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Multiple news outlets have reported that Russia has passed a law allowing Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to be banned if undesirable.
According to the story on Euronews:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill which will allow foreign organisations to be banned from operating in the country.
The new law will give authorities the right to prosecute non-governmental organisations if considered "undesirable" or a threat to national security.
From the CNN story:
Tanya Lokshina, Russia program director for Human Rights Watch, said the new law had "the potential to severely damage our work in Russia," and was a cause for grave concern for all international groups operating in the country.
Nevertheless, she said she did not believe the law was aimed at international organizations like hers. Instead, she said, it was aimed at Russians who might cooperate with, or support, international organizations.
NGOs are not always beloved around the world and have been accused of doing more harm than good. What is the correct role for NGOs in the world?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by jmorris on Monday May 25 2015, @09:00PM
What is the correct role for NGOs in the world?
Kinda lame question. Which NGOs? There is a wide variation even if most are cut from the same Progressive, NWO, do gooder Internationalist cloth.
Personally I think the NGO community tries to be too many things at once, mostly for nefarious purpose. They are feeding the hungry... and fomenting revolutionary social change when the public eye is off. They are promoting international understanding... so long as they define it as bringing everyone to agree with them. And so on. Not that all of the positions aren't valid ones in the marketplace of ideas but they often cloak their actual missions in 'saving starving children' protective coloring and then shamelessly brand anyone who opposes their politics as someone who hates children, puppies, Mom and probably apple pie too. The NGO world is a vast place, with multi-billion dollar budgets and wielding influence over trillions and they are almost entirely off the books, apparently accountable to nobody, mostly tax free and as transnational institutions all but unaccountable to even nation states. The few times media types have looked closely at one the corruption and sleaze has been pretty easy to find. Anyone who isn't a bit disturbed by this situation probably isn't paying attention.
So while I know Putin is a monster, and have said so in public for years, I don't have nearly as much of a problem with this policy as the average hivemind here probably does. Blind squirrels, nuts, etc. Putin is almost certainly doing it for all the wrong reasons though.