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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not a decisi<strong>on</strong>-maker, but rather “an opini<strong>on</strong>, advising and supporting body” for the Minister<br />
resp<strong>on</strong>sible for social security. There is also the <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> Public Benefit Activity, part<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ministry <strong>of</strong> Ec<strong>on</strong>omy, Labor and Social <str<strong>on</strong>g>Policy</str<strong>on</strong>g>. This <strong>Department</strong> is resp<strong>on</strong>sible for<br />
establishing instituti<strong>on</strong>al and legal c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s that promote development <strong>of</strong> the Polish NGO<br />
sector and <strong>of</strong> NGO-government cooperati<strong>on</strong>. 17<br />
It must be noted, referring again to the experience <strong>of</strong> Hungary, that in 2003 the<br />
parliament’s Committee <strong>on</strong> NGO Support delegated its functi<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> managing state<br />
social grants to a specially-established agency named the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Civic Fund (NFC) 18 .<br />
The NCF was set up as a separate state fund under the Prime Minister’s <strong>of</strong>fice, governed<br />
by the Minister <strong>of</strong> Equal Opportunities, to coordinate state funds allocated for social<br />
projects to be implemented by n<strong>on</strong>-government organizati<strong>on</strong>s, and was designated a<br />
unit <strong>of</strong> the executive branch.<br />
These two less<strong>on</strong>s are instructive in the sense <strong>of</strong> identifying the primary agency <strong>of</strong><br />
state power that will be resp<strong>on</strong>sible to implement the Law <strong>on</strong> State Social C<strong>on</strong>tracts.<br />
The implementati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> laws is the prerogative <strong>of</strong> the executive branch <strong>of</strong> government.<br />
Therefore, it is sensible to c<strong>on</strong>sider establishing a government unit that will work closely<br />
with the anticipated Commissi<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> NGO support <strong>of</strong> the Jogorku Kenesh’s (the Kyrgyz<br />
parliament) Committee <strong>on</strong> migrati<strong>on</strong>, labor, social policy and healthcare.<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Policy</str<strong>on</strong>g> document or strategy<br />
Agreements or other written covenants<br />
The C<strong>on</strong>cept <strong>on</strong> Cooperati<strong>on</strong> between Public Associati<strong>on</strong>s, Public Foundati<strong>on</strong>s and<br />
state authorities was adopted and enforced by a Governmental decree <strong>of</strong> March 25, 2004.<br />
This C<strong>on</strong>cept includes an analysis <strong>of</strong> the current situati<strong>on</strong> in the n<strong>on</strong>-government sector<br />
in the Kyrgyz Republic, outlines the principles and forms <strong>of</strong> government support to<br />
NGOs, identifies major government measures to support NGOs, c<strong>on</strong>siders the state social<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tracting as the most effective form <strong>of</strong> government support to NGOs, and c<strong>on</strong>cludes<br />
with a recommendati<strong>on</strong> to form a Program <strong>on</strong> government support to NGOs.<br />
The first thing to say about the C<strong>on</strong>cept is that it exists. Unfortunately, it appears<br />
that this c<strong>on</strong>ceptual document has been forgotten, mainly by the Kyrgyz government<br />
that itself originated the C<strong>on</strong>cept.<br />
Sec<strong>on</strong>dly, the C<strong>on</strong>cept is not c<strong>on</strong>cerned with forms <strong>of</strong> inter-sector cooperati<strong>on</strong>,<br />
but with forms <strong>of</strong> government support to NGOs. Even so, it was a good attempt to<br />
c<strong>on</strong>ceptualize the problem <strong>of</strong> relati<strong>on</strong>s between government and NGOs. The new<br />
leadership <strong>of</strong> the country may find it useful to revise this C<strong>on</strong>cept and, <strong>on</strong> the basis <strong>of</strong><br />
its changes, to develop a Program <strong>on</strong> Cooperati<strong>on</strong> between the Government and NGO<br />
sectors <strong>of</strong> the Kyrgyz Republic.<br />
Another normative document designed to regulate NGO-government relati<strong>on</strong>s is<br />
the President Decree #241 <strong>on</strong> measures to enhance, legally formalize and implement<br />
in practice all forms <strong>of</strong> interacti<strong>on</strong> between government agencies, bodies <strong>of</strong> local selfgovernment<br />
and civil society, signed <strong>on</strong> 11 May 2006. This decree stipulates:<br />
17<br />
“The Liais<strong>on</strong> Office as a Tool for Successful NGO-Government Cooperati<strong>on</strong>: An Overview <strong>of</strong> the Central and<br />
Eastern European and Baltic Countries’ Experiences” by Maria Gerasimova, the Internati<strong>on</strong>al Journal <strong>of</strong> Notfor-Pr<strong>of</strong>it<br />
Law, Volume 7, Issue 3, June 2005 [http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/ijnl/vol7iss3/special_<br />
1.htm].<br />
18<br />
For more informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Civic Fund <strong>of</strong> Hungary, see [http://www.efc.be/cgi-bin/<br />
articlepublisher.pl?filename=HI-SE-10-03-1.html] accessed 25 June 2008.<br />
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