South Sudan's parliament is set to discuss the country’s NGO bill Monday at a meeing where 50 members nominated by the SPLM-In Opposition are expected to sit for the first time.

Edmund Yakani, executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, said the bill in its current form is restrictive on the work of humanitarian organizations.

He warned parliamentarians against passing a bill which restricts governance, development, and humanitarian NGOs, saying it could have a huge negative implication on communities that benefit from NGO services.

Yakani said they have seen in Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda how NGO bills have been used to restrict civil society, and South Sudan as a young nation should instead start on a different footing to pass a more democratic NGO bill that gives space for activists to work freely.

CEPO urged the government to put measures to control briefcase NGOs who do not deliver to the civil population, but added that this idea should not be used to subject legitimate organizations to restrictions.