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| 'The Egyptian government is waging a war on civil society' | 'The Egyptian government is waging a war on civil society' |
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| When the Egyptian government announced last month that it had dissolved 57 NGOs, all accused of having links to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, it was just the latest step in a process which, under the guise of anti-terrorist policy, is tearing apart the carefully woven fabric of Egyptian society. | When the Egyptian government announced last month that it had dissolved 57 NGOs, all accused of having links to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, it was just the latest step in a process which, under the guise of anti-terrorist policy, is tearing apart the carefully woven fabric of Egyptian society. |
| The war on civil society has come in two forms, with the main target being the Muslim Brotherhood. Back in 2012, after the elation of the 2011 revolution, the MB candidate Mohamed Morsi became Egypt’s first ever democratically elected president. But after the army removed him from power in July 2013, the new government moved swiftly to clamp down on both the Muslim Brotherhood and its civil society activities. | The war on civil society has come in two forms, with the main target being the Muslim Brotherhood. Back in 2012, after the elation of the 2011 revolution, the MB candidate Mohamed Morsi became Egypt’s first ever democratically elected president. But after the army removed him from power in July 2013, the new government moved swiftly to clamp down on both the Muslim Brotherhood and its civil society activities. |
| An extra-judicial announcement by the interim cabinet declaring the Brotherhood “a terrorist organisation” in December 2013 was followed by a court ruling. These moves have to date resulted in the seizure of 1,300 MB-affiliated NGOs, whose assets were frozen, their premises confiscated by the state and management taken over by the Ministry of Social Solidarity. | An extra-judicial announcement by the interim cabinet declaring the Brotherhood “a terrorist organisation” in December 2013 was followed by a court ruling. These moves have to date resulted in the seizure of 1,300 MB-affiliated NGOs, whose assets were frozen, their premises confiscated by the state and management taken over by the Ministry of Social Solidarity. |
| By July 2015, the number of civil society organisations shut down for allegedly belonging to the MB had reached 434, according to official statements. Some of those worked with some of the poorest people in Egypt’s poorest provinces. The MB’s Islamic Medical Association (IMA) for example, served 2 million sick patients and thousands of who were in need of kidney dialysis, all unable to pay for medical treatment. Their charitable, self-sustaining network constituted a parallel wellfare system that often surpassed the “free” government educational and health services in both quality and efficiency – hence the group’s mobilising capacity. | By July 2015, the number of civil society organisations shut down for allegedly belonging to the MB had reached 434, according to official statements. Some of those worked with some of the poorest people in Egypt’s poorest provinces. The MB’s Islamic Medical Association (IMA) for example, served 2 million sick patients and thousands of who were in need of kidney dialysis, all unable to pay for medical treatment. Their charitable, self-sustaining network constituted a parallel wellfare system that often surpassed the “free” government educational and health services in both quality and efficiency – hence the group’s mobilising capacity. |
| But in early 2015 the IMA was taken over, its board of directors replaced by pro-regime figures from the health ministry and a new chairman appointed: former Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa – notorious for his anti-Brotherhood rhetoric. | But in early 2015 the IMA was taken over, its board of directors replaced by pro-regime figures from the health ministry and a new chairman appointed: former Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa – notorious for his anti-Brotherhood rhetoric. |
| The Muslim Brotherhood has not been the only victim of the regime’s crackdown on NGOs. Over the years, the Egyptian government has capriciously targeted other NGOs with a slew of laws effectively criminalising their activities. It has particularly singled out organisations calling for social reform, political liberalisation, and respect for human rights and workers’ rights. | The Muslim Brotherhood has not been the only victim of the regime’s crackdown on NGOs. Over the years, the Egyptian government has capriciously targeted other NGOs with a slew of laws effectively criminalising their activities. It has particularly singled out organisations calling for social reform, political liberalisation, and respect for human rights and workers’ rights. |
| According to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, while Egypt’s NGO law is one of the most restrictive in the world, the “effect of the restrictive legal framework … has not been to ban civil society outright but rather to give enormous discretionary powers to the Ministry of Social Solidarity”. All civil society must register with the government, while – as in other countries – counter-terrorism legislation is also invoked against “any association, organisation, group or gang” that attempts to “destabilise the public order or … endanger social unity.” | According to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, while Egypt’s NGO law is one of the most restrictive in the world, the “effect of the restrictive legal framework … has not been to ban civil society outright but rather to give enormous discretionary powers to the Ministry of Social Solidarity”. All civil society must register with the government, while – as in other countries – counter-terrorism legislation is also invoked against “any association, organisation, group or gang” that attempts to “destabilise the public order or … endanger social unity.” |
