NGO Law Monitor: Tajikistan

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Last updated 25 April 2012

Introduction

Civil society constitutes one of the most dynamically developing sectors in Tajikistan today. Civil society organizations (CSOs) in Tajikistan are engaged in a wide range of activities, including humanitarian and charitable work; the protection of the marginalized and vulnerable; the defense of human rights; and support for stability, peace and the process of democratization. The impact of civil society on Tajikistan has increased as the number, scope and reach of CSOs have grown steadily.

CSOs - registered as non-commercial organization (NCOs) - first emerged during the social transformations of the 1980s and increased in number during the 1990s. Since 1997, Tajikistan has taken a number of important steps to ensure a more secure legal space for NCOs. In 1997, there were 300 CSOs formally registered in Tajikistan; by 2006 the number had grown to more than 2,700. After adoption of the new Law on Public Associations in 2007, which required all existing NCOs to undergo re-registration or face termination, the number of NCOs decreased. Currently, according to the Ministry of Justice, approximately 2000 NCOs are registered.

On May 19, 2009, the President signed the new Law on State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs. The Law envisions two channels of state registration for NCOs. Public associations are registered with the Ministry of Justice, in accordance with the Law on Public Associations. Other non-commercial organizations (public foundations, institutes, etc.) are registered with the local tax authorities. Registration with the local tax authorities is both simpler and subject to less discretion than registration with the Ministry of Justice. Indeed, requiring public associations (and political parties) to undergo the complex registration procedure with the Ministry distinguishes these legal entity forms from all other legal entities, including both for-profit businesses and all other types of NCOs.

On August 2, 2011, the President signed the new Law on Trade Unions. The Law regulates the right of citizens to organize, create, reorganize, and liquidate trade unions. This Law repealed the 1992 Law on Trade Unions, Rights and Guarantees of their Activity of the Republic of Tajikistan.

At a Glance

Organizational Forms	Non-commercial organizations, public associations
Registration Body	Tax Committee and Ministry of Justice For some NCOs, the registration body is the Tax Committee. For public associations, religious organizations and political parties, the registration body is the Ministry of Justice.
Approximate Number	More than 2000 registered NCOs (80% of which are public associations)
Barriers to Entry	Certain persons, including foreign persons and stateless persons, may not become founders, members, or participants of NCOs, if they don't have residence permits. Registration procedures for public associations are overly bureaucratic, with excessive documentation requirements.
Barriers to Activities	First, the Law categorizes public associations by territorial range of activity. This territorial principle consequently restricts the operation activities of local public associations outside the region where they are registered. Second, the Law authorizes governmental authorities to engage in highly intrusive means of supervision of public associations.
Barriers to Speech and/or Advocacy	No legal barriers, provided that NCOs act in compliance with by-laws and Tajik legislation.
Barriers to International Contact	No legal barriers
Barriers to Resources	No legal barriers

Key Indicators

Population	7,349,145 (July 2009 est.)
Capital	Dushanbe
Type of Government	Republic
Life Expectancy at Birth	Male: 65.2 years Female: 67.38 years (2003 est.)
Literacy Rate	88% (according to Tajikistan official statics, 2003)
Religious Groups	Sunni Muslim 80%, Sh'ia (Ismaili) Muslim 5%, other 15%.
Ethnic Groups	Tajik 67%, Uzbek 23%, Russian 3.5%, other 6.5%.
GDP Per Capita	$2,000 (2010 est.)

Source: The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009.

International Rankings

Ranking Body	Rank	Ranking Scale (best - worst possible)
UN Human Development Index	127 (2010)	1 – 182
World Bank Rule of Law Index	12.8 (2009)	100 – 0
World Bank Voice & Accountability Index	11.2 (2009)	100 – 0
Transparency International	158 (2010)	1 – 180
Freedom House: Freedom in the World	Status: Not Free Political Rights: 6 Civil Liberties: 5 (2010)	Free/Partly Free/Not Free 1 – 7 1 – 7
Foreign Policy: Failed States Index	Not listed	177 – 1

Source: The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009.

Legal Snapshot

International and Regional Human Rights Agreements

Key International Agreements	Ratification*	Year
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)	Yes	1999
Optional Protocol to ICCPR (ICCPR-OP1)	Yes	1999
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)	Yes	1999
Optional Protocol to ICESCR (OP-ICESCR)	Yes	1993
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)	Yes	1995
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)	Yes	1993
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women	Yes	2000
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)	Yes	1993
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICRMW)	Yes	2003
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)	No	--
Key Regional Agreements	Ratification*	Year
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms	Yes	2003
Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe	No	--

* Category includes ratification, accession, or succession to the treaty

Constitutional Framework

The Constitution of Tajikistan was adopted on November 6, 1994 (and amended June 22, 2003).

