Source: Carnegie Endowment
Author(s): Amy Austin Holmes
Original Link: http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/67810
Civil society in Egypt is undergoing an unprecedented wave of repression. The government is not only targeting NGOs that have played a vital role in documenting human rights violations. It appears the state is attempting to silence or subdue virtually the entire spectrum of civil society, including activists across the political spectrum, cultural initiatives, independent media outlets, feminist organizations, Nubian associations, and even co-working spaces or cafes where young people gather.
A secretly drafted NGO law approved by parliament on November 15 requires that civil society associations work “within the scope of the state’s plans” and effectively gives security authorities oversight over organizations’ work and funding. Article 14 of the law also prohibits a broadly-defined range of activities that “result in destabilizing the national unity, national security, public law and order, and public morals,” as well as doing field research or coordinating with any “foreign entity” without notifying the Coordination Committee.
The new NGO law is just the most recent escalation of the crackdown…
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