In Kyrgyzstan, authorities want to take control of non-profit organizations

The member of Kyrgyz Parliament, Baktybek Raiymkulov, initiates the amendments to the law in draft “On non-profit organizations”. If amendments to the law are adopted, then non-profit organizations will be obliged to disclose sources of income and report on their expenses.

“Most non-profit organizations operate at the expense of grants, budget funds, as well as other funds provided free of charge. Despite the fact that most non-profit organizations do not conduct commercial activities, they must regularly report. Transparency is needed so that it can be seen what kind of activities the organization carries out, for what purposes and what results are obtained,” B. Raiymkulov explained in the justification document.

According to the bill’s author, world practice shows that in the countries of Europe and the CIS (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, etc.) non-profit organizations provide a report on the spending of grant funds.

“The adoption of this bill will strengthen the index of public confidence in non-profit organizations and increase transparency,” the deputy explains.

Note that this is not the first attempt to adopt a law regarding the activities of NGOs in Kyrgyzstan. This was first discussed in 2014, when parliamentarians initiated a bill similar to the Russian law “On foreign agents”. However, the law was not passed.

From December 31, 2019 to the present, the draft law On amending the laws “On non-profit organizations” and “On state registration of legal entities and branches” has been under public discussion.