Charities and their work can provide important protection against extremism and terrorism, according to the UK Charity Commission’s annual report on Tackling Abuse and Mismanagement.
“Civil society, of which charities are a key part, is also an important place for the free exchange of views and debate which can inhibit propagandists of extremism and terrorism,” the report states. It goes on to explain that charities can be at risk for abuse by terrorist organizations, and the level of risk facing individual charities depends upon “the nature of their work and on where and how in the world they operate.”
The 2014-15 report outlines statistics on the Charity Commission’s site visits and/or monitoring cases of charities during the year, as well as serious incidents reports and investigations. While the Commission expects trustees of charities to be vigilant to ensure that their charity’s facilities, assets, staff, volunteers and other resources cannot be used for activities that may, or appear to, support or condone terrorist or extremist activities, it notes that the normal steps charities take “to ensure good governance and strong financial management will help protect [them] against all kinds of abuse, including this.”
Read the full report here.