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Freedom of Association in EGYPT |
Summary Report
The activities of Egyptian organisations are governed both by legislation adopted during the Nasser regime and by the state of emergency, which has been extended repeatedly since the assassination of President Sadat in 1981. As early as 1945, Law No. 49 made it mandatory for the establishment of organisations to be approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Law No. 384 of 1956 gave the ministry the right to abolish them. Law No. 32 of 1964 placed associations under the direct control of the Social Affairs Ministry, a situation that was maintained under Law No. 153 of 1999 and under Law No. 84 of 2002. Since 2005, control has been assumed by the Ministry of Social Solidarity.
Until the early 1980s, all Egyptian institutions, both public and private, were supposed to devote themselves to the implementation of national planning goals. Thus associations were appendages of the Ministry of Social Affairs and of the government party, and they helped the government to achieve its social objectives, which were intended to foster social cohesion while promoting the single party in power. As a trade-off, organisational leaders were elected with the support of the party in power or co-opted to well-paid or rewarding positions on municipal bodies, in the trade unions, in Parliament or on corporate boards.
In the 1970s and 1980s, President Sadat, and after him President Mubarak, allowed the development of service organisations tied to mosques and churches. In addition to their social work, the Muslim Brotherhood, other Muslim organisations and the churches have used associations of this type to expand or strengthen their influence.
The structural adjustment policy implemented by the government during the 1990s included a component focusing on the management of poverty and rights promotion by the NGOs. As a consequence, the government initially tolerated the activities of some rights organisations – under the terms of the structural adjustment programme, creditor foreign governments as well as international institutions required that the Egyptian government reduce social spending and suggested that social assistance be shifted to NGOs – even though their room for manoeuvre was subsequently reduced because their work was deemed to impinge upon the prerogatives of the state. This policy enabled the government to reclaim a portion of foreign public financial assistance through the NGOs while displaying its respect for the principle of ‘good governance’ imposed by its foreign partners. This relatively favourable environment made it possible for numerous human rights NGOs to be established1.
In 2002, the Egyptian Parliament adopted Law No. 84, which maintained and strengthened the restrictive character of provisions in laws previously adopted in 1964 and 1999 with regard to the rights of associations. In particular, Law No. 84 forced all human rights NGOs to accept the conditions set by the Ministry of Social Affairs and later the Ministry of Social Solidarity, and to be subjected to the formal control of those ministries and of the security services.
Egypt ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1982. The Constitutional High Court stated in 2000 that the right to form associations was one of the essential freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
The government used Law No. 153 of 1999 and Law No. 84 of 2002 to impose a series of requirements, supported by penalties, aimed at forcing human rights NGOs to submit to its control. As a result, several rights organisations decided to register as corporations in order to circumvent the ministry’s refusal to grant them the status of an association. It should be pointed out that the steps taken against a number of organisations clearly contravene the recommendations made by the Arab League on legislative reforms favouring freedom of association in the Arab region (at a meeting held in Cairo on 27-28 June 2007).
The ministry in charge of associations possesses very broad powers. It may require them to seek prior authorisation for such things as meetings, new activities, expenditures, the cashing of cheques, trips outside the country, invitations to foreigners, publications and the choice of publishers, etc. For example, if it wishes to prevent an organisation carrying out certain types of activity, the ministry may delay authorisation for several months or even deny it altogether. According to members of several NGOs, the security services have occasionally forced them to accept some individuals as new members or employees in exchange for permission to pursue certain activities. The ministry and the security services can also dismiss an organisation’s directors or members and dissolve its board of directors.
In the case of organisations duly incorporated under the legislation on associations and foundations, the ministry and the security services have increased restrictions on raising and using funds, prohibited some activities and denied applications for registration. In addition, a large number of applications from organisations seeking to be registered have been rejected because the ministry or the security services were opposed to their goals, the presence of certain founding members or the choice of legal structure.
