The Sri Lankan government has announced mandatory registration for all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which will see closer scrutiny by the Ministry of Defence.
Under the Voluntary Social Service Organisations (Registration and Supervision) Act No. 31 of 1980, the government has made it compulsory for NGOs and international NGOs (INGOs) to re-register with the National Secretariat. Even organisations that have already complied with legal frameworks like the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007 are not exempt, being required to submit to this new process.
According to the new procedure, all submitted documents will pass through not just the National Secretariat but also the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other line ministries. NGOs will only be granted temporary six-month certificates until clearance reports are approved. If any issues arise in these reports, registrations can be outright denied.
The Defence Ministry’s involvement in overseeing NGOs in Sri Lanka is not new. In 2020, UN Special Rapporteur Clément N. Voule expressed concern at the Ministry of Defence’s takeover of various state institutions including the NGO Secretariat as he denounced efforts to stifle dissent on the island.
Sri Lanka’s armed forces have been accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. To date, the government has refused to hold those responsible accountable.
