DUTCH NGO REFUSED RE-REGISTRATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 012637

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF PHUM EAID KDEM RS
SUBJECT: DUTCH NGO REFUSED RE-REGISTRATION

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Daniel A. Russell.
Reasons 1.4 (b and d).


1. (SBU) The Federal Registration Service refused the NGO
Stichting Russia Justice Initiative (RJI) last week, citing
technical problems with its application. The technical
reasons included questions about RJI Executive Director Ole
Solvang's authority to represent RJI during the process and
insufficient signatures from its board of directors on the
application. RJI assists Chechens in preparing cases for the
European Court of Human Rights and has won three judgments
against the Russian Government this year. Solvang told us
November 24 that he had been optimistic that RJI would be
re-registered based on earlier conversations with
registration service staff. RJI subsequently received a
formal letter of refusal. (NOTE: In similar cases involving
other NGOs, the registration service returned the
applications for revision.)


2. (C) Solvang said that he was unsure whether the refusal
was related to its work in the North Caucasus and its success
in the European Court. While there was no direct evidence to
suggest there was a political motivation, Solvang questioned
the basis of the refusal. RJI would be looking at its
options for resubmitting its application and in the interim,
Solvang said he would seek a meeting with Registration
Service Director Movchan and members of his staff involved in
the decision to seek clarification on their rationale and the
best way forward. RJI will also ask the Dutch, Swedish, and
Norwegian embassies and the European Commission -- its donors
-- to weigh in with GOR on its behalf.


3. (SBU) According to the registration service website, as
of November 24, 170 foreign NGOs had been re-registered, and
24 others -- 13 of them American -- had applications under
consideration. Of the 29 NGOs that USAID is tracking, as of
November 24, 19 have been re-registered, and 10 remain
unregistered. International Medical Corps, which is funded
by PRM, was re-registered on November 22 and resumed its
programs in the North Caucasus on November 23. International
Rescue Committee (IRC),which is funded by PRM and USAID, has
yet to be re-registered, but IRC Country Director Amir
Omanovich said a senior registration service official had
hinted that it would be re-registered soon.


4. (SBU) Separately, World Wildlife Fund Director Igor
Chestin, who is also a member of the Public Chamber and an
interagency working group established to comment on NGO
reporting guidelines, told USAID staff November 22 that the
group had received very few comments on the draft guidelines
from NGOs and they could be finalized by the end of the
month. Overall, Chestin noted that the guidelines added very
little to already thin guidance in the original promulgation
of the reporting forms in April. Chestin said one of the
problems is that key terms remain poorly defined, and they
lacked clarity. Chestin also noted that the registration
service had complained that it was having difficulty managing
the various registration processes under its authority and it
needed 300 billion rubles (USD 11.3 million) to adequately
deal with all its regulatory obligations.
BURNS