KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography

compared to the first. These include the Constitutional Law on the Government of the
Kyrgyz Republic, the Law on Regulatory Acts and the Law on the Commissioning of
Social Services.
In June 2006 the President signed a decree on the introduction of public policy formats
and procedures into the operations of public authorities and local self-governance bodies.
This law stipulates new mechanisms and procedures for involving all stakeholders into
decision-making by the government and local self-governance bodies. The decree has
not yet been put into action.
On 20 December 2007 the Government enacted a decree on introducing methods
of analyzing the regulatory impact of government decisions that regulate or change the
business environment. This decree applies solely to the business sector, and therefore
only those NGOs that work with businesses can participate in the making of government
decisions that concern the business environment.
In addition to these laws, there is a wide range of regulations (e.g. Rules and
Procedures of Government Operations, Document Processing Rules, Document
Processing Rules for Government Ministries, etc.) that outline the procedure of internal
and external document workflow for government ministries and agencies.
When it comes to cooperating with non-governmental organizations, however, these
laws, decrees, and orders fail to offer a mechanism for implementing provisions contained
in them. One of the regulations mentioned above states that “public participation is
permitted.” By using this wording, the law does not make it mandatory for the leader
of a government ministry or agency to collaborate with NGOs. Furthermore, there is
no definition of “public” in the phrase “public participation.” The interpretation of this
term is left up to the government ministry or agency, and there are times when NGOs
are not considered to be part of this “public.”
Nonetheless, the NGO sector may use two routes for launching the mechanism of
its participation in decision-making.
The first route concerns the right to request any information. If the letter mentions
a specific timeframe (usually, 10 days), it is placed on the follow-up list, and the body
that receives this letter must reply to it. This route is not especially effective, since NGO
members have to work with a decision that has already been made.
The second route is more useful. It involves building the NGO’s skills in producing
expert decisions in the context of analytical documents, which include recommendations
and a pro-active advancement of these recommendations.
Recommendations
The NGO sector may join the policy cycle at any of its stages. To make a positive
contribution to the decision-making process, non-governmental organizations need a
framework for collaboration between NGOs and public authorities, public administration,
and local self-governments. The framework must incorporate the following elements:
1. Define the goal and the objectives of NGO participation in the process.
2. Determine the value of cooperation (for individual NGOs or for the entire sector),
i.e. the qualities that NGO members value in themselves and in others.
3. Address the real needs of the state in NGO projects. So far, the purpose of most
projects is to spend or use the donors’ money.
4. Develop standards for proposing solutions to problems.
5. Introduce a training program for NGO staff to discuss standards of working
with public authorities, public administration, and local self-governments.
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