Lalitpur, September 20:

Representatives of NGOs, INGOs, and journalists have said the Social Welfare Council (SWC) should introduce a code of conduct for NGOs and INGOs only after seeking consent of the former and seeking mandate of the people. “Though a strict code of conduct can help control the irregularities in organisations, it should be drafted with the mandate of the public,” said Shiva Gaunle, the vice-chairman of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, at an interaction on ‘Code of conduct of NGOs and INGOs’ organised in the capital today. Stating that the final draft of the code of conduct will not include suggestions given during consultation meetings, Gaunle said: “All these meetings are aimed at observing the reaction of the civil society. They are neither aimed at controlling nor facilitating and regulating the NGOs, INGOs.” “By serving in places where government services are not available, NGOs have been playing a crucial role in generating awareness in the civil society,” he said, adding: “The code of conduct aims to control the organisations.”

The member-secretary of the SWC, Sharad Sharma, promised to introduce the code of conduct that will be acceptable to all. “The code of conduct will help maintain transparency, accountability, and confidentiality of organisations,” he said “Extensive consultations will be held and suggestions from the organistions will be considered before coming up with the final copy of the code of conduct,” he said, adding that the introduction of the code was not aimed at controlling organisations. Stating that a code of conduct for NGOs was introduced three years back, Arjun Karki, the president of the NGO Federation, said the federation was ready to make improvements in the code. “The SWC has no right to control the organisations,” he said. “The move has been taken to attack the independence, autonomy and identity of the NGOs,” he said, adding: “It has violated the United Nations Charter.” He said the NGOs will not accept the code of conduct. Tika Ram Bhattarai, a representative of the Nepal Bar Association said: “The government has no right to introduce a code of conduct for the organisations.” Sapana Malla Pradhan, the president of the Forum for Women, Law and Development, said the law itself has given autonomous status to the organisations.