Syria Today | Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering

By Henry Harding

One of the most startling news items of the year was the announcement by Syria’s First Lady Asma al-Assad on January 23 that the government was preparing a new law on non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The first lady made the announcement during the first international development conference, titled ‘The Emerging Role of Civil Society in Development’.

Civil society has become something of a regional buzzword in recent years, with development specialists highlighting the positive role it can play. But what is civil society?

In the Syrian context, the term civil society is used to refer to charities and associations working in the fields of social, economic and environmental development, most of which have ties to the government. Lobbying and advocacy groups, meanwhile, have historically been viewed as standing in opposition to the government and have therefore always struggled to obtain licences to operate. In a broader sense of the term, however, civil society refers to a network of organisations and associations which can operate independently of the government and brings citizens together with the aim of changing or influencing society or the laws that govern it. By this definition, civil society includes voluntary groups, charities, lobby and advocacy groups, cultural associations, non-profit organisations, co-operatives and independent trade unions which are free to form and carry out their activities.

The number of associations has dramatically risen in Syria over the past few years, from 540 in 2001 to 1,500 today, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour. Striking a note of caution, however, the latest report on freedom of association in the Mediterranean basin by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, an initiative of the EU’s Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, warns that quantity alone should not be taken as an indicator of the health of civil society. It notes that government-organised NGOs – dubbed GONGOs – which have close management ties and funding sources to those in power have sprung up across the southern Mediterranean countries in recent years.

“Though they gladly present themselves as ‘civil society organisations’, they deliberately neglect the notion of independence, an essential foundation of any civil society foundation worthy of that name,” the report concludes.

Stifling legal environment

Numerous obstacles confront the emergence of a stronger, more independent civil society in Syria. Prime among these is the legal environment. There is no meaningful freedom of association in the country. The formation of associations and their activities are still governed by the Law of Associations and Private Societies (Law No. 93 of 1958), passed during the brief period of the United Arab Republic between Syria and Egypt. Da’ad Mousa, a lawyer and activist, said the law, which was amended by Presidential Decree 224 of 1969, needs to be scrapped for any true civil society to emerge.

“For me, the old law is not a good law as it provides no possibility of establishing civil society in Syria at all,” she said.

Under the terms of this law, all associations must be registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour. The ministry reserves the right to refuse to license an association on the grounds that there is already a semi-governmental association working in the same field. Moreover, the ministry has the right to shut down an association at its will without providing an explanation or justification.

Once licensed, an association must follow a prescribed ‘internal system’. For example, associations must have at least 11 members, a board and constitution and the ministry has the right to nominate one of the board members who attends all meetings. Any activity undertaken, however trivial, requires prior permission from the ministry under pain of a six-month jail sentence. Associations must submit their annual plans to the ministry for government approval. The government may also disband boards and replace them with government appointees.

Challenges to the system of licensing exist, but they are few and far between. In 2006, the National Organisation for Human Rights launched an appeal case against the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, challenging its decision not to grant the organisation a licence. The case is ongoing.

The Law of Associations and Private Societies also imposes a ban on activities which threaten “public order”, a vague term which local activists and foreign observers argue allows for government interference. In addition to this law, there are other legal barriers which limit the activities of civil society associations. These include the Penal Code of 1949 and the Emergency Law, in effect since 1963. In practice these laws override important provisions in the Syrian Constitution, adopted in 1973, such as Article 38 which guarantees freedom of expression and Article 39 which gives citizens the right to gather and demonstrate. Non- government-backed demonstrations are therefore punishable and extremely rare.

An alternative route for civil society organisations would be, in theory, to register as a non-profit company. Unlike an association, a non-profit company registers with the government as a private business by signing up to the companies register. Under Syrian law, however, non-profit companies still have no legal status. The few that operate in Syria, such as The First Microfinance Institution, have been granted a special legal status by presidential decree. Decree No. 33 of 2008 permits foreign organisations to operate in the country as non-profit companies, so long as the majority of their board members are Syrian. Thus far, however, no foreign organisations have pursued this option.

International NGOs (INGO) operating in Syria must sign a memorandum of understanding with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which coordinates their activities in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

SARC President Abdul Rahman Attar told Syria Today the organisation acts as a “co-ordinating body”, without interfering in the activities of foreign NGOs.

Regionally, however, Syria has a low number of INGOs. This comes despite the fact that the country has had to deal with some 1.2 million Iraqi refugees since the US-led invasion of Iraq. In private, many INGOs say that Syria remains a difficult country to operate in.

“SARC is very cooperative, but it doesn’t have enough staff,” Fadi Achi, an advocate and legal consultant who works with INGOs, said. “The INGOS all entered Syria after the Iraq crisis in 2003 and SARC relies on volunteers.”

Ultimately, Achi said, this is to Syria’s detriment as INGOS can bring in valuable expertise and help build up the capacity of local associations.

“Currently there are only 15 INGOs working in development in Syria, while there is room for many, many more,” he said. “You always need a strategic partner.”

Change in the air?

Syrians have been promised a new legal framework to govern NGO operations.

“The new law will represent a fundamental change in the way the sector is regulated and as such, pave the way for a new and more enabling environment for these organisations [NGOs],” the first lady said during her address. “More significantly, it will be complemented by guidelines to ensure that its implementation is in line with the enabling spirit to help the sector meet its objectives.”

Details of these guidelines had not been released by the time Syria Today went to print. Nor is it clear if NGOs working in advocacy, such as media monitoring groups or human rights organisations, rather than economic or social development organistions, will fit in to the new framework.

Omar Abdulaziz Hallaj, executive director of the Syria Trust for Development, is optimistic that the new legal framework will provide more space for civil society to develop.

“The Ministry of Social Affairs has been working on the law for a long time and what we have learnt about it so far is that the law will make the role of the ministry more supportive of the civil society organisations and open the door for them,” he said.

According to Achi, one positive step would be to recognise the diversity of civil society. Civil society organisations carry out different types of work – some associations may work in charitable relief, for instance, or in advocacy or development. Depending on their objectives, the founders may seek to form an association, or a non-profit company.

“We need a different law for charitable NGOs and for organisations working in development,” Achi said. “The new law will need to distinguish charitable from developmental work and provide clarity.”

According to Mousa, the new law should also allow founders to determine which internal system of management is best geared to meet the needs of their organisation. Mousa also said the law needs to give civil society organisations freedom of manoeuvre to achieve their objectives. She added that the ministry’s right to refuse permission on the grounds that a semi-official organisation already exists in a given field should be ended.

“I believe in giving space to everybody,” Mousa said. “I’m not against these semi-official groups, but if we want to improve civil society we should allow different groups to work in the same field.”

Moving forward, perhaps Syria need only look at its past. Before the current associations law, Syria had hundreds of associations and non-profit companies. They were formed under the old Ottoman system which required only that an organisation send a letter to the authorities informing them of their existence and field of activity. In Lebanon, which has a far livelier associational sector than Syria, this system remains in place.

“If I look to my mother’s generation, I get jealous,” Mousa said.