Asia and the Pacific Program
ICNL works in more than 10 countries in Asia and the Pacific. We seek to empower local partners by providing comparative information, international legal expertise, and technical assistance on the legal framework for civil society. We seek to enhance the law reform capacity of local partners through research fellowships and other initiatives.
In Afghanistan, ICNL provided technical assistance in drafting the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), which was enacted in 2005 and marked a significant improvement over the prior regulatory framework. In Cambodia, ICNL has provided continuing support to local and international partners on the legal framework for associations and NGOs, through written analyses and comparative information. In Laos, ICNL provided technical assistance in the preparation of the Decree on Associations, which established, for the first time, a legal basis for the existence of registered associations in the country. In Mongolia, ICNL is providing assistance to civil society leaders and the government as they work together to update the legal framework governing civil society organizations. In China, ICNL has provided technical assistance on the legal framework for charities and the policy framework for disaster response, among other issues.
To learn more about our programs in Asia and the Pacific or to request assistance, please contact David Moore - Vice President, Legal Affairs, at email@example.com.
Access our complete collection of resources by visiting ICNL's Online Library.
NGO Law Monitor
ICNL produces country profile reports that provide an overview of key issues relating to the freedom of association and the NGO legal framework, with a focus on legal barriers affecting civil society. View NGO Law Monitor reports for Afghanistan, ASEAN, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, and Pakistan.
United States International Grantmaking Country Reports
ICNL prepares reports describing the legal framework for civil society organizations to assist grantmakers and their advisors. USIG reports are available for Afghanistan, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines.
With the support of the Swedish Agency for International Development (Sida) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), ICNL has hosted civil society reformers from Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Nepal. Recent fellowship papers from Cambodia and Nepal were published in the International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law.
ICNL engages in innovative efforts to raise awareness of the importance of civil society among students, youth and the general public in Afghanistan. For example, ICNL developed a nationally televised "quiz show" to introduce civil society legal issues to students at the secondary school and university level around the country. ICNL also wrote and commissioned production of a comedic film entitled Bulbul and Civil Society, starring the famous Afghan character, Bulbul Shah.