| The regime has no issue with foreign funding, they have an issue with what we are doing | |
| As a result, organisations and individuals crossing certain red lines are “increasingly forced to operate in a climate of fear, limitation, and uncertainty”, and intimidated by ad hoc security probes. | As a result, organisations and individuals crossing certain red lines are “increasingly forced to operate in a climate of fear, limitation, and uncertainty”, and intimidated by ad hoc security probes. |
| Mohamed Zaree, a lawyer and researcher at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) tells me that the law practically equates what they do at the institute – raising awareness of civic rights or calling for group action in the form of peaceful protest or strikes – to what Islamic State is doing on the border. “We too can be accused of ‘endangering social unity’ or ‘threatening national peace’,” he says. | Mohamed Zaree, a lawyer and researcher at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) tells me that the law practically equates what they do at the institute – raising awareness of civic rights or calling for group action in the form of peaceful protest or strikes – to what Islamic State is doing on the border. “We too can be accused of ‘endangering social unity’ or ‘threatening national peace’,” he says. |
| The real objective of these laws and the related character assassination media campaigns targeting civil society activists, he explains, is to close the public space and restrict it to official government activity or pro-regime voices. “Basically, they are created to terrorise people like us, to terrorise press freedom advocates, workers’ unions and even political parties. They will have no effect on someone who has no problem blowing himself up,” he says. | The real objective of these laws and the related character assassination media campaigns targeting civil society activists, he explains, is to close the public space and restrict it to official government activity or pro-regime voices. “Basically, they are created to terrorise people like us, to terrorise press freedom advocates, workers’ unions and even political parties. They will have no effect on someone who has no problem blowing himself up,” he says. |
| Refusing to register in response to the government’s recent ultimatum, Zaree’s Cairo Institute is now under investigation sharing the fate of other organisations like the Hisham Mubarak Law Center for receiving foreign funds. | Refusing to register in response to the government’s recent ultimatum, Zaree’s Cairo Institute is now under investigation sharing the fate of other organisations like the Hisham Mubarak Law Center for receiving foreign funds. |
| “The regime has no issue with foreign funding, they have an issue with what we are doing,” he says. | “The regime has no issue with foreign funding, they have an issue with what we are doing,” he says. |
| The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), one of the most respected and influential human rights organisations in Egypt, has taken a different tack, deciding to register to cut the red herring of their legal status out of the debate, which has initiated a long-winded cat-and-mouse process. In the meantime they have had to downsize from 80 staff members to 40 and limit the foreign funds they are receiving. | The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), one of the most respected and influential human rights organisations in Egypt, has taken a different tack, deciding to register to cut the red herring of their legal status out of the debate, which has initiated a long-winded cat-and-mouse process. In the meantime they have had to downsize from 80 staff members to 40 and limit the foreign funds they are receiving. |
| “The model we built [relying on foreign funding] was unsustainable,” says Gasser Abdel Razek, executive director of EIPR. “We had a golden opportunity to capitalise on millions who called for human dignity in 2011 … we have a huge following and this is what we need to build on.” He is now seriously examining the option of crowd-funding through membership contributions. | “The model we built [relying on foreign funding] was unsustainable,” says Gasser Abdel Razek, executive director of EIPR. “We had a golden opportunity to capitalise on millions who called for human dignity in 2011 … we have a huge following and this is what we need to build on.” He is now seriously examining the option of crowd-funding through membership contributions. |
| The registration deadline not only sent shockwaves across civil society circles, but also forced donors to hold off on supporting organisations which have hitherto survived under the radar, circumventing government oversight by registering as not-for-profit companies. | The registration deadline not only sent shockwaves across civil society circles, but also forced donors to hold off on supporting organisations which have hitherto survived under the radar, circumventing government oversight by registering as not-for-profit companies. |
| A development worker employed at a foreign state’s donor agency tells me that even donors with no controversial political agenda in the region have made no disbursements directly to human rights programs in the past year. | A development worker employed at a foreign state’s donor agency tells me that even donors with no controversial political agenda in the region have made no disbursements directly to human rights programs in the past year. |
| Funds have been given to support UN or EU projects in the safe areas of women’s rights and FGM eradication, but anything beyond that has become risky, the development worker says. “It’s dangerous for them to receive money.” | Funds have been given to support UN or EU projects in the safe areas of women’s rights and FGM eradication, but anything beyond that has become risky, the development worker says. “It’s dangerous for them to receive money.” |
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