Today, the number of registered associations is close to 22,000. Nearly 75 percent of them are active in the field of social services, in particular in health and education, and about 20 percent focus on ‘development’ in general. The most common types of associations are as follows:
- Social assistance organisations: assistance to economically disadvantaged persons, provision of services to vulnerable individuals (orphans, disabled people, etc.) and above all health and education services.
- Rights NGOs (mobilisation or advocacy): human rights, gender equality, protection of the environment, consumer rights, etc. The main activity of these organisations is in the form of legal aid provided to specific groups (workers, farmers, women, children, prisoners, slum dwellers, religious minorities, agnostics, homosexuals, etc.), but they are also active in such areas as monitoring rights violations, rights education and training, promoting democracy, protecting the independence of the judiciary, fighting against discrimination of every type, advocacy against violence and the development of social and political involvement.
- Governmental organisations and ‘specialised national boards’, which are government bodies under the direct control of the President’s office or other state institutions. In theory, their field of activity overlaps in part with that of mobilisation and advocacy organisations.
1. Does the system allow for non-declared or unincorporated associations?
Non-declared associations are not allowed. The members of non-declared organisations may incur penalties ranging from simple fines to imprisonment.
2. Is the registration system based on licensing or on simple information/notification?
Law No. 84 of 2002 requires that the establishment of associations be approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
3. On what grounds can registration be rejected (e.g. race, security, religion, politics)?
Article 11 of the law forbids associations from conducting activities that run counter to national unity, law and order or public morality, that discriminate against certain citizens or that are military in nature. In addition, the law prohibits organisations from any involvement in political or union activities that are restricted to political parties or trade unions. The authorities occasionally display contradictory attitudes in that regard: on 29 April 2007, the Ministry of Solidarity granted the Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS) permission to fax the list of its activities but a few days later, the local authorities in Helwan refused to provide a legal receipt for its bank deposit and registration documents.
4. How easy or difficult is it to register an association (e.g. delays, cost, number of founding members)?
Law No. 84 of 2002 contains a strict definition of the conditions governing the creation and operation of each type of association as well as its field of activity. An association is defined as a non-profit group of at least 9 ‘natural person or corporate body, a number that acts as an obstacle to the formation of associations. The statement of registration specifies the name, activities, geographic scope, address and physical resources of the association, as well as the given name and surname, age, nationality, occupation and residence of every founding member.
In accordance with article 6 of Law No. 84, the association’s statute is to be published in the Official Gazette within 60 days of the date of submission of the application, unless the Ministry of Social Solidarity opposes it expressly. The ministry can prevent the formation of an association by a simple administrative decision. It can also delay its response through various means (by not providing the receipt supporting the date of submission of the application, by rejecting the name or the goals of the association, by withholding approval of the members of its board of directors, its founding members or its leaders), thus forcing the association to renew its application and to wait another 60 days in each case.
5. Are there effective remedies (e.g. judicial, administrative) in cases where registration is denied or delayed?
In the event that registration is formally denied, the organisation may lodge a complaint with the administrative tribunal within 60 days. To allow for an out-of-court settlement, article 7 of Law 84 of 2002 provides for the establishment in each governorate, by decree of the Minister of Justice, of a committee comprised of representatives of the Ministry of Social Affairs/Social Solidarity2 and of regional alliances of organisations. The committee’s conclusions are purely advisory and non-binding. This process is notoriously ineffective.
Judicial appeals, an avenue that most organisations have followed, may last several years. For example, the proceedings launched by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights before the Supreme Court in 1992 lasted until 2000. The organisation was finally registered only in 2003 3.
6. Does registration automatically entail obtaining separate legal entity?
Once it has been registered, an association is granted juridical personality and the right of access to the courts.
7. Are there other viable alternatives if the right to freely form and incorporate an association is denied (e.g. incorporate as a company, a trust, a Wakf)?
