Consultation on the Voluntary Organisation Act

The consultation process with the representatives of the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity on the White Paper on the Voluntary Organisations Act has been ongoing, and many NGOs have contributed through discussions on proposals to ensure that the rights of non-governmental organisations are protected.

However the process also in-volved establishing guidelines on the organisations' statute, accountability, transparency and all other obligations contemplated by law.

A crucial issue - the separation of the roles of the Commissioner and the Council - will strengthen the legal framework and will promote a healthy working and collaborative environment.

Organisations that need to ensure independence from Government have been given a transitional period to regulate themselves in line with the definition of the term 'voluntary' in the White Paper.

The consultation process had been carried out in a genuine spirit to reach agreement on most issues, culminating in the meeting of the Parliamentary Social Affairs Committee on July 17, where the last amendments were discussed.

During the next few weeks, we hope that fine-tuning of the last recommendations submitted for inclusion in the White Paper will be finalised in time to be endorsed by Parliament as soon as the summer recess is over.