NGOs will have new controls in Ecuador

Through an Executive Order, President Rafael Correa stated that within a period of less than a year, a new registration system for national and international social organizations must be implemented, taking into consideration the rule 982, which regulates the activities of civil society organizations.

It is called the Unified Information System of Social Organizations (Suios), which will be conducted by the National Secretariat of Political Management.

So the national organizations would have to join this system and place all its projects along with the origin, their funding and the progress and achievements in such projects. While international organizations would have to specify their work purposes with the country, and in order to function, they would have to sign -previously- an agreement with the Technical Secretariat for International Cooperation (Seteci), which will constantly monitor the performance of their projects.

Moreover, the Seteci will investigate in every Ecuador embassies and consulates abroad, about the “legality, reliability and seriousness” of organizations, which may not carry out activities other than their own nor those that threaten public safety and peace.

Ruth Hidalgo, director of the Participacion Ciudadana Corporation (PC), believes that the Government did not clarify the phrase “threaten public safety and peace”, because it is an “ambiguous” expression.

Partipacion Ciudadana, which conducts election monitoring, does not agree with the NGOs registration system. It says the phrase “threatening the public safety and peace” is not clear enough.