Relevant provisions include:

Article 5. Life, honor, dignity, and other natural human rights are inviolable. The rights and liberties of the person and citizen are recognized, observed and protected by the state.
Article 8. In Tajikistan, social life develops on the basis of political and ideological pluralism. No state ideology or religion may be established. Social associations are formed and operate within the framework of the Constitution and laws. The state provides them with equal possibilities in their operations. Religious organizations are separate from the state and may not interfere in governmental affairs. The formation and operation of social associations which advocate racial, ethnic, social or religious animosity or which incite violent overthrow of the constitutional system, as well as the organization of armed groups, are forbidden.
Article 10. The Constitution of Tajikistan possesses supreme legal power, and its norms have direct application. Laws and other legal acts that are contrary to the Constitution do not have legal force. The government and all its organs, officials, citizens, and citizens’ associations are obligated to comply with and execute the Constitution and laws of the republic. International legal acts recognized by Tajikistan are a constituent part of the legal system of the republic. In the case of a discrepancy between the laws of the republic and recognized international legal acts, the norms of the international acts are applied. Laws and international legal acts recognized by Tajikistan enter into force after their official publication.
Article 14. The rights and freedoms of the person and the citizen are regulated and protected by the Constitution and laws of the republic, as well as by international legal acts recognized by Tajikistan. Limitations of the rights and freedoms of citizens are only allowed for the purposes of ensuring the rights and freedoms of other citizens, ensuring social order, and protecting the constitutional system and territorial integrity of the republic.
Article 28. Citizens have the right of association. Each citizen has the right to participate in the formation of political parties, trade unions, and other social associations, as well as voluntarily to join them and resign from them.
Article 29. Each citizen has the right to participate in lawfully established meetings, protests, demonstrations, and peaceful marches. No one may be forced to participate in these activities.
Article 30. Each person is guaranteed the freedoms of speech and the press, as well as the right to use information media. Governmental censorship and prosecution for criticism is prohibited. The list of information constituting a state secret is specified by law.

National Laws and Regulations Affecting Sector

Relevant national-level laws and regulations affecting civil society include:

The Constitution of Tajikistan (November 6, 1994, as amended on June 30, 2003);
The Civil Code of Republic of Tajikistan, Part 1 (June 30, 1999, as amended on December 29, 2010);
The Civil Code of Republic of Tajikistan, Part 2 (December 11, 1999, as amended on July 29, 2010);
The Tax Code of Tajikistan (November 25, 2004, with amendments on December 26, 2005; July 28, 2006; December 22, 2006; March 05, 2007; July 30, 2007; March 20, 2008; June 18, 2008; March 26, 2009; May 19, 2009; December 3, 2009; July 21, 2010; December 29, 2010);
The Labor Code of Tajikistan (May 15,1997, with amendments on Nov. 13, 1998; May 14, 1999; May 03, 2002; May 17, 2004; March 03, 2006; April 29, 2006; May 19, 2009; July 21, 2010; March 25, 2011);
The Law of Tajikistan “On Public Associations” (May 2007, as amended on July 21, 2010);
The Law of Tajikistan “On Public Initiative Bodies” (January 5, 2008);
The Law “On Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs” (May 19, 2009, as amended on December 29, 2010);
The Law “On Political Parties” (November 13, 1998);
The Law “On Freedom of Conciseness and Religious Associations” (July 2, 2009 as amended on June 28, 2011);
The Law “On Trade Unions" (August 02, 2011);
The Law “On State Fees” (February 28, 2004, as amended on December 29, 2010);
The Law “On Self-Governance Bodies in Towns and Villages” (August 2009);
The Law “On Social Contract” (December 2008); and
The Law “On Charitable Activity” (April 2003).

Pending NGO Legislative / Regulatory Initiatives

The Ministry of Justice has launched an initiative to create a draft Law On Non-Commercial Organizations (NCOs). The goal of the draft legislation would be, at least in part, to include all non-commercial organizations under the Ministry of Justice registration process. Such a legislative goal is viewed with great concern by Tajik civil society. Currently, only public associations are required to seek registration with the Ministry of Justice; the time period for review of applications is 30 days and all the documents must undergo examination prior to registration. By contrast, other forms of NCOs, including public foundations and institutions, undergo registration with the tax authorities, pursuant to the Law on Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs. This law provides for a simple registration procedure; indeed, as of January 2012, the registration period was reduced from five to three days. The draft Law on NCOs, by bringing all NCOs within the regulatory authority of the Ministry of Justice, would therefore complicate registration. The draft Law remains within the Ministry of Justice and has not yet been sent to the Tajik Government or Parliament.