In order to enjoy juridical personality and conduct their activities freely, human rights activists have sometimes opted for other alternatives. For example, some have applied to be registered as foundations – a status that does not allow for the interference of security services in the choice of members, the obligation to provide information or the obligation to secure prior authorisation before undertaking each activity – but the ministry has denied most of those applications. Others have resorted to judicial registration as non-profit corporations, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code, a status that does not confer the tax benefits enjoyed by associations under the 1964 legislation but does give them greater freedom of action.
Article 42 of Law No. 84 of 2002 authorises the Ministry of Social Affairs to dissolve an association and seize its properties without a prior judicial decision. The association may challenge the ministry’s decision before the administrative tribunal, but only after the dissolution and seizure have come into effect (article 6). The ministry’s decision must be based on the following grounds (article 42): the association uses its funds for purposes other than those for which it was established; the association receives funds from a foreign organisation or sends its funds to a foreign organisation without the authorisation of the Ministry of Social Affairs/Social Solidarity (article 17); the association joins a foreign club or organisation without informing the ministry; the association’s activities are prohibited under article 11 of Law No. 84.
These provisions are targeted especially at human rights NGOs, which, contrary to organisations with social purposes, have international contacts and belong to international networks.
1. What is the extent of the freedom of members to draft and amend their own statutes and by-laws and to determine their own object? (Are such documents imposed? to what extent?)
Article 11 of Law No. 84 of 2002 prohibits associations from carrying out any political, trade union or military activity. In the specific realm of political and trade union activities, organisations may not engage in opinion campaigns, lobbying or actions in support of people who are the victims of collective aggression or of violations of their political or social rights.
2. How strict is the level of freedom of members to adhere to or leave associations?
The ministry may object to the bylaws of an association or foundation, or to the presence of certain founding members. In such cases, it must inform the founders of its reservations and request changes. On 1 February 2003, the Bashair Social Development Centre in Helwan applied for registration as a foundation. The Helwan authorities agreed to proceed with the application, provided that the Centre’s president (Hala Shukr Allah) and secretary (Azza Kâmil) were excluded from its founding members.
3. Is there any interference in the corporate bodies – e.g. attendance of meetings (Board, General assemblies) by ‘supervisors’?
Law No. 84 reaffirms the government’s right to interfere in the life of an association. It authorises the ministry to intervene in such areas as the name, members, purposes, activities, bylaws, funding and fund allocation, correspondence and properties of the association. A violation of the law may lead to the abolition of the organisation and the launching of legal proceedings against its members. The Ministry of Social Solidarity may, ‘when requested by the association’, second a government representative to the association for one year or longer (article 12). Generally speaking, organisations with social or development purposes include civil servants in their activities and sometimes pay them in order to facilitate their relations with the government 4. Today, nearly 18,000 civil servants are believed to have been seconded to 30,000 associations, a large number of which were established or are supported by the government or by the party in power. Human rights NGOs generally do not include civil servants among their employees, but they face ongoing, informal interference by the security services. The minutes of the association’s general assembly and of the meetings of its board of directors must be forwarded to the government, which may raise objections to any decisions made at a deliberative meeting within 30 days (article 38) and demand its withdrawal within 10 days (article 23). The list of candidates to the board of directors must be forwarded to the government 60 days before the voting general assembly is held and the government may oppose the nomination of certain individuals (article 34).
4. Are there any restrictions (de jure or de facto) promoting, limiting or banning the participation of women in an association’s positions (e.g. board of directors)?
Beyond the discrimination present in Egyptian society in general, there are no restrictions specifically aimed at the involvement of women in an association’s activities.
5. Is there any interference in the freedom of associations to decide on projects and activities? If so, how and why?
As already mentioned, article 11 of Law No. 84 of 2002 prohibits associations from carrying out activities that threaten national unity, law and order or public morality, call for discrimination against certain citizens or are of a military nature. In addition, an organisation may not engage in political or trade union activities restricted to political parties or trade unions.
6. Is the association’s right to freely assemble, to organize private and public meetings, or to move freely (including international travel) restricted in any way?
