A new article on the Open Democracy media platform highlights the important advocacy work of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF and discusses how nonprofits can harness the Coalition’s recent successes to open space for civil society around counterterrorism financing laws and policies. The Charity & Security Network co-chairs the Global Coalition.
The article coincides with the opening of a one-week public consultationof FATF’s Recommendation 8 and the Interpretive Note. The piece notes that FATF was relatively unknown until the Coalition began to engage the global standard-setting organization four years ago. Since then, it has “mobilized support from 123 organizations in 46 countries, representing a diverse range of non-profits,” the article states. As a result, “FATF has revised its guidance to remind governments that civil society organizations are not all vulnerable to exploitations, and that governments should assess actual risks in partnership with civil society, rather than fast-tracking restrictive one-size-fits-all laws.”
The Coalition has also spoken out on the problem of FATF recommendations being used “to stifly the very actors who are most likely to challenge extremist ideologies within communities,” the article notes. Civil society groups must now use these successes to push back against counter-terrorism finance laws that restrict the work of nonprofits, and inhibit human righs and civil liberties. The article cites specific examples of restrictive laws in places like India and Sierra Leone.
For the Charity & Security Network, the next step will be to bring U.S. law in line with the newer FATF language on using a risk-based approach and being careful not to restrict freedoms of association and assembly.
To learn more about our advocacy on this issue, visit our FATF page.