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Latest Blog Entries

How Misguided Counterterrorism Strategies Lead to Misguided Programs
By John Filson, Program Manager, 3P Human Security
December 20, 2011
Paul Okumo Reports from the 4th High Level Conference on Aid Effectiveness
Paul Okumu, Director for Partnership SISA, Centre for Corporate Partnership and Head of Secretariat-Africa CSO Platform on Principled Partnership (ACP), Nairobi Kenya
December 1, 2011
The Good Wife TV Episode Highlights Restrictions on Lawyers Representing Groups on Terrorist List
Morton Sklar, Co-Counsel for PJAK and Legal Consultant to "The Good Wife" TV Series
November 10, 2011
Hunger Without Borders and Discriminatory Aid Policies
Kay Guinane
October 17, 2011
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Featured Items

Report: Inaction and Delayed Response to Famine Cost Thousands of Lives
More than 13 million people are still affected by the crisis in the Horn of Africa. Despite early warning signs many months in advance, the international response has been insufficient, says a new joint report from Oxfam and Save the Children.
 
A Dangerous Delay says the scale of death and suffering, and the financial cost, could have been reduced if warnings from 2010 had triggered an earlier, more substantial response. The report calls on governments, donors, the UN and NGOs to adopt different strategies to future emergencies by managing the risks, not the crisis.  This means orchestrating meaningful action on information learned through early warning systems and tackling the root causes of vulnerability.  Read more…
U.S. Muslim Charities and The War on Terror: A Decade in Review
In December 2011, the Charity & Security Network released U.S. Muslim Charities and the War on Terror: A Decade in Review.  It began as an update to a March 2006 report summarizing action by the U.S. government to shut down American Muslim charities since 2006.
 
But as we researched the report we realized that there is a lot more to the story than the closing of seven American Muslim charities. In numerous instances, the U.S. government has infringed on First Amendment right to free speech and assembly as well as freedom of religion. But the good news is that American Muslim nonprofits have stepped up to the plate to meet these challenges, and have evolved to continue providing humanitarian aid in the U.S. and abroad, while working to prevent violent extremism. Read more...
Report: Terrorist Lists Impede Peace Process

A November 2011 report from Berghof Conflict Research finds “terror blacklists” often interfere or conflict with efforts to find a peaceful solution to armed conflict. The inconsistent application of terrorist designations by the government blur the distinction between legal and unlawful political activism and encourages state repression of unarmed dissidents. Anti-terrorist policies also shrink the space for international peace facilitation by criminalizing civil society mediation and negotiation efforts.

Anti-Terror Legislation: Impediments to Conflict Transformation offers a range of recommendations to reform the terrorist listing process, including the development of more transparent listing regimes and carving out protected space for peacebuilders to do their craft without fear of prosecution.
Unintended Roadblocks: How U.S. Anti-terror Laws Make It Harder to Save Lives

Over the last decade, U.S. counterterrorism measures have greatly restricted the work of humanitarian organizations working overseas. These groups are repeatedly subject to vaguely defined laws and a growing list of constantly changing vetting requirements. Equally concerning, many of the measures now being developed, including USAID’s Partner Vetting System (PVS), are not effective in combating terrorism.

A November 2011 report from the American Center for Progress presents much of the legal framework and presents a better approach that relies on testes methods and the expereicne of the U.S. nonprofit sector. Report highlights here…
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