Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Russia

Russian NGO For Migration Ends Operations

Putin has said he will amend the controversial NGO legislation (file photo) (epa)

11 December 2005 -- Russia's biggest nongovernmental organization dealing with migration issues has reportedly shut down its operations, citing the government's proposal to toughen laws on NGOs.

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December 11, 2005

Lidia Grafova, the head of the umbrella Forum of Migrants' Organizations, told Ekho Moskvy radio that the group's foreign sponsors have frozen funding pending final government decisions on the draft NGO law.

The proposed law would require local branches of foreign NGOs to reregister as Russian entities subject to stricter financial and legal limitations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to amend the bill following sharp criticism from international human rights organizations, the European Union, and the United States.

The Forum of Migrants' Organizations, which was founded in 1996, comprises 198 migrant-assistance organizations in 47 Russian regions.

(Ekho Moskvy/"The Moscow News")

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