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.