation with First Deputy
Foreign Minister Denisov, the Ambassador explained that
Movchan's press conference contradicted private assurances by
senior GOR officials that the deadline would be extended or
external activities allowed to proceed. He reviewed serious

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concerns about the prospect of U.S. NGOs' external activities
being frozen and noted our appreciation for DFM Yakovenko's
previous commitment to look into the issue. The Ambassador
noted that U.S. NGOs were moving quickly to complete their
registration packets in a good faith effort to comply with
the GOR requirements. Denisov said he understood the problem
and would look into it further.

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State-of-Play with NGOs
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5. (U) Of the 27 NGOs USAID is tracking, as of October 16:

-- 16 have submitted applications;

-- 8 have not;

-- 3 have been registered.


6. (U) Among the prominent U.S. NGOs:

-- Ford Foundation has been re-registered;

-- Carnegie Endowment was re-registered on October 16;

-- NDI submitted its documents on September 27, and does not
expect to hear from the FRS until October 18. It has
postponed travel and programs planned both for the regions
and for Moscow until re-registered. The Ombudsman's' office
has told NDI to let it know, should NDI encounter
difficulties with the process;

-- Amcham has been re-registered;

-- IRI submitted its documents on October 4, but has heard
nothing to date from the FRS. It is prepared to put its
programs on hold on October 19, if necessary;

-- Winrock International/Khabarovsk has been told by FRS it
should receive a registration certificate soon;

-- Eurasia will re-submit its amended application October 16.


7. (C) Other NGO developments:

-- Human Rights Watch (HRW) was called to FRS to discuss
minor problems with its documents. At that meeting, the FRS
representative indicated HRW's registration approval had been
signed and would be filed once the minor problems were solved;

-- UN contacts have told Embassy that all NGOs working in
North Caucasus except one had submitted their applications.
The final NGO is expected to submit October 16. UNICEF
Country Director as UN humanitarian coordinator plans to ask
the MFA for assistance in expediting re-registration of
humanitarian aid agencies;

-- International Rescue Committee (IRC) told Embassy it would
submit its corrected application by October 18. IRC did not
believe it would be forced to suspend operations, but was
making contingency plans;

-- Kremlin-connected political analyst and Public Chamber
member Sergey Markov told us he doubted the GOR would lift
the injunction on external activities, despite Public Chamber
Secretary Velikhov's written appeal. Markov attributed this

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to Kremlin disengagement on the issue, noting that
repercussions in the West were not a factor that would
persuade the GOR to alter course. Markov said he would
himself re-raise the issue with Deputy Head of the
Presidential Administration Surkov.

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Life After Re-registration
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8. (U) Post-October 18 steps for NGOs:

-- Not long after the October 18 re-registration deadline,
registered NGOs are required to submit an annual report, in
which they must list programs which they plan to implement in
Russia in 2007. They are also required to submit quarterly
financial reports. The first of those will be due October

31. At his press conference, Movchan said that any NGO
failing to submit the required documents could be
de-registered, but added that the FRS would work with each
NGO as it navigated this new process.

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Comment
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9. (C) The GOR has been sending mixed signals on post-October
18 operations, with FRS Director Movchan earlier assuring the
Ambassador that NGOs would be able to continue operations.
In meetings with the Ambassador, Human Rights Ombudsman Lukin
and Presidential Administration Human Rights Chairwoman
Pamfilova have also been encouraging. MFA officials,
including DFM Yakovenko, have been sympathetic. At his
October 16 press conference, Movchan said emphatically that
unregistered NGOs would have to suspend program activity
until re-registered, but was at pains to assure his audience
that the FRS would aid unregistered organizations in clearing
the remaining hurdles. The late filing of registration
packets by some NGOs may translate into periods of forced
inactivity after October 18. We will urge the expedited
processing of the re-registrations, as well as encourage the
GOR to be flexible in permitting NGO operations to continue.
BURNS