Collective address concerning the draft law On Non-profit Organizations
On 9 March a collective address concerning the draft law On Non-profit Organizations was passed
to the House of Representatives and the Council of Ministers. The document was
signed by 110 NGOs of various legal forms of organization and activities, which
comprise more than 270,000 members. This is the most large-scale
campaign of lobbying the common interests of the Belarusian civil society
organizations.
The collective
address was initiated by the legal experts at the Center for Legal Transformation
and the Assembly Democratic NGOs on the basis of views of the non-profit
organizations, whose interests are affected by the new law. A common approach to the draft
law was worked out on the basis of the opinions of the domestic and foreign
experts and the civil society in the country.
The action on the signing of the
address became the most ambitious attempt to co-promote the interests of
domestic non-governmental organizations in the legislation. 110 NGOs who joined the document
represent the Belarusian civil society in its various manifestations – from
charitable and environmental agencies to social, human rights, youth and women’s
associations.
Associations of entrepreneurs, religious organizations, parties and trade
unions joined the action as well.
The initiators of collective
treatment expect that in case the law the law On Non-profit Organizations is adopted, the position of the
subjects be deducted from the stated in the collective treatment of the common
position of the subjects, which will extend its scope. Thereafter, the authors of the
address proposed to organize open events for a full public involvement in the
work on discussing and improving the draft law, and to hold parliamentary
hearings on the legal regulation of activities of non-profit organizations in
the Republic of Belarus, prior to the first reading of the
draft law.
