Material Support

Material Support Overview

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Date: 
January 26, 2012

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Famine in Horn of Africa

Humanitarian Law Project (HLP) case

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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:

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."

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.  

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.

Sen. Leahy to DOJ: Issue Guidance to Protect Humanitarian Activities

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Date: 
September 24, 2011

Sen.  Leahy (D-VT) issued a statement on Sept. 21 calling for reforms to the material support law because it “imposes unintended constraints on legitimate humanitarian assistance” in places like Somalia, and undermines diplomacy and peace building efforts around the world. He asks the Attorney General to issue guidelines that “remove the uncertainty over the scope of the material support law” and establish a process by which humanitarian groups may seek exemptions.

“We need greater clarity in the law so that, in the future, Government officials and reputable humanitarian relief agencies need not delay the delivery of desperately needed aid while they scramble for a license,” Leahy said.

ISPU Policy Brief: Selective Enforcement of Material Support Laws Against Muslim Charities

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Date: 
September 15, 2011

As part of its Post9/11 series, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) published an issue brief, Countering Religion or Terrorism: Selective Enforcement of Material Support Laws Against Muslim Charities, that describes ways in which the prohibition on material support has been used to disproportionately impact Muslim charities and their donors and beneficiaries.

Sen. Leahy Letter to AG Holder and Sec. State Clinton: Concerns About Famine Relief, Peacebuilding and the Material Support Law

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Date: 
August 5, 2011

On Aug. 3, 2011 Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder expressing "deep concern that the current interpretation of the law governing material support for terrorism is prohibiting organizations from delivering essential humanitarian relief in the Horn of Africa." The letter also expressed concern that peacebuilding groups "are unduly constricted" in their efforts. The letter urges Holder and Clinton to facilitate a dialog between the administration and affected organization to produce "a set of guidelines that remove the uncertainty with the scope of the material support law, and the establishment of a process by which actors may seek exemptions."

U.S. Announces New Policy to Allow Famine Aid in Somalia

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Date: 
August 5, 2011

On Aug. 2, the State Department announced that U.S. humanitarian groups that provide famine aid to civilians living in areas of Somalia controlled by al-Shabab, will not be prosecuted for violating U.S. law if they act in good faith to reach victims of the famine.  Read more….

Sen. Patrick Leahy’s Aug. 3 press release regarding humanitarian relief in Somalia:

“The current law is so broad as to be unworkable.  Aid workers trying to provide relief to starving Somalis fear they could be prosecuted if some of it were to end up in the hands of al-Shabab…The Secretary of State has the power to grant exemptions where the purpose is not to engage in terrorist activity.  She should use that authority immediately to ensure aid can reach as many Somalis as possible.”

State Dept. Announces New Policy to Allow Famine Aid in Somalia, Treasury Releases Limited Guidance

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Date: 
August 4, 2011

On Aug. 2, 2011 the U.S. Department of State held a press briefing where it announced that U.S. aid groups that provide famine aid in areas of Somalia controlled by al-Shabaab, a group on the U.S. terrorist list, will not be prosecuted for violating the U.S. law prohibiting material support of terrorism if they act in good faith to reach victims of the famine. No details on how current rules would change were available. On Aug. 4, 2011 the Department of Treasury released a Frequently Asked Questions document that did little to clarify the new policy, but states that only U.S. government agencies and their grantees benefit from it. The Department of Justice, which oversees criminal prosecutions, has been notably silent.

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