KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography
KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography
KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography
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over the implementati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> its initiatives. In other words, there is a need not <strong>on</strong>ly for<br />
legal documents such as c<strong>on</strong>cepts, decrees, laws, and others <strong>on</strong> NGO relati<strong>on</strong>s but also<br />
for an instituti<strong>on</strong>alized mechanism which would coordinate the development and<br />
implementati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> these documents.<br />
Recommendati<strong>on</strong>: The More Government Engagement, the Better the Government-<br />
NGO Relati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
The study <strong>of</strong> the government-NGO relati<strong>on</strong>ship in Kyrgyzstan has suggested that a<br />
lack <strong>of</strong> state policy <strong>on</strong> working with NGOs is a major barrier to building more productive<br />
collaborati<strong>on</strong> between the government and NGOs. A soluti<strong>on</strong> to the problem might seem<br />
evident. The government needs to develop a clear policy for its various instituti<strong>on</strong>s at all<br />
levels, which would give them basic guidance <strong>on</strong> how to work with the NGO sector <strong>on</strong><br />
an undiscriminating, systematic and regular basis. However, it is necessary to take into<br />
account the less<strong>on</strong>s learned from the previous experience <strong>of</strong> the government with the<br />
c<strong>on</strong>cept <strong>on</strong> government-NGO collaborati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
The above overview <strong>of</strong> the c<strong>on</strong>cept and its outcomes indicates that the government<br />
should be more committed to the implementati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> its legal documents <strong>on</strong> cooperati<strong>on</strong><br />
with NGOs. Put differently, the government should have not <strong>on</strong>ly initiatives, but<br />
also an instituti<strong>on</strong>alized mechanism that would coordinate their development and<br />
implementati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
Based <strong>on</strong> this, this policy brief suggests creating a State <strong>Department</strong> <strong>on</strong> NGO<br />
Relati<strong>on</strong>s. From an administrative perspective, the <strong>Department</strong> would be part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
government. Its key missi<strong>on</strong> would be ensuring that the proper legal basis for the<br />
government-NGOs relati<strong>on</strong>ship is in place and implemented accordingly. The main<br />
functi<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Department</strong> would be:<br />
1) to coordinate the development and implementati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> legal documents such as<br />
laws, c<strong>on</strong>cepts, policies, decrees and others <strong>on</strong> government-NGO collaborati<strong>on</strong>;<br />
2) to provide government instituti<strong>on</strong>s in all areas and at all levels with informati<strong>on</strong><br />
about and advice <strong>on</strong> the legal documents <strong>on</strong> the government-NGO relati<strong>on</strong>ship.<br />
To c<strong>on</strong>tribute to establishing a more effective partnership between the government<br />
and NGOs, the State <strong>Department</strong> <strong>on</strong> NGO Relati<strong>on</strong>s would also have two more subsidiary<br />
functi<strong>on</strong>s. The first functi<strong>on</strong> is to cooperate with representatives <strong>of</strong> the NGO sector (e.g.<br />
the Associati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> Civil Society Support Centres) to disseminate informati<strong>on</strong> about the<br />
legal documents <strong>on</strong> the government-NGO relati<strong>on</strong>ship to NGOs so that NGOs are also<br />
aware <strong>of</strong> them and can refer to them when working with their government instituti<strong>on</strong>s<br />
in their field and at their level.<br />
The sec<strong>on</strong>d functi<strong>on</strong> is to maintain a database <strong>on</strong> NGOs and their activities in<br />
cooperati<strong>on</strong> with representatives <strong>of</strong> the NGO sector and competent government<br />
instituti<strong>on</strong>s (e.g. Nati<strong>on</strong>al Statistical Committee and Ministry <strong>of</strong> Justice) to increase<br />
awareness <strong>of</strong> all government instituti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> NGOs and their activities so that they would<br />
be properly informed about NGOs and could cooperate with them easily.<br />
Challenges <strong>of</strong> the Proposed Initiative<br />
Notwithstanding its great potential to improve the government-NGO relati<strong>on</strong>ship,<br />
there are some risks to the proposal to establish a State <strong>Department</strong> <strong>on</strong> NGO Relati<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
The first risk is that the <strong>Department</strong> might merely promote the interests <strong>of</strong> the government<br />
and its instituti<strong>on</strong>s when developing and implementing the legal documents <strong>on</strong> the<br />
government-NGO relati<strong>on</strong>ship, without taking the interests <strong>of</strong> NGOs into account. The<br />
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