Dhaka: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Bangladesh parliament to repeal the new law regulating civil society organisations accepting foreign funds. 

The HRW says the new law subjects non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to comprehensive and arbitrary government control over their activities, stifling freedom of expression and other rights.  

Bangladesh’s international donors, who provide critical development assistance, should publicly call for the repeal of the law, said a HRW press release.  

The law, known as the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill 2016 (FDRB) and that came into effect on October 13, 2016 requires all foreign-funded NGOs, a category that describes development, human rights, and many other organizations, to submit virtually all activities for approval to a bureau under the prime minister’s office, without clear criteria for grounds for rejection or a timeframe in which decisions should be rendered.  

Registration is similarly at the discretion of the bureau, and a last-minute addition to the law makes it an offence for NGOs to criticise the government, the release said. 

“The Foreign Donations Law is a shocking new initiative by a repressive government to make civil society toe the government line, or risk being arbitrarily shutdown,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.