In the late fall of 1996, a key committee of the Arab League met to discuss a matter of utmost importance. The committee identified human rights NGOs as posing especially pernicious dangers. Although the actual plan for countering this threat remains a secret to this day, the interview highlighted a request that the convening Arab states bilaterally contact Western countries funding these NGOs in order to halt their support.
Recent developments provide more clues as to the plan's aims and scope.
Governments throughout the region have become more aggressive and are now employing a diverse tool-kit of tactics to undermine and discredit NGOs' efforts, particularly the work of human rights NGOs. In 1996, two legitimate Tunisian human rights representatives were invited to give presentations at an international human rights conference on torture. After the invitation was issued, the initial two Tunisian NGO representatives had their passports revoked while the Jeunes M decins sans Fronti res requested to bring two additional representatives. Even long-standing organizations now have staff members who report first to the intelligence services and then to the organization itself. Governments throughout the region have reviewed, modified or rewritten laws governing the establishment, registration and operation of NGOs.