To Protect the Public, Government Plans to “Make” NGOs Foreign Agents

Today the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law “Introducing Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Judicial System and Status of Judges’ and to Procedural Laws for Additional Measures to Protect the Security of Citizens,” which envisages changes to the new law on NGOs concerning “public associations performing the functions of a foreign agent,” Hromadskyi Prostir informs.

The law is supposed to strengthen security measures in respect to certain categories of persons and subjects, to increase penalties for certain criminal and administrative offenses, establish additional enforcement measures for the protection of public order, the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.

However, the bill includes the following:

2) Paragraph 14.1 in Article 14 will be supplemented with the sub-paragraph 14.1.371:

“14.1.371. A public association performing the functions of a foreign agent is a public association that in order to carry out its activity receives money or property from foreign states, their state structures, NGOs of other countries, international NGOs, foreign nationals, stateless persons or their authorized representatives who receive money or other property from specified sources, and is also involved in, including in the interest of foreign sources, political activity in Ukraine.”

It seems that the Russian scenario for NGOs is being introduced here:

“A public association that has a legal status and intends to receive money or other property from foreign sources and to participate in political activities in the territory of Ukraine is obliged to submit (send), before it begin such activities, to the competent authority responsible for registration, with which it is registered, an application for inclusion in the Register of Public Associations information on a public association’s activities as a public association performing the functions of a foreign agent. Information on a public association carrying out its activities with the status of a public association performing the functions of a foreign agent shall be included in the Register of Public Associations within five days of receiving the relevant application by the competent authority responsible for registration.”

The definition of “a public association performing the functions of a foreign agent” is to appear in the new law on NGOs if the president signs the bill.

Amendments to the same bill affect articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Extremist activity, Article 1511. Slander and much more which puts an end to democratic rights and freedoms.

In July 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the federal law “Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Regulation of Activities of Non-commercial Organizations Performing the Functions of Foreign Agents.”