VZCZCXRO5661
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0852/01 0971055
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071055Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2235
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000852 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG and DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV EAID PREL PHUM SOCI SU
SUBJECT:  Sudan:  The NGO Act Passed 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) On March 16, the President signed the 
Organization of Humanitarian and Voluntary Work Act. 
The NGO Consortium has indicated that it plans to 
challenge the law in the Constitutional Court.  The UN 
also plans to offer technical assistance in implementing 
the law to help minimize the negative affects on the NGO 
community. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In an attempt to persuade the government to 
reconsider the strict implementation of the Act, the 
U.S., along with 10 other donor missions-- Canada, 
France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, 
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the European 
Commission - signed a joint letter of concern drafted by 
the Norwegians.  The letter was forwarded to Foreign 
Minister Lam Akol on April 6. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The letter highlights the insufficient 
institutional structures in place to implement the Act, 
international NGOs difficulties in working with local 
NGOs in rebel held areas of Darfur, and the heavy burden 
placed on the Commissioner to approve all international 
funding, which could produce delays in providing 
assistance to needy populations.  The European Union has 
already sent a "non-paper" to the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, on March 6, highlighting its concerns about the 
Act. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The following is the full text of the joint 
letter addressed to Lam Akol, Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, with copies forwarded to Kosti Manibe, Minister 
of Humanitarian Affairs, and Mohammed Ali El Mardi, 
Minister of Justice. 
 
(Begin Text) 
 
Your Excellency, 
 
We are writing to express concerns over the potential 
operational and political consequences of the 
Organisation of Humanitarian and Voluntary Work Act 
passed by the National Assembly on Monday 21st February 
¶2006. The following countries are signatories to this 
letter: Canada, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, 
Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the 
United States of America, and the Delegation of the 
European Commission. We have previously made our concerns 
regarding certain provisions of the new Act known to the 
Government of National Unity. Some of the comments 
previously made were reflected in the final text. 
However, with this joint initiative, we wish to highlight 
certain elements that were retained in the Act that will 
likely substantially hinder the ability of donors, 
international and national Non-Governmental Organisations 
(NGOs) to continue providing effective humanitarian 
assistance and development cooperation in the Sudan. 
 
Our first area of concern is that of institutional 
arrangements. It is our understanding that the Act has 
now entered into force. However, we have not been able to 
confirm this and kindly ask your assistance in providing 
information as to the status of the Act. In this regard, 
we wish to convey to you the concerns raised by NGOs, 
INGOs and donors alike that the institutional structures 
entrusted with implementation of the Act seem not to be 
in place. As changes in regulation will have a 
significant impact on operations, it is crucial that 
there is information available with regards to when new 
regulations will enter into force and how they will be 
implemented. We strongly encourage you to make such 
information available at the earliest possible time. 
 
Secondly, the requirement of prior approval of funding 
under article 7 puts an extremely heavy administrative 
burden on both voluntary organisations and the 
Commissioner. This will have a strong negative impact on 
the efficiency and timeliness of the provision of 
humanitarian aid in Sudan, not least because of the 
unacceptable administrative delays it will produce. 
 
Thirdly, from an operational perspective, the obligation 
for international NGOs (INGOs) to operate in 
collaboration with local partners, stated in Art. 9-3 h), 
negatively affects the current context of humanitarian 
assistance in Darfur and in the rebel-held areas, where, 
due to the complexity and urgency of the situation, INGOs 
have been working as main implementing actors. We would 
also like to inquire how the implementation of this Act 
will affect the specific measures taken to facilitate the 
work of international NGO's in Darfur, namely the 
 
KHARTOUM 00000852  002 OF 002 
 
 
moratorium which has officially been extended until 
January 2007. 
 
We understand that these concerns have also been raised 
on a number of occasions by others such as NGOs and the 
UN in addition to donors. We express our strong hope that 
the new law will be implemented in a manner which will 
ensure effective humanitarian assistance and development 
co-operation in the Sudan in accordance with the Geneva 
convention and international humanitarian laws and 
principles. 
 
We acknowledge the desire of the Government of National 
Unity to ensure effective coordination among the numerous 
NGOs in their country. However, these organisations 
provide much needed relief. They assist with the 
implementation of the CPA in the south and provide basic 
needs to millions of displaced persons throughout Sudan. 
 
We understand that the Government of National Unity is in 
the process of creating a regulatory framework including 
institutional arrangements and rules and regulations that 
are needed to implement the new Act. In this respect, we 
refer to comments made by H.E. Mr. Kosti Manibe, Minister 
of Humanitarian Affairs, during the Paris Consortium 
meeting that opened up for consultations with donors and 
NGOs during the preparation of the new regulations based 
upon the Act. Many NGO's and donors have experiences with 
this type of regulation from other countries and we 
highly welcome an initiative where best practices can be 
shared. We are requesting a meeting as soon as possible 
to establish this important dialogue. 
 
We look forward to your early reply. 
 
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of our 
highest consideration. 
 
 
Regards, 
 
Alan Bones 
Charge d'affaires a.i. 
Embassy of Canada 
 
Christine Robichon 
Ambassador 
Embassy of France 
 
Georgios Veis 
Ambassador 
Embassy of Greece 
 
Lorenzo Angeloni 
Ambassador 
Embassy of Italy 
 
Elisabeth Schwabe-Hansen 
Charge d'affaires a.i. 
Royal Norwegian Embassy 
 
Corina van der Laan 
Charge d'affaires a.i. 
Embassy of the Netherlands 
 
Jens Odlander 
Charge d'affaires a.i. 
Swedish Embassy Office 
 
Andrea Reichlin 
Charge d'affaires a.i. 
Embassy of Switzerland 
 
Andrew Steinfeld 
Charge d'affaires a.i. 
Embassy of United States of America 
 
Hugh Evans 
Charge d'affaires a.i. 
Embassy of United Kingdom 
 
Kent Degerfelt, 
Ambassador, Head of Delegation 
Delegation of the European Commission 
 
(End Text) 
 
STEINFELD