A roundtable on the new concept of tax policy in Tajikistan was held in Dushanbe on December 26, 2011. The purpose of the event was to facilitate the preparation of recommendations on NGO taxation for submission to the members of the working group on the Tax Code of Tajikistan.

Legal Analysis

Organizational Forms

The Civil Code of Tajikistan defines non-commercial organizations (NCOs) as legal entities that do not seek to generate profit as their primary objective and do not distribute any profit among their members, founders or participants. The Civil Code (CC) recognizes a large number of organizational forms of NCOs: consumer cooperatives, public or religious organizations (associations), public foundations, institutions, and associations of legal persons (associations and unions).

The available forms of NCOs are defined as follows:

(1) A consumer cooperative is a voluntary membership association of citizens, established with the purpose of satisfying the material (proprietary) needs of its members, and realized through the unification of property (share) contributions by its members. (Article 128 of CC)

(2) A public or religious organization (association) is a voluntary association of citizens, established for the purpose of satisfying spiritual or other non-material needs. (Article 129 of CC)

The Law on Public Associations (PA) further defines and categorizes public associations into three groups:

A public organization is, as a rule, a membership-based organization founded by citizens to pursue common activities and protect common interests in order to attain the statutory goals. (Article 8 of Law on PA)
A public movement is a mass public association, which consists of participants and is not membership-based, which pursues social and other public benefit goals supported by the participants of the public movement. (Article 9 of the Law on PA)
A body of public initiative is a public association, which is not membership-based, and aims jointly to address various social issues facing citizens at their place of residence and to implement programs in the locality where it was established. (Article 10 of the Law on PA)

(3) A public foundation is a non-commercial non-membership organization, founded by citizens or legal persons on the basis of voluntary property contributions, and pursuing social, charitable, cultural, educational or other public benefit purposes. (Article 130 of CC)

In addition, the Law on Microfinance Organizations establishes the micro-lending fund, which is a non-commercial microfinance organization operating with a certificate issued by the National Bank of Tajikistan and engaged in providing micro-loans and other services.

(4) An institution is an organization created by the owner for conducting administrative, cultural, social, or other non-commercial functions and financed by the owner in whole or in part. (Article 132 of CC)

(5) Commercial and non-commercial organizations can create a union of legal entities (association and union). Commercial organizations can create a non-commercial association (union) to coordinate their commercial activities and represent and defend their common property interests. Public and other organizations including institutions can create non-commercial associations (unions) of these organizations. (Article 133 of CC)

Of the more than 2,000 NCOs currently registered in Tajikistan; approximately 80% are public associations.

Public Benefit Status

The Tax Code defines “charitable activity” as “the activity performed by legal entities which consists of providing direct financial or other assistance (support), including in the form of unrequited transfers, to individuals in need of such assistance, or to non-profit organizations directly providing such assistance, including non-profit charitable organizations (Article 26), or scientific, educational, public information, library, medical, or other activities performed in the public interest.” The Tax Code also refers to the Law on Charitable Activity for a definition of “charitable activity”. (Article 17 of the Tax Code)

The Law on Charitable Activity separately defines charitable organizations as non-governmental, non-profit organizations, established in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan, and created for realization of charitable aims and carrying out activities for the public good or for a certain category of persons, as their main activity. (Article 2)

Charitable activity is voluntary activity by physical or legal persons which provides material or other help (support) for the following categories of beneficiaries:

physical persons with low income or physical persons who need social adaptation and social protection;
orphans, pre-school and other children's institutions, as well as organizations providing care for such children;
disabled or the elderly, and organizations providing care to them;
physical persons who need medical support or special care, in the form of payment for medical or related services (including travel for such services), or other organizations having the status of medical institutions;
educational institutions, including distribution of grants;
institutions of science, culture and art;
development of individual’s talents;
protection of population and nature from pollution and other harmful effects; or
prison facilities, if such activity is aimed at improving the conditions of maintenance or medical service of prisoners.

In terms of potential benefits of charitable status, the Government may provide material and financial support to youth organizations, children’s organizations, charitable organizations and organizations of the disabled; may provide favorable tax policy; may give children’s organizations the right to use school buildings, non-scholastic establishments, clubs, palaces and houses of culture, sports facilities and other structures, free of charge or on favorable terms.

