Laos NGO restrictions threaten development, say non-profit groups
NGOs fear new curbs on their work will stunt growth of poor Southeast Asian nation where independent civil society remains largely undeveloped
Landlocked Laos, the poorest member of Asean, may be taking a page from Beijing’s playbook with a new set of restrictions for NGOs operating in the country, which have alarmed both non-profit groups and Western diplomats.
Foreign and local NGOs play a crucial role guiding development strategy and leading discussions about land redevelopment in the small communist nation, whose civil society is still embryonic after two decades of isolation that ended in the 1990s. The new set of restrictions could damage that role by burying organisations in red tape, according to two draft decrees obtained by the .
The first decree, on foreign NGOs, said they would be placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This change mirrors legislation passed in Russia in 2012, which classifies all overseas NGOs as “foreign agents,” and an operation underway in China to investigate the work of all foreign non-profit groups.
The second decree on local non-profit groups imposes restrictions on their ability to receive overseas funding and donations. All non-profit groups would have to report any donation greater than 50 million kip (HK$47,200) to the Ministry of Finance. Foreign donations higher than 100 million kip would have to receive approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Department of Home Affairs.
The same decree also states that the work of domestic non-profit groups should be limited to providing “support” in the fields of agriculture, education, public health, sport, science, and humanitarian benefits. At the moment, both foreign and domestic NGOs in Laos work in a variety of fields from civil society development to rural agricultural assistance.
