CANADA NEPAL GENDER IN ORGANIZATIONS

Section IV: National Level Support for NGOs and Gender Equality

16. Facilitating a Consultation Process for the NGO Act

The Social Welfare Council asked CNGO to facilitate grassroots input into drafting a NGO Act. The goal, under SWC leadership, was to develop comprehensive legislation that would support civil society and replace all the inconsistent pockets of NGO regulation and registration scattered in various ministries.

An advisory committee of NGO and government representa¬tives was formed to oversee the process. CNGO contracted a Nepali consultant with a history in civil society strengthening to work with the SWC to design and implement a consultation process. CNGO also supported the creation of a legal drafting team in SWC.

Focus groups were conducted at the national level with the NGO Federation of Nepal (NGOFN) and the Association of International NGOs (AIN). District consultations were organized by chapters of the NGOFN and funded by the CCO Gender Fund. An information package was developed and distributed in the districts. PNGOs worked with their District Development Committees (DDCs) to mobilize the participation of women and men from local NGOs and governments. Representatives from the district consultations brought input to four regional workshops that fed into SWC's legal drafting team. The process brought together many stakeholders to present their views and exchange ideas.

The draft Act was submitted to the SWC, along with a paper outlining the outstanding issues that needed to be addressed before the legislation was moved forward through the government system. Responsibility now rests with the SWC.