The Sri Lankan government will pass a new law regarding non-governmental organisations by the end of the year, in response to NGOs rejecting a recent government letter, which restricted their activities, the Daily Mirror reported on Monday.

The new law will require NGOs to register with the National Secretariat for NGOs, which comes under the purview of the defence ministry headed by Gothabaya Rajapaksa.

In a recent circular, the secretariat demanded that NGOs abide by regulations, restricting them from holding activities such as press conferences, workshops and the training of journalists.

However, several NGOs outright rejected the restrictions, causing the government to drafting the new law.

Saman Dissanayake, the director of the NGO Secretariat, said that the new legislation would be come in the form of an amendment to the existing act on NGOs and would require them to register with the secretariat.

“Otherwise, there will be legal restrictions on their activities. They will face restrictions in getting foreign funding,” he said.

Dissanayake said the new bill had almost been drafted.

“The Legal Draftsman is giving it final the touches now,” he said.

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US ‘concerned’ about MoD circular restricting NGO activities (09 July 2014)

Military denies attempts to restrict NGO activities (08 July 2014)

Severe restrictions placed on NGO activities by Ministry of Defence (07 July 2014)