Paris-Geneva, April 14, 2017. The draft law ‘on the
Transparency of Organisations Receiving Foreign Funds’ recently tabled
in Hungary threatens civil society by imposing unnecessary additional
administrative burdens on organisations receiving foreign donations above a
fixed amount, says today the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders, an FIDH-OMCT partnership. Expected to be voted by parliament in
the coming weeks, the new bill is yet another move by the Hungarian
government to delegitimise civil society organisations and obstruct their
work.
The bill represents a new low in a series of attacks conducted by the
Hungarian government against independent civil society. NGOs active in the
defence of the rule of law and human rights have especially been targeted in
recent years, including through smear campaigns, politically motivated
audits, administrative and criminal procedures.
“What should be a straightforward and independent process
between donors and receiving organisations is transformed into unjustified
State interference to stifle NGOs and undermine their work",
said FIDH Secretary-General Dan Van Raemdonck. “This latest
move echoes Putin's Russia “Foreign Agents Law”, which has
marginalised and intimidated hundreds of NGOs and exposed them to serious
risks, and is unprecedented in an EU country”.
The draft law, which was submitted to Parliament on April 7, 2017,
introduces a set of new administrative hurdles for associations and
foundations, which receive annual foreign donations amounting to or
exceeding 7.2 million HUF (24,000 EUR). It provides that such associations
and foundations shall be re-registered as organisations “receiving
foreign funding”, and that their websites and publications shall bear
this label. The label will only be removed in the event that the
organisation does not receive foreign funding above this threshold for three
consecutive years. The law would apply to direct European Union (EU)
support, as only EU funds administered by the Hungarian authorities shall be
excluded from its scope. The bill goes further and establishes sanctions for
non-compliant organisations. These include warnings, fines and, ultimately,
dissolution through cancellation from the register of civil society
organisations and other organisations not regarded as companies.
“This bill, which is reminiscent of authoritarian regimes,
puts independent civil society voices under siege in Hungary. The Hungarian
State must refrain from moving into a system where the State assumes the
right to control and restrict civil society’s action by tightening
control over it and withdraw the draft law”, OMCT Secretary
General Gerald Staberock concluded.
The law would affect a wide range of civil society organisations,
including organisations working to protect the rule of law, human rights and
transparency, but also service providing and environmental organisations,
whereas sport associations, associations pursuing religious activities and
other associations and foundations shall be exempt.
By imposing new and unnecessary administrative burdens on civil
society organisations, the bill actually seeks to further and publicly
stigmatise them and obstruct their work. By labelling NGOs to which the bill
shall apply as ‘organisations receiving foreign funds’, it only
aims at branding them as ‘foreign agents’ thus assimilating them
to ‘State enemies’, a serious offence in an increasingly
nationalist regime. It also discriminates without grounds between civil
society organisations, as the law would only apply to some of them.
The Observatory urges the EU and member states to promptly and strongly
react in order to immediately halt this attack and ensure respect by Hungary
of civil society’s fundamental role in a democratic society and of the
EU’s founding values of respect for democracy, the rule of law and
human rights.
Violations of international human rights standards:
The Observatory reminds the Hungarian authorities that the UN Declaration
on Human Rights Defenders provides that everyone has the right, individually
and in association with others, “at the national and international
levels […] to form, join and participate in non-governmental
organizations, associations or groups” (Article 5) and “to
solicit, receive and utilise resources for the express purpose of promoting
and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms through peaceful
means” (Article 13). This includes the ability for civil society
organisations “to access funding and other resources from domestic,
foreign and international sources”, which is an essential element of
the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. Although
limitations can be imposed on this right in order to prevent crime,
including money laundering and terrorism financing, these “should not
be used as a pretext to control NGOs and restrict their ability to carry out
their legitimate work”.
The introduction of re-registration requirements for already registered
civil society organisations also runs contrary to the recommendations made
by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in his
report A/HRC/34/52/Add.2 that the government avoid adopting new laws
requiring already registered organisations to re-register and that
registration of associations be made simpler, non-onerous and
expeditious.
The draft law has been submitted in a climate of increasing intimidation
and stigmatisation of civil society organisations, which is reflected in the
wording of the questions submitted in the context of a national consultation
launched by the government on March 31, 2017. Indeed, some questions imply
that foreign funded organisations could interfere in the country’s
internal affairs by conducting “risky activities”. The
consultation also hints at the role that such organisations would play in
assisting “illegal immigration”, which is in turn and
consistently linked to terrorism, in encouraging “illegal immigrants
to commit illegal acts and conducting other illegal activities including
human trafficking”. It is accompanied by a public campaign which,
under the slogan ‘Let’s stop Brussels!’, aims at providing
a response to alleged EU steps that, according to the Hungarian government,
would be contrary to Hungarian interests.
Background information:
The submission of the new draft law to Parliament follows a series of
actions and legislative reforms undertaken by the Hungarian Government over
the past seven years since it first took power in 2010 aimed at
systematically and progressively undermining democratic checks and balances
and shrinking the space of civil society and independent critical voices in
Hungary. This included a series of constitutional and other legislative
reforms, which progressively undermined the role of independent institutions
and fundamental human rights. They are part of the government’s plan
to establish an ‘illiberal State’ in Hungary, in clear
contravention of international and European standards on the rule of law and
Hungary’s obligations under the EU Treaties, particularly Article 2 of
the TEU.
The bill follows the adoption of another law on April 4, 2017 , which
restricts academic freedom and disproportionately affects the Central
European University (CEU). The law, which significantly undermines the
CEU’s capacity to operate and jeopardises its very existence, has
sparked reactions and protests across Europe and the US.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the
Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against
Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy
situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are
both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights
Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
For more information, please contact:
• FIDH: Samuel Hanryon : +33672284294 / Audrey Couprie: + 33 (0) 6 48
05 91 57
• OMCT: Miguel Martin Zumalacárregui / Delphine Reculeau: + 41
(0) 22 809 49 39