Significantly, however, no tax privileges are provided for charitable organizations in Tajikistan.

Barriers to Entry

Citizens aged 18 or older may become founders, members or participants in public associations, unless otherwise provided by this Law. Citizens aged 14 or older may become members or participants in youth public associations. Citizens aged 8 or older may become members or participants in children’s public associations.

Foreign nationals and stateless persons may be founders, members, or participants in public associations or NCOs, provided they are legally domiciled or have permanent residence in the Republic of Tajikistan.

Founders or members or participants in public associations may not include:

Government agencies (except for the case stipulated in Article 11 of this Law);
Persons whose connections with terrorist, extremist or separatist organizations have been proven in a court of law.

Currently, the Law on State Fees requires local public associations to pay the equivalent of approximately 38 USD at the time of registration. National public associations must pay the equivalent of approximately 75 USD. And international public associations must pay the equivalent of approximately 750 USD.

The registration process for public associations is overly bureaucratic, with a long list of documents required to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice. The same is true for foreign NGOs seeking to establish a branch office. Other types of NCOs, by contrast, including public foundations and institutions, are registered under the tax authorities based on the Law on the State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, which provides a simplified registration process at a one-stop window.

Barriers to Operational Activity

The Law on Public Associations includes a number of barriers to the operational activity.

First, according to Article 12 of the Law, public associations are categorized by, and therefore limited to, a defined territorial range of activity. An international public association operates within Tajikistan and one or several foreign states. A national public association may carry out its activities within Tajikistan. A local public association operates within an administrative area such as region (oblast), city or district. This territorial principle consequently restricts the operational activities of local public associations outside the region where they are registered.

Second, the Law authorizes governmental authorities to engage in highly intrusive means of supervision of public associations, including the following:

The power to summon resolutions of the organization’s governing body. The Ministry of Justice has the ability to demand documents relating to the details of an organization’s governance, including day-to-day policy decisions and supervision of the organization’s management.
The power to send representatives to an organization’s events. The Law allows the Ministry to send a representative to all of an organization's events, without restriction, including internal strategy sessions and grant selection meetings, for example.

Barriers to Speech / Advocacy

There is no legal barrier limiting the ability of NCOs to engage in advocacy or public policy activities. All forms of public associations may participate in advocacy and lobbying activities.

According to Article 24 of the Law on Public Associations, public associations have the right to pursue the realization of their goals, and to:

participate in policy-making by government and regulatory authorities in the manner and within the scope established by this Law and other laws;
hold meetings, rallies, demonstrations, processions and other public events in compliance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan;
represent and protect its rights and the legal interests of its members and participants or other citizens at the state offices, organizations, public associations and courts;
put forward initiatives on various aspects of community life and submit proposals to the Government; and
obtain information from the Government as necessary for implementation of the statutory goals, except for the cases established by the law of the Republic of Tajikistan.

According to Article 4 of the Law on Presidential Elections, public associations can participate in organizing and conducting presidential elections.

Charities are expressly prohibited from using their assets to support political parties, movements, and campaigns.

Barriers to International Contact

There are no legal barriers to international communication and contact.

Barriers to Resources

There are no legal barriers to resources.

An NCO may engage in economic activities to the extent they advance the purposes for which the organization was created, but may not pursue the generation of profit as its primary purpose (Article 31, Law on Public Associations). Profit from the economic activities of NCOs, including charities, is generally taxed in the same manner as for commercial organizations.

Reports

UN Universal Periodic Review Reports	Not available
Reports of UN Special Rapporteurs	2008 Human Rights Reports: Tajikistan
USIG (United States International Grantmaking) Country Notes	Tajikistan: Report 2009
Amnesty International	AI Report 2009: Tajikistan
Human Rights Watch	HRW Report 2010: Tajikistan
U.S. State Department	Not available
Failed States Index Reports	Not available
IMF Country Reports	Not available
International Commission of Jurists	Not available
International Federation for Human Rights	Human rights in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan: How realistic is to expect further results after and EU open debate with civil society?
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law Online Library	Tajikistan

News and Additional Resources

While we aim to maintain information that is as current as possible, we realize that situations can rapidly change. If you are aware of any additional information or inaccuracies on this page, please keep us informed; write to ICNL at ngomonitor@icnl.org.

