Human Rights Watch calls upon the Ugandan Government and Parliament to:
· Withdraw the proposed NGO bill
The NGO bill, in its present form, represents a severe threat to freedom of association in Uganda.
· Repeal or amend the current law on NGOs
The Non-Governmental Organizations Registration Statute should be repealed or else amended to bring it into conformity with Uganda's obligations under article 22 of the ICCPR.
· Simplify the requirement for NGO registration
The registration process should be reduced to a technical matter. It should be enough for NGOs to submit information about the organization's name, address, objectives and audited annual accounts to the designated government agency. The registration process should not be capable of being misused to amount to a substantive restriction on freedom of association, or to interfere with an NGO's direction and work. No government body should have power to refuse or withdraw registration.
· Transform the NGO board into an independent body with a mandate to facilitate cooperation between NGOs and the government
The NGO board should be made independent of government and be transformed into a body whose purpose is to facilitate cooperation among NGOs and between NGOs and state authorities. The composition of any such independent body should include NGO representatives, and those appointed to it should be persons of integrity and appropriate competence, and should reflect all sectors of Ugandan society. Representatives of the internal and external security services should not sit on the board, and any government officials appointed to it should serve in their personal capacity.
· Eliminate the principle of individual criminal and civil liability.
There is no need for individual liability beyond what is already provided by the law of Uganda. Individual liability threatens individuals and may diminish the citizen's readiness to work for non-governmental organizations as volunteers or staff.
· Institute an independent appeals procedure.
The law should make it possible for an NGO to appeal against decisions of the NGO Board to a court of law.