Material Support

Material Support Overview

in
Date: 
January 26, 2012

Resources

Famine in Horn of Africa

Humanitarian Law Project (HLP) case

Headlines 

Reports

Blog

Material Support and the Need for NGO Access to Civilians in Need

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Date: 
July 7, 2010

Laws that prohibit "material support" to listed terrorist organizations only exempt religious materials and medicine. That means medical services or non-medicinal necessities such as clean water are prohibited, as are tents, blankets, food and more. In other words, it is legal to give someone a pill, but illegal to provide clean water for swallowing it. There is no justification for this ongoing blockade of humanitarian aid.  

Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project: Addressing the Impact of Material Support Laws on Peacebuilding Programs

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Date: 
June 21, 2010

On June 21, 2010, a divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal statute that bans support to designated terrorist organizations, even when that support involves using international law to resolve disputes through nonviolent means. In Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (HLP), the court ruled 6-3 that U.S. organizations and citizens teaching nonviolent methods of conflict resolution toward sanctioned terrorist groups could face criminal charges. David Cole, an attorney representing HLP and others in the case said, “We are deeply disappointed. The Supreme Court has ruled that human rights advocates, providing training and assistance in the nonviolent resolution of disputes, can be prosecuted as terrorists."

Charity and Security Network Principles to Guide New Policies

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The following ten principles should guide the U.S. government's approach to fixing national security rules and policies that create problems for legitimate charities, development programs, grantmakers, peacebuilding efforts, human rights advocacy and faith-based organizations:

Department of State’s Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)

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Date: 
January 26, 2012

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State. As of September 2011:

Criminalizing Humanitarian Relief: Are US Material Support for Terrorism Laws Compatible with International Humanitarian Law?

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Date: 
February 28, 2011

This law review article explains U.S. material support law, the June 2010 Supreme Court decision upholding it and its interaction with the U.S. international obligations under the Geneva Conventions and human rights law.  It was written by Georgetown University Law Center student Justin Fraterman and published in January 2011.

Harvard's HPCR: Humanitarian Action Under Scrutiny, Criminalizing Humanitarian Engagement

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Date: 
February 28, 2011

The Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR) published a Working Paper, Humanitarian Action under Scrutiny: Criminalizing Humanitarian Engagement in February 2011. It outlines the international legal framework that supports humanitarian engagement in conflict zones, finding that counterterrorism laws at the UN and in major countries like the U.S. may significantly restrict humanitarian engagement by limiting interactions between aid groups and non-state armed groups on terrorist lists.

The President Must Address Life and Death Policy Matters in Somalia

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Date: 
August 1, 2011
Author: 
Suraj K. Sazawal

There are conflicting reports coming out of southern Somalia about al-Shabab lifting its ban on outside aid to millions of civilians trapped in its territory.

Legal Roadblocks for U.S. Famine Relief to Somalia Creating Humanitarian Crisis

in
Date: 
January 27, 2010

The unfolding crisis in Somalia illustrates a common dilemma U.S. nonprofits face when trying to conduct humanitarian operations in territory controlled by an organization listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). The humanitarian imperative to provide urgently needed food to nearly one million people in an area controlled by al-Shabab, a listed SDGT, conflicts with the “strict liability” standard against supporting terrorists that even has State Department employees fearing sanctions from Treasury. Now the United States government (USG) response to the famine in Somalia is forcing it to confront the same onerous hurdles current national security laws create for nonprofits.    

Leahy to DOJ: Protect Humanitarian and Peacebuilding Activities

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Date: 
October 3, 2011

On Sept. 21, 2011, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) urged the Department of Justice to “remove the uncertainty” surrounding the material support statute that restricts U.S. groups from conducting peacebuilding activities and responding to emergencies like the famine in southern Somalia. In a statement made before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, he said the scope of the law had become too broad over the past decade and imposes “unintended constraints on legitimate humanitarian assistance efforts.” Leahy asked the Attorney General to create effective procedures for U.S. peace and aid groups seeking licenses and exemptions. Other speakers at the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism hearing titled, Countering Terrorist Financing, discussed the ongoing efforts of the anti-terror financing regime.