DRAFT LAW ON NGOS DEEMED SIGNIFICANT THREAT BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000009 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/ERA, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV LO SUBJECT: DRAFT LAW ON NGOS DEEMED SIGNIFICANT THREAT BY CIVIL SOCIETY REF: BRATISLAVA 1 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, A.I., Lawrence R. Silverman for Reaso ns 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Slovakia's NGO community has launched a full-scale campaign seeking the withdrawal of a sweeping new draft Ministry of Interior law strictly regulating NGOs. According to leading NGO representatives, one of the most damaging aspects of the draft text, published December 11, is a requirement that would force existing NGOs to become "societies" that would be permitted to undertake activities only for the benefit of its members, not society as a whole. This provision would have the potential effect of eliminating the legal basis for certain types of NGOs, including watchdog and other activist organizations. NGO lawyers also claim that international organizations, e.g., Amnesty International, could also be prohibited from operating in Slovakia if the law were passed. Although the law contains provisions that would permit NGOs to reconstitute as foundations or non-profit organizations providing public benefit services, existing legislation makes clear that these alternative forms are simply not feasible or appropriate for most organizations. Other troubling elements of the law include burdensome reporting and auditing requirements which would be prohibitive for small organizations. In their January 3 press release (emailed to EUR/NCE),NGOs noted that similar legislation could "only be found outside the borders of Schengen" and cited striking similarities between the current MOI draft and legislation on NGOs adopted two years ago in Russia. ¶2. (C) Despite the brief and ill-timed period to allow for public comment on the law (December 11-January 3),a group of 400 NGOs has mounted an impressive campaign against the draft, garnering signatures from over 4,000 individuals and media attention. The NGOs have also informed local EU embassies about their concerns. On January 8, NGO representatives, meeting as part of the governmental NGO council (led by Deputy Prime Minister Caplovic),will meet face-to-face for the first time with Interior Minister Kalinak. The NGOs have stated clearly that the only acceptable outcome is the withdrawal of this draft text. They have also expressed a willingness to work with the GOS to consider possible amendments to existing NGO legislation and other relevant laws, e.g., tax law, that could help address the Ministry's stated concerns, e.g., potential financial malfeasance and the presence on the rolls of organizations which are no longer active. 3.(C) Comment: Based on our reading of the draft and the less friendly attitudes of the current government towards the NGO sector, we believe that there is ample cause for concern. Embassy Bratislava has been pro-actively engaged at all levels on this issue. We have been in contact with NGO leaders since the draft law was first published and have held meetings in the embassy with key NGO leaders, including Sarlota Pufflerova, Executive Director of the well-respected Citizens and Democracy NGO. Several of the potentially affected NGOs are those with whom we work closely on transformational diplomacy-based projects in the Balkans, the former Soviet Union and Afghanistan. As reported reftel, Ambassador Obsitnik also raised the issue with Foreign Minister Kubis in their initial courtesy call. We were encouraged by FM Kubis's expression of concern and have advised NGO leaders to respond positively to any outreach from Kubis. We have also urged the NGOs to move quickly to translate the text of the draft law in order to facilitate its evaluation by objective and knowledgeable experts. Based on the outcome of today's meeting between Minister Kalinak and NGO representatives (we predict MOI will not agree to withdraw the law at this juncture),we will determine next steps. We anticipate a continued need to engage GOS officials at a high level and to assist the NGO community in shining the spotlight on this initiative. End Comment. SILVERMAN