The emergency legislation prohibits public gatherings of more than five people without permission from the security services. In most cases, the security services deny permission to human rights NGOs, seen as hostile to the government, especially when the meeting is to be held in a poor neighbourhood. Meetings devoted to human rights must generally be in the form of a conference and take place at a hotel or in the organisation’s offices (which are tolerated because they are not considered a public venue); they may never be held in a place that is accessible to ‘non-militants’. In practice, only those meetings and activities whose theme, format and venue are approved by the security services may proceed. For example, after the Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTWUS), an organisation promoting the rights of trade union and social rights of workers, was accused of instigating strikes and demonstrations that took place in December 2006 and January 2007. Following this accusation, three of its local branches (at Mahalla, Naj-Hamadi and Helwan) were dissolved by the government in April 2007. In similar actions, leftist political activists were prevented from leaving the territory until the mid-1990s, and members of the Muslim Brotherhood are still under the same prohibition.
7. Are associations subject to specific limitations on their right to freely communicate (e.g. access to media, publishing and developing internet sites)?
Associations, journalists or photographers who attempt to document with photos or testimonies abuses committed by the police or the army in the context of expulsions (of farmers, workers or slum dwellers) risk being arrested and prosecuted. The publication of any periodical must be authorised by the High Council for the Press. NGOs may publish in the media or on the internet but they are subject to ongoing monitoring by the ministry and the security services. On 11 October 2007, Kamal Abbas and Mohamed Helmy were sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for having published in Kalam Sinai’ia (a CTUWS magazine) the results of an investigation into the administrative and financial irregularities committed by a youth centre. In the end, allegations of corruption were confirmed by the centre’s internal investigation5.
8. Is the freedom of associations to cooperate and network with others (at both domestic and international levels) limited?
Articles 16 and 17 of Law No. 84 of 2002 impose restrictions on the freedom of associations to cooperate with foreign organisations. While the law does not make it mandatory to report on trips abroad, article 76 provides penalties for ‘undeclared activities’ and for the unauthorised affiliation of the association with other associations or organisations. Non-compliance with these provisions entails jail sentences of between three months and one year and fines between 1,000 and 10,000 Egyptian pounds. It may also lead to the closure of the association, confiscation of its property and a lifetime prohibition on membership.
9. Is the participation of associations sought for opinion or participation in deciding on public interest issues? What is the nature and level of such consultations?
Despite the administrative problems they continue to face, Egyptian human rights NGOs can be considered as more significant and effective actors in public life than many of the recognised political parties. In 1998, a number of these NGOs launched a campaign in favour of the rights of associations, to which the government responded by initiating a process of consultations on reforming the legislation on associations. Within that context, the government and the most active organisations submitted their own proposals. As well, before the political tensions and hardening of positions that took place in 2006 and 2007, the Egyptian authorities adopted an ambivalent attitude towards a number of organisations that has gained international notoriety. In 2004, for example, organisations that were in breach of the law because they were registered as corporations rather than associations were included in the National Council for Human Rights (a national institution in the sense given to that term by the United Nations).
1.
Under article 17 of Law No. 84 of 2002, an association may receive donations from natural or juristic persons following approval by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The ministry seeks the advice of the security services, which provide it with information on the source, purpose and use of the funds and on the nature of the beneficiary. Human rights NGOs seldom receive funding from Egyptian business people because the latter either fear this might have political repercussions, wish to maintain good relations with the authorities or are simply uninterested. The government tolerates the raising of funds from wealthy citizens and large institutions, but strictly forbids solicitations from the public at large. The government also prohibits fund-raising activities by organisations it considers as being part of the opposition (communists, Islamists and others). Fund-raising campaigns aimed at supporting a protest movement (a strike, an opinion campaign, etc.) are virtually prohibited. In all cases, the solicitation of donations is strictly controlled by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
2. Are there any limitations on the right of associations to use the funds, other than by the conditions of their granting?
All funding received by an organisation, whether from public or private sources or from local or foreign sources, is considered public property. Associations are subjected to the control of the Court of Audits and their members are liable to imprisonment in cases of misappropriation of public funds.
