NGOs more protected

FATF revises anti-terrorism recommendation used to restrict work and financing of organizations

FATF (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) has revised the wording of its recommendation number 8, which required a crackdown on NGOs under the justification of preventing them from being misused for the financing of terrorism.

The previous version of the recommendation was used by many countries to pass laws restricting the financing of non-profit organizations and limiting the scope and effectiveness of their work, which is why it was the target of frequent criticisms by civil society. In January, 123 organizations from 46 countries – among them Conectas – published a joint statement calling for a revision of the text.

The new wording is a response to that pressure. Now, FATF states that “countries should review the adequacy of laws and regulations that relate to non-profit organizations which the country has identified as being vulnerable to terrorist financing abuse. Countries should apply focused and proportionate measures, in line with the risk-based approach, to such non-profit organizations to protect them from terrorist financing abuse”.

The changes to recommendation 8 were made at the FATF meeting held in the South Korean city of Busan from June 22-24.