Senior regulatory officials from a range of Ministries from the six Gulf Co-operation Council states are meeting in Abu Dhabi from 19-21 November 2006 for a workshop on charity regulation, entitled Effective charity regulation: for the benefit of all. This is a unique and timely opportunity for countries to share experiences and explore solutions to common problems. The event is being run by the Charity Commission for England and Wales in partnership with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Social Affairs and hosted by the UAE's Central Bank.
Some old friends and new faces gathered in Hong Kong from 18-20 September 2006 for a second regional workshop on NGO regulation in South East Asia, entitled Regulating for a Healthy NGO Sector. Forty government regulators, experts and NGO representatives from seven countries in the region participated, alongside experts and observers from further afield. Building on the foundations of a workshop which took place in Manilla earlier in the year, the event gave delegates an opportunity for more detailed discussion about experiences and developments in NGO regulation in different countries in the region. A report on the workshop can be found here.
Government officials and NGOs from a number of countries in sub Saharan Africa are participating in a telephone conference on 13 December 2006 to discuss new developments in NGO regulation across the region. Many people involved with the workshops which the Charity Commission supported in the region over the last year were enthusiastic to maintain links and continue to exchange information, experiences and ideas with each other. This telephone conference provides a good opportunity for catching up. If you are interested to be involved with the event, please email us.
The Government of Pakistan is working closely with NGOs throughout the country to agree a new framework for their relationship. It is hoped that a Code of Conduct, setting out both how the Government will support, advise and regulate NGOs and how NGOs will be accountable for their activities, will be launched early next year. In addition to this the Government is developing a publically accessible database of NGOs that will enable donors, beneficiaries, regulators and NGOs to see where NGOs are operating and how they are using their resources.
First findings of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) show that accountability emerges as a key challenge for civil society at a national level. In about 35 of the 50 countries where the CSI has been implemented, accountability was identified as a key weakness of the sector. Discussions at the recent international CSI workshop suggested that internal and external accountability are closely linked - unless NGOs own conduct is transparent and accountable, it is thought that they will not be able to effectively hold government and business leaders to account. Continuing to provide leadership on this crucial challenge for civil society worldwide, CIVICUS is making Accountability: Delivering Results the central focus theme for the 2007 CIVICUS World Assembly. For more information, see the CIVICUS website.
Strong anecdotal evidence and some interesting research (such as a recent study by the John Hopkin Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project) link the creation of a healthy civil society in a country with democracy and development. What are your ideas? We'd be interested to hear your views. Please email us.
Interested to learn more about how the NGO sector is regulated in other countries? Information on systems in a number of countries in South East Asia - including the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - is now available in the Asia and Oceania section of the website.
The Charity Commission's International Programme is in the process of collating brief summaries of legal and regulatory systems and contact details for regulators in a wide range of countries for the website. If you can provide information on the system in your country for the website, please have a go at completing the template on the website.
This e-newsletter and associated website www.NGOregnet.org are produced by the Charity Commission's International Programme. The Programme is supporting the development of a healthy, accountable and independent NGO sector worldwide by facilitating the exchange of good ideas for NGO regulation nationally, regionally and internationally.