Freedom of Association in SYRIA
RECOMMENDATIONS
 
The Syrian government is called upon to:
 
1.      With regard to the political, democratic and human rights situation
·         Act in conformity with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the norms and principles set forth in the other international instruments on human rights ratified by Syria, and to take into account the relevant jurisprudence of the United Nations Committee on Human Rights;
·         Consequently, to revoke the Law on the State of Emergency and Law n° 93 of 1958 on associations, both contrary to the Constitution, as well as the articles of the Penal Code used to control and harass human rights defenders and organizations of civil society;
·         Abolish the Supreme State Security Court, a special tribunal that does not meet international norms on the right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal;
·         Guarantee to all citizens an effective access to justice and the right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal.
 
2.      With regards to the laws and practices pertaining to associations and civil society organizations
 
·         Reform Law No. 93 of 1958 on the associations and the practices of the Administration, in order to, inter alia :
 
Formation and Incorporation
·         Reduce from eleven to two the number of founding members required to form an association;
·         Abolish the procedure of prior approval for the registration of associations and implement the declaratory system which, while it would not suspend the activities of the association, would not prevent the ministry responsible from refusing, on the basis of a judicial decision, to allow the association to be established;
·         Proceed to the immediate registration of all associations, in particular human rights organizations, that were hitherto forced to operate illegally;
·         Guarantee an effective recourse before a tribunal, within a reasonable period, to any association whose registration request has been rejected;
·         Ensure that associations will be able to pursue their activities until a final ruling on their case is made;
·         Allow associations to modify their statutes and stated purpose by way of a simple declaration;
·         Put an end to the abusive and dilatory practices of the authorities when processing the registration requests lodged by associations;
·         Put an end to the intervention of the security services during the processing of registration request;
 
Dissolution and Suspension
·         Assign exclusive competence to dissolve or suspend an association to judicial courts;
·         Guarantee the right to an effective judicial recourse, with suspensive effect and within a reasonable period, in case of a dissolution or suspension decision pronounced by the authorities;
 
Association and Operation
·         Amend both the legislation and the practices in order to put an end to interference by the authorities in the activities and the management of associations and, in particular:
·         Put an end to the interference of the authorities in the procedures pertaining to members joining or leaving an association;
·         Abolish the obligation to inform the authorities in advance of planned meetings of the corporate bodies, the right for the authority to send a representative to meetings, the obligation to submit the minutes of meetings, and the right for the authorities to oppose decisions of the corporate bodies;
·         Abolish the obligation to obtain prior authorization from the authorities for the planned activities and projects of the association;
·         Abolish all restrictions to the freedom of assembly of associations;
·         Authorize associations to cooperate freely, without restriction and prior authorization, with other associations, federations or networks at the national, regional and international level;
·         Abolish all restrictions to the free circulation of members of association, except in the case of motivated judicial decisions;
·         Lift all restrictions limiting access to telephone, fax, email and internet services;
·         Guarantee fair access to the official media by associations.
  
Funding and Taxation
·         Lift all prohibitions and restrictions limiting fund raising activities by associations;
·         Put in place a fair, transparent, neutral and impartial system of allocation of public funds to associations;
·         In particular, authorize associations to receive funding from foreign sources without prior authorization and without arbitrary and excessive control on the use of such funds.
 
3.      With regard to the climate required for the sustainable development of civil society
·         Respect, de jure and de facto, the freedoms of expression, assembly and association in conformity with the international commitments of Syria;
·         Put an end to the persecution and harassing practices and the policy of exclusion and censorship against independent associations;
·         Repeal all provisions that allow criminal proceedings against associations and members for their normal activities and, in particular eliminate the death penalty for offences pertaining to such activities;
·         Establish a new institutional relationship with associations of civil society founded on transparency, the impartiality of the State and the amended legislation on associations.