Domestic human rights NGOs operated throughout the year. Although progovernment NGOs received support from the government or ruling party, others received support from opposition parties or were fully independent. Some of the most active included the Human Rights Information and Training Center, HOOD, YOHR, the Democracy School, Media Women Forum, the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights, YODPRL, Seyaj, Shawthab Foundation, National Organization for Developing Society, Society for the Development of Women and Children, and the WJWC.
Some NGOs limited their activities to avoid negative government attention. Some ministries reportedly harassed NGOs critical of the government by delaying the procedures required for annual registration and licensing and through bureaucratic funding criteria. In 2007 the MSAL refused to reissue the license for the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights due to its criticism of the government for limiting media freedom. The group received a temporary two-year license from the government during the year. The government requires NGOs to register annually or be declared illegal, but NGOs that were not granted licenses continued to operate during the year. In some instances, the government reportedly registered a progovernment clone version of an NGO, recognizing the clone as the legitimate NGO, thereby preventing the original NGO from renewing its registration under its original name. In such cases, registration applications must be resubmitted under a new name. The government reportedly did not process some registration applications and placed unofficial freezes on new licenses ahead of the 2007 by-elections.
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