Environmental advocates warn that Sri Lanka’s proposed NGO registration law could criminalise informal community gatherings, grant warrantless government access to organisations, and stifle legitimate dissent against State policies.

Environmental groups in Sri Lanka have raised serious concerns that a draft law aimed at regulating non-governmental organisations could effectively silence independent activism, including environmental advocacy that challenges government decisions. The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the proposed Non-Governmental Organisations (Registration and Supervision) Bill, warning that its broad scope and sweeping powers risk turning everyday community organising into a criminal offence.

Sweeping Definition of “NGO”

According to CEJ Chairperson Hemantha Withanage, the bill requires registration of almost any collective formed by five or more people whose purpose involves serving the public – whether the needy, the sick, the disadvantaged, orphans, or those affected by natural disasters. This definition covers associations, councils, community hostels, foundations, federations, movements, centres, consortia and informal village groups.

“The Bill contains some components regarding NGOs that are praiseworthy, yet, as the Bill goes, it necessitates the registration of any organisation… which is formed by a group of not less than five persons,” Withanage said. He argued that the provision is designed to discourage social gatherings and remove individual agency. Even a handful of villagers organising to demand a road, he noted, would fall under the same regulatory net. In a country where voluntary community action has long filled gaps left by the State, such rules risk discouraging rather than encouraging public participation.

Powers Without Warrants and the Threat to Independent Litigation

A particularly alarming feature is the authority granted to a Competent Authority – appointed by and accountable to a government minister – to enter NGO premises without a warrant, demand financial and operational records, and suspend or deregister organisations. Penalties for non-compliance can reach Rs. 1 million for general offences, with smaller administrative fines imposed without court involvement.

Withanage highlighted the practical impact on his own organisation. CEJ currently has around 29 court cases pending, several of them filed against the government on environmental grounds. Under the new rules, officials could intervene in the organisation’s work, fine it for any perceived irregularity, and disrupt ongoing litigation aimed at protecting natural resources. “This disturbs our work to protect the environment,” he said.

Civil society analysts note that the draft also requires registered organisations to “align with the policies of the government” and prohibits activities that could “induce public disorder” or adversely affect sovereignty and territorial integrity. Critics argue these vague standards give the executive wide discretion to target groups whose work is politically inconvenient.

Consultation Stage and Broader Civil Society Pushback

The National Secretariat for NGOs has circulated the draft for feedback. The text proposes to repeal and replace the Voluntary Social Services Organisations (Registration and Supervision) Act No. 31 of 1980, the long-standing framework governing voluntary organisations. Officials have framed the legislation as necessary to modernise oversight, improve transparency, and meet Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards on anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing.

Yet successive versions of the bill have drawn consistent criticism from human rights lawyers, the CSO-NGO Collective, and international monitors. Observers point out that FATF Recommendation 8 requires risk-based, proportionate measures focused on the minority of non-profits vulnerable to abuse – not blanket supervision of the entire sector. Treating all informal groups of five people as potential risks, they argue, exceeds international standards and creates an architecture of control rather than targeted oversight.

Earlier drafts shared under previous administrations contained similar provisions. The current government has been accused of recycling language prepared during the previous administration, despite earlier opposition criticism of restrictive approaches to civil society. Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka officials have previously sought early access to the Bill to advise on fundamental rights implications, citing their statutory mandate.

Scale of the Sector and Practical Burdens

Sri Lanka hosts tens of thousands of registered organisations operating at national, district and divisional levels. Most are small, locally rooted groups with limited administrative capacity. Applying uniform reporting, digital portal requirements, renewable three-year licences, and Ministry of Defence clearance processes to village-level welfare associations and major international NGOs alike creates disproportionate burdens. Smaller groups may simply cease formal activity rather than navigate the compliance regime.

Foreign funding monitoring is another stated objective. Annual tracked inflows run into tens of billions of rupees. While preventing abuse of funds is legitimate, critics warn that routing all foreign-funded entities – including companies limited by guarantee and trusts already regulated under other laws – through a single, politically appointed authority risks chilling legitimate development and rights work.

Environmental Advocacy at Stake

For organisations such as CEJ, the stakes are concrete. Environmental litigation often pits civil society against state agencies or powerful commercial interests over issues such as pollution, land use, and resource extraction. The ability to operate independently, maintain confidential case files, and challenge official decisions without fear of warrantless inspections or summary suspension is fundamental to that work. Withanage has indicated that NGOs plan further collective discussions to coordinate their response.

Other environmental bodies contacted for comment, including the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society and the Environmental Foundation Limited, declined to speak at the time, while attempts to reach the Secretariat itself proved unsuccessful. The silence itself reflects the cautious atmosphere surrounding the draft.

Balancing Legitimate Oversight and Democratic Space

Governments everywhere regulate non-profits to ensure transparency and prevent criminal misuse of funds. Sri Lanka’s existing Voluntary Social Services Organisations Act already provides a registration framework. The question raised by the current draft is whether the solution lies in expanding state powers so extensively that the line between regulation and control disappears.

Civil society representatives have repeatedly submitted alternative principles emphasising voluntary registration options, judicial oversight of intrusive powers, clear and narrow definitions, and meaningful public consultation. They argue that a pluralistic legal landscape – allowing organisations to choose appropriate registration routes under companies, trusts or voluntary services law – better reflects constitutional guarantees of freedom of association under Article 14 of the Constitution and Sri Lanka’s international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

As the consultation period continues, the outcome will signal how the present administration balances its stated commitment to transparency and accountability with the practical realities of an independent civil society. For environmental defenders already navigating complex litigation against powerful interests, the difference between constructive oversight and an architecture of control could determine whether they can continue their work at all.

The coming weeks of discussion between the National Secretariat, the CSO-NGO Collective and other stakeholders will reveal whether the draft can be refined into a proportionate, rights-respecting framework – or whether the broad net it currently casts will remain intact.