3. Are there specific limitations on receiving foreign funds?
Most organisations can only operate with the support of foreign organisations. Applications to receive funds from abroad or from foreign foundations in Egypt must be submitted to the Ministry of Social Affairs. The process is often lengthy: although the law stipulates that the authorities must respond no later than 60 days after the submission, they sometimes take almost two years before rendering a decision. As a result, numerous projects cannot be implemented and the activities of some organisations are totally paralysed because they are unable to pay their employees or meet current expenditures. Budgetary expenses exceeding 1,000 Egyptian pounds (about €133) must be approved by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, but in practice even lesser expenses are submitted to the ministry. Despite these nit-picking controls, the ministry does not provide regular, detailed data on the resources of organisations. On 5 September 2007, the governor of Cairo province abolished the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA), which condemns acts of torture in Egyptian police stations, because it had received funding from aboard without authorisation. This action was taken despite the fact that the organisation followed legal requirements in seeking permission from the Ministry of Social Affairs, which systematically rejected the application. There is concern that political motivations are behind this decision, which is by no means an isolated case. For example, Hafez Abu Seada, general secretary of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, and Saad Eddin Ibrahim, director of the Ibn Khaldun Centre, were prosecuted on the same grounds in 1998 and 2000. Both, however, were eventually released. It is worth pointing out that the rules governing the solicitation of funding from outside sources in Egypt has been criticised by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1999 and by the UN Human Rights Committee in November 2006 6.
4. How effectively are these limitations on funding enforced?
The law is strictly enforced. It was on the basis of this law that Saad al-Din Ibrahim, as director, and 27 employees of the Ibn Khaldun Centre were sentenced to between one and seven years’ imprisonment with forced labour. In these proceedings, the Centre was accused of using funds obtained from abroad to ‘buy the votes of women’ in elections. The nightmare suffered by the employees of the Ibn Khaldun Centrre lasted three years, from their arrest on 30 June 2000 to the ruling by the court of cassation that declared them innocent on 18 March 2003 and the reopening of the centre on 30 March.
Article 13 of Law No. 84 of 2002 makes it possible, by decree of the prime minister, to exempt an association from taxes and from a portion of the costs of the public goods and services it consumes.
6. Are public funds made available to associations? How? Are these processes prone to discrimination?
The government only grants funding to organisations that, from a security point of view, do not present any ‘political risk’ and to which it can second its own employees.
1. What are the supervisory authorities that oversee associations (e.g. courts, ministries, independent bodies, and security apparatus)? How consistent are the activities of these authorities with the principles of freedom (check principle 16 of the Declaration)?
In a number of areas, social and development organisations supplement in part the shortcomings of state services and act as intermediaries between administrative bodies and the people. The raising and use of funds, whether from domestic or foreign sources, are subject to approval and monitoring by the ministry responsible for the associations.
2. Are accounts and other information transparently available to the public?
Article 17 of Law No. 84 prohibits associations from receiving funds from a foreign organisation or from its representative in Egypt, of from an Egyptian or a foreigner outside Egypt, without the approval of the ministry. Egyptian organisations may not send funds abroad, but they are allowed to send scientific and technical books, magazines and journals.
3. What penalties (e.g. criminal, fines, etc) and harassment measures are applied in cases of violations?
Although various security agencies interfere with all their activities, associations formally come under the Ministry of Social Solidarity. In theory, they are accountable only to the ministry and thus do not have to make their financial accounts available to the public. Penalties range from the abolition of the organisation to criminal sanctions set out in the legislation on associations on in other laws.
[1] Human rights organisations in Egypt include the following: the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA), the El Nadim Center for the Psychological Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. Back to text
[2] The ministry responsible for associations, established through Law No. 32 of 1964, was the Ministry of Social Affairs until its official dissolution in 2004. Two years later, the ministry was reconstituted as the Ministry of Social Solidarity.Back to text
[4] Amani Kandil and Sarah Ben Nefissa, Civil Associations in Egypt (text in Arabic); Cairo: Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, 1995.Back to text
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