Civil Society Organization and the Young Democracy in Bhutan

Civil Society Organizations (CSO) are the critical actors in keeping up the values such as human rights, environmental rights, women and children rights and voices many other critical issues which are either neglected or are unable to manage by the government or the state alone. The Civil Society Organization Act 2007 defines CSO as an association, society, foundation, charitable trust, non- profit organization or their entities that are not part of the government and do not distribute any income or profits to their members, donors, founders, directors or trustees.

The Act also differentiates CSO into two: Public Benefit Organizations (PBO) and Mutual Benefit Organizations (MBO). PBOs are CSOs which are established in order to benefit the section or the society as a whole whereas the MBOs are the CSOs which are established in order to advance the shared interests of their members or supporters, such as advancing the shared interests of people working in a particular profession, the businesses engaged in a particular industry, youth studying in a university, or people who are interested in a particular cultural activity, sport or hobby.

As per Bhutan Civil Society Organization Authority (CSOA), there are 31 CSOs registered so far out of which 25 are PBOs and six are MBOs. Civil Society Organizations have been existed for the benefit of the society in Bhutan for many years but were never registered. Therefore in recognition to the very significant role played by these CSOs, the National Assembly in 2007 enacted the CSO Act 2007 of Bhutan. In Bhutan the CSOs are registered starting from 2010 and within the span of last four years (2010-2013), 31 CSOs were registered.

Some of the roles of CSOs in Bhutan as reflected in CSOA 2007 are to protect human life and health, prevent and alleviate human suffering and poverty, disseminate knowledge and advance learning, help develop country economically and culturally, protect natural environment and promote social harmony and Gross National happiness.

Civil Society Organization’s role is very crucial in the democratic world because they are the organizations who can voice the minority, they are the ones who can bring the change to the lives of those neglected or unseen by the state or the government. The CSOs can help in framing the laws which are not detrimental in any ways to any section of the society. If any law or act is compromising the values of the society, they can raise their voice and can help government amend such law and Act. These roles are very crucial in strengthening the democracy.

Democracy in Bhutan is very young and it is at the conceiving stage. This transition stage is very crucial for Bhutan to groom the young democracy to have a vibrant one in future. One of the very important factors that help in strengthening the democracy is the full participation of all citizens who are eligible, either as a people’s representatives or as an intelligent voter. Intelligent voter here means not being influenced oneself by others or not being influential to others at the time of voting. Therefore it is very imperative to educate our voters especially those who are not aware of the democratic reforms in the country. These issues can be brought up by CSOs and these organizations help in addressing such issues. In Bhutan CSOs such as Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy and Youth Media Centre plays a vital role in educating the citizens about the democracy. When all people understand well about the democracy, they will know how to franchise their votes to select their best leaders.    

Another issue in Bhutan and in the world is the gender equity. In a vibrant democracy, everyone is equal and everybody has the equal rights. In the first parliament session of Bhutan, the women representation was only 14% and it is even less this time. There must be reasonable representation of both the genders in the parliament in order to address the issues related to all genders. With the establishment of Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women (RENEW), many women were now given the support both physically and mentally so that they now don’t fear any circumstances. Any policies passed down by parliament must not in any way affect any section of society. These things are taken care by the CSOs concerned. For example the issues related to the disabled are taken care by the Ability Bhutan Society or Draktsho Vocational Centre for Special Children and Youth. Such COSs provide any information related to these sections of people to the policy makers so that friendly policies are framed. When any bill is being passed in the parliament, the effect of such bills will be studied by various CSOs. For example if the bills passed by the parliament is compromising the quality of our pristine environment, the CSOs such as Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) and  Bhutan Center for Nature Conservation would raise their voices in order to amend the laws which would otherwise hamper the natural environment. CSOs have been playing a vital role in shaping our democracy in various ways. 

In Bhutan, the democracy can be strengthened if we work towards achieving the goals of the wise philosophy “Gross National Happiness”. The ultimate objective of GNH is to bring about peace and prosperity for the citizens of Bhutan and also this is the same objective with which the Democracy was being instituted in Bhutan. If we are working towards achievement of goals of GNH, we are working towards strengthening democracy. All CSOs also work towards achieving the goals of GNH which would ultimately strengthened democracy in our country.

The very first pillar of GNH, Equitable and Sustainable Socio Economic Development is being supported by CSOs like Tarayana Foundation, Bhutan Youth Development Fund, Royal Textile Academy, Lhoden Foundation, etc….. These CSOs help our people to be self-sufficient by providing them with adequate knowledge and skills to produce anything locally that can be traded for living. Such CSOs will question the policy makers to realize that any policies framed must facilitate the living condition of those people. The other CSOs like RSPN and Bhutan Center for Nature Conservation support policies that would protect nature and its product which is the second pillar of GNH, the Conservation of natural environment.

The Royal Textile Academy, Handicrafts Association of Bhutan, Music of Bhutan Research Center, Construction Association of Bhutan, etc…. work towards promoting and preserving our unique tradition and culture. These CSOs would help our policy makers to frame a law which would help to promote and preserve our culture and tradition. The most important keywords for a strong democracy are the accountability and the transparency that must be upheld for all times to come. These components are taken care by all CSOs by acting as a watch dog for every move taken by the government. CSOs such as Youth Media Centre and Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy educate our citizens about the democracy and its component so that the people understand what is good and what is bad for democracy. Such education will help in upholding the accountability and transparency in the democratic world. In a way the fourth pillar of GNH, the good governance is promoted.  

Here are some of the activities of some of the CSOs that could help in strengthening the democracy to next level. During the endorsement of the Domestic Violence Prevention Bill in 2012 by the National Assembly, CSOs such as RENEW played a very vital role in supporting the bill to be passed by the parliament. This is how CSOs represents the minority so that the framed policies would bring lights to the life of the minorities. And whenever government adopts a plan to develop new infrastructures like road and mining site, CSOs such as RSPN and Bhutan Center for Nature Conservation act as a barrier if building of such infrastructure brings negative impact to our environment. Also CSOs such as Ability Bhutan Society and Draktsho Vocational Training for Special Children uphold the human rights and they play vital role in bringing up the minority sections of the society at par with other able citizens.

CSOs in general are very important entity in the democratic world in order to represent the unheard voices of some sections of the society. CSOs act as a bridge between the citizens or society and the government or state. They are the sources of information for the government or the state to frame laws that harm no one in the society but boost the life of all the dwellers irrespectively. CSOs help in strengthening the democracy by acting as a critical group to question any policy that brings or likely to bring negative impacts to the society. They are the force by which the government or the state is made to work towards bringing a balanced regional development. Therefore the CSOs in Bhutan are very important organizations that work with government to achieve the goals of GNH and bring about the peace and prosperity, which would ultimately strengthen the young democracy of Bhutan.