The draft law on "Transparency of Foreign Influence" according to which non-entrepreneurial legal entities, including non-governmental and media organizations with an annual income of more than 20%, will be labeled as a "foreign power", has fortunately failed at this stage.

However, since there are still questions about the validity of the mentioned law, we continue the column in which our foreign colleagues, who tested the effect of a similar law at its "best", share their experiences with us.

We remind you that a similar law is already valid in Azerbaijan, and its results are evident. Accordingly, we share the experience and opinion of our Azerbaijani colleague, the Director of the Woman Problems Research Union - Woman's Institute, and a Professor at the Baku State University, with a Doctor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics Sajida Abdulvahabova.

"After the amendment of the law on grants in Azerbaijan in 2014, it is crucial for non-governmental organizations to obtain grants from foreign funds. According to this law, foreign funds merit to conclude grant agreements with non-governmental organizations only if they have a representative office in Azerbaijan. Such an approach led to the absence of such funds in Azerbaijan. In fact, after the adoption of this law, non-governmental organizations cannot carry out their activities.

If your country adopts the mentioned law, also it will negatively affect the Azerbaijani civil sector. Us and the Armenian civil society members participate in the peace events held by non-governmental organizations of Georgia. If the Georgian Civil Sector is weakened and can not provide such measures, peace activities will not be able to develop. Without it, it is impossible to build trust in the South Caucasus."