The U.S. counterterrorism framework impedes the work of legitimate nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in two ways: first, it prohibits anyone from engaging in a wide range of broadly defined activities that involve listed terrorist organizations, regardless of the purpose or intent behind such engagement. Violating “material support” laws can result in criminal prosecution, extensive jail time, and fines.
Second, it allows the government to list U.S. charities as supporters of designated terrorist organizations and thereby seize their assets, including their donations, without the benefit of basic due process rights such as notification or adequate opportunity to challenge the listing.
Read more about this issue in our Background section.
Featured Resources
C&SN Speaks at High-Level Civil Society Event at the United Nations
On Mar. 9, 2023, the Global Center on Cooperative Security hosted the event, “Civil Society Reflections on the 2023 Report of the Secretary-General on Activities of the United Nations System in Implementing the United Nations
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Anti-Terrorism Act Case Against Twitter: Implications for Civil Society Could Be Significant
By Katherine Tomaszewski Background & ATA Overview On Feb. 22, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments on Twitter v. Taamneh. The case will determine whether Twitter can be held
C&SN Op-Ed: The Global War on Terror Doubles as a War on Peacebuilding – Inkstick
C&SN's Associate Director for Policy and Advocacy Ashleigh Subramanian-Montgomery reflects on the impacts of the Global War on Terror on peacebuilding and humanitarian work, and calls on policymakers to muster the political courage to pursue
C&SN Submits Comments for UN Report on Counterterrorism and Peacebuilding
In response to a call for inputs from Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, for a "Report on the
Sanctions Review Fails to Review Sanctions: Congress Should Step In – Just Security
November 2, 2021 C&SN Director Paul Carroll and Megan Corrado of the Alliance for Peacebuilding offer their analysis on the Biden administration's sanctions policy review in an op-ed for Just Security. Read the full article
Report Details Rise of ‘Lawfare’ to Suppress Civil Society Groups – Philanthropy News Digest
October 1, 2021 Philanthropy News Digest offers an overview of a recent Charity & Security Network report, The Alarming Rise of Lawfare to Suppress Civil Society: The Case of Palestine and Israel, and quotes Kay Guinane,