NGOs

January 2, 2014

2013 Year in Review — #Iran and Its Civil Society

They say that an optimist is someone who knows that one step forward and two steps back is a dance, not a defeat. In 2013, those acting for a vibrant civil society in Iran wore out their dancing shoes. This post presents a brief and incomplete overview of the last year of posts from Arseh Sevom.
January 29, 2013

Iran: Bill Before Parliament Would Smother NGOs

The Main Shortcomings of the Non-Governmental Organizations Bill Arseh Sevom – In 2010, Arseh Sevom published a report on the Non-Governmental Organizations Bill, Legalizing the Murder […]
February 7, 2012

Egypt — Punishing Pro-Democracy NGOs

Arseh Sevom --- The Egyptian public prosecutor has issued more than 40 indictments against members of international NGOs for participating in banned activities and receiving funding from foreign sources. The Arabist has published a list of names and affiliations. Nineteen of those indicted are American citizens.The Guardian reports that NGOs attempting to legally register in Egypt face a long wait and confusing bureaucracy:
"You submit your papers, then they keep asking for more and you don't get anywhere, and in the end you are not registered," said Sherif Azer, deputy head of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights.NDI [National Democratic Institute] submitted a request in 2005 that did not meet with much interest by the authorities and was asked to resubmit its papers by the ministry of foreign affairs last month, Hughes said. "We were given verbal indications that our programmes were well within Egyptian law," she said.