Pamfilova Says NGO Law May Be Amended
July 4, 2007
MOSCOW. (Interfax) - The law on non-governmental organizations, which called forth criticism from human rights activists, may be amended, said Ella Pamfilova, head of the Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights.
"At present, the government, the president's executive council and the Federal Registration Service are jointly monitoring the implementation of the NGO law," Pamfilova said.
"Most likely, according to the results of the monitoring, amendments based on the recommendations of public organizations will be made to the law," she said.
Previously, human rights organizations claimed difficulties in accounting associated with the NGO law coming into force.
"People could hardly cope with the sheer volume of documents. This applies in particular to small organizations," Pamfilova said.
"Any organization is under threat of being accused of incomplete or improper filing of documents. As we surmised, whether the authorities wanted it or not, the accountability mechanism has in itself become repressive," she said.
Nina Tagankina, the executive director of the Moscow Helsinki Group, agrees.
"Moscow-based organizations are having difficulties in preparing documents and filling out forms, not to mention regional organizations, which are quite numerous.