GENEVA (25 April 2012) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday expressed deep concern about current or recent moves in a number of countries to curtail the freedom of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society actors to operate independently and effectively.
A draft law on regulation of NGOs in Egypt “will, if passed in its current form, seriously undermine the spirit of Egypt’s revolution, in which civil society played such a pivotal role,” Pillay said. “It gives the Government too much power to regulate, monitor and restrict the work of civil society organizations.”