Sri Lanka’s Draft NGO Bill: Balancing Regulation, Freedom of Association, and FATF Standards

Abstract

This research brief examines how the proposed Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Bill measures against freedom of association and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, particularly Recommendation 8.

It identifies four undue restrictions on freedom of association that are inconsistent with or not required by FATF: intrusive monitoring of NGOs for compliance, a prior authorisation procedure for registering NGOs, excessive penalties for administrative non-compliance, and a duty to align with government policy. It also drawn from how other jurisdictions have addressed these issues.