On this page, you will find information on Grantmaking, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and the Partner Vetting System.
The rights of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to free speech, association and assembly often come under pressure or even direct attack as a result of over-reaching laws and regulations. The problem is exacerbated by donors and enforcement agencies that shift risk downstream onto NPOs. For example, counterterrorism clauses or certifications that NPOs must sign as part of the grant agreement and USAID’s problematic Partner Vetting System may be inconsistent with humanitarian principles or privacy standards. In addition, since investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election raised the profile of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), , which requires registration and disclosure by those acting “for or on behalf of” foreign governments and entities, have led to overly broad application of the law to fundamental civil society relationships . Information and analysis in this section calls attention to threats to the rights of nonprofit organizations and efforts to address them.
Featured Resources
Panel Discussion: 20 Years Later – Civil Society and the Global War on Terror
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXrvmEDhMg0 Description: In the twenty years since the 9/11 attacks, the expansive array of policies adopted in the name of waging a Global War on Terror have come with dire consequences for civil society actors
C&SN Joins 300+ Groups Calling on Biden to Expand Opportunities for Afghans Seeking Refuge
August 20, 2021 In a letter to President Biden, C&SN joined 300+ organizations and faith-based groups called on the president to imploring him to "expand opportunities for Afghans to seek refuge in the United States."
C&SN Condemns Israel’s Ramped Up Assault on Palestinian Civil Society
Washington, D.C., July 29, 2021 — In response to the Israeli government’s most recent raid on July 29 on the office of a Palestinian civil society organization, the Defense for Children International (DCI) - Palestine,
Israeli Army Raids, Closes Headquarters of Group Assisting Palestinian Farmers
July 13, 2021 At about 3 a.m. on July 7, 2021 the Israeli army raided the Union of Agricultural Work Committees’ (UAWC) Ramallah office, confiscating computers, files and documents, as well as a video recorder.
The Invisible Impact of Violence
May 19, 2021 C&SN Director Paul Carroll writes for InkStick on the impact of Israel’s assault on Gaza on civil society programs, and on the ways in which these impacts are, in effect, an extension
Report Summary: Target Locked: The Unrelenting Israeli Smear Campaigns to Discredit Human Rights Groups in Israel, Palestine, and the Syrian Golan
April 28, 2021 A new report from the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Target Locked: The Unrelenting Israeli Smear Campaigns to Discredit Human Rights Groups in Israel, Palestine, and the Syrian Golan,