General News

OSCE urges Tajikistan to end shutdown of Facebook and other websites critical of leader (April 2012)
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has urged Tajikistan to end a shutdown of Facebook and several Russian-language websites that published material critical of the nation's leader, President Imomali Rakhmon. Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, said in an appeal to the Tajik government she hoped that the ban of Facebook and the other websites would not set a precedent. She said the "Internet should remain an open public forum for discussion and free expression of opinions, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." She said she sent a letter to Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi on March 5 to express hope that "access to Facebook and the four news websites would be restored without delay." Facebook's popularity has soared in Tajikistan, with membership doubling last year to 26,000 people. Several Facebook groups openly discuss politics and some users have been critical of the authorities. (Read more)

Tajikistan CSOs Prepare Proposals for Inclusion in the New Tax Code (December 2011)
In an interview with Associated Press, the director of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL, LLC) in Tajikistan, Umed Kalandarov, explained that the roundtable organized by ICNL provided an opportunity for CSO representatives to become familiar with the concept of tax policy in Tajikistan. (Read more)

Concept of Tax Policy in Tajikistan discussed by NGOs (December 2011)
Dushanbe, December 27. (NIAT "Khovar" Christina Ehrlich). – A roundtable on the new concept of tax policy in Tajikistan was held in Dushanbe on December 26, 2011. The purpose of the event was to facilitate the preparation of recommendations on NGO taxation for submission to the members of the working group on the Tax Code of Tajikistan. (Read more)

The Best Human Rights Activist is Lawyer Shukhrat Kudratov (December 2011)
Tajik NGO "Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law" has awarded Shuhrat Kudratov as the best Human Rights Defender for 2011. (Read more)

NGOs in Tajikistan Appeal to Rahmon and Medvedev (November 2011)
Tajik NGOs have launched an appeal to the presidents of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon and Russia Dmitry Medvedev. They express their concern about the situation around Tajik labor migrants in Russia. (Read more)

NGOs Prepare an Alternative Report on the Implementation of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (October 2011)
(Read more)

Tajik NGO Coalition Against Torture Urges Probe into Death of Shodiyev (October 2011)
(Read more)

Tajik NGOs Concerned About New Changes to Tax Code (February 2011)
(Read more)

Statement by IPHR and six other human rights NGOs to the OSCE Review Conference on challenges faced by human rights defenders in Central Asia (September 2010)
The International Partnership for Human Rights (Brussels), the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (Sofia), Civil Rights Defenders (Stockholm), the Moscow Helsinki Group (Moscow), the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (The Hague), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (Oslo) and the Polish Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Warsaw) have joined together in making a statement to the OSCE Review Conference that will take place in Warsaw on 30 September - 8 October 2010. With this statement, the participating organizations wish to highlight challenges faced by human rights defenders in Central Asia, express their solidarity with their colleagues in this region and call on the OSCE states to deal with the protection of human rights defenders as a priority issue at the OSCE Summit scheduled to be held in Astana in December 2010. (Read more)

Tajik Court Bans NGO Helping Homeless Children (July 2010)
A nongovernmental organization that works with homeless children in Tajikistan has been banned after being accused of proselytizing, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. The court in the northern city of Khujand cited several reasons on July 26 for the ban on Dasti Madad (Helping Hand), including a claim the NGO had engaged in Christian missionary work. (Read more)

Change You Can’t Believe In (March 2010)
To the surprise of no one, the governing People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections on February 28th, with almost 72% of the vote. Nor was anybody taken aback by the myriad irregularities on election day. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitored the polling, said it “failed to meet many key OSCE commitments”. It noted a high prevalence of family- and proxy-voting and cases of ballot-box stuffing. (Read more)

Dushanbe independent radio station launches training project for young journalists (March 2010)
The Dushanbe independent radio station, Vatan, has announced the launch of a training project for young journalists from among Dushanbe school students. The project will be implemented with support from the Government of Switzerland.

Tajik judges seek millions from weeklies in civil libel case (February 2010)
The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on judges in Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, to drop their defamation lawsuits against three popular independent weeklies for damage amounts that would bankrupt them. Claiming that Ozodagon, Farazh, and Asia-Plus published biased and defamatory articles about them in late January, judges Nur Nurov and Ulughbek Mamadshoyev of Tajikistan's Supreme Court and Judge Fakhriddin Dodometov of Dushanbe City Court are asking for 5.5 million Somoni (about US$1.2 million) in damages, the independent regional news Web site CentrAsia reported. (Read more)

Media watchdog urges Tajik officials to end media harassment (February 2010)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has criticized Tajik authorities for "harassing the media" just weeks before parliamentary elections, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. Reacting to a series of lawsuits against leading independent Tajik newspapers, the Paris-based organization said in a statement that "Tajik officials must stop using the judicial system to harass independent news media." (Read more)

The foregoing information was collected by the ICNL, LLC Affiliate Office in Tajikistan.