Consultation needed on new NGOs law, national human rights institution

Parliament will shortly be discussing amendments to the law regulating voluntary organisations even though civil society organisations have not yet seen the legislative proposals, Repubblika complained on Monday.

Two years ago, the government published a White Paper outlining general principles in this area. Subsequently, the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations conducted consultations. However, there never was any direct communication with the responsible ministers regarding the contents of the law that now appears set for discussion in parliament, the NGO said.

Nor had feedback been received on the positions and suggestions put forward during the consultation process.

"Voluntary organisations are not merely service providers or agents carrying out work entrusted to them by the State. Many of them also play an essential role in criticising, challenging, and holding public authorities accountable to citizens. A free, independent and critical civil society is an essential component of a healthy democracy. For this reason, the legal framework that regulates it should be subject to the highest standards of transparency, consultation, and public participation," Repubblika said. 

"Too often, laws are drafted behind closed doors and presented to Parliament without any genuine opportunity for the public to participate in their development. Consultation becomes a formal exercise rather than a genuine process aimed at improving legislation through dialogue."

New human rights institutions

Repubblika said it has similar concerns regarding government plans to set up a national human rights institution.

"For many years, Repubblika and other civil society organisations have called for the creation of an independent human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles. This has long been an outstanding recommendation of the European Commission and other international bodies. Various proposals and contributions have been made over the years by constitutional bodies and civil society organisations. Yet the public has still not been given the opportunity to see or discuss the law that the Government appears ready to place before Parliament," it said.

"The draft legislation should be published immediately and subjected to proper public consultation before Parliament is asked to debate it."

It explained that once a law is brought before Parliament, public consultation would has effectively ended. At that stage, the public would be invited to react to a text that the government had already decided to present, rather than participate in shaping it.

"Laws affecting the rights, freedoms and institutional safeguards of citizens should not be presented as done deals," Repubblika insisted. 

It therefore urged the government to immediately publish its proposals concerning the law on voluntary organisations and the national human rights institution, and allow sufficient time for public discussion before they are considered by parliament, so that the legislative process may benefit from the contribution of those who will be directly affected by them.