On Dec. 20, 2023, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a lawsuit against the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department, claiming that OFAC surpassed its statutory and regulatory authority and violated the First Amendment when it prohibited the Foundation for Global Political Exchange from including five prominent Lebanese political figures as speakers at a convening in Beirut, Lebanon in January, 2023. Three speakers had been designated under a U.S. sanctions regime, and the two others were members of a designated organization. The Knight Institute argues that OFAC’s prohibition constitutes “unlawful suppression of political speech.”
According to the complaint, OFAC reasoned that including these individuals as speakers would violate the agency’s regulations because it would provide them with “a platform for them to speak” and, therefore, a “service.” Therefore, it was determined that if the Foundation included any of the five individuals as speakers, they would risk civil or criminal repercussions.
According to its website, the Foundation for Global Political Exchange “promote[s] professional and academic enrichment through a variety of small group, direct engagement conferences in Western Asia and North Africa,” known as “Exchanges.” The Foundation has hosted 50 different “Exchanges” in the region, with over 1,500 attendees from 51 countries. Nicholas Noe, the director and co-founder of the Foundation for Global Political Exchange, stated that the Foundation invited the five Lebanese political figures to the January 2023 Exchange in Beirut “because they are vital to understanding Lebanon’s complicated political landscape and its role in global affairs.”
OFAC’s determination to prohibit the inclusion of these speakers could have broad implications for public discourse under the First Amendment. As the Knight Institute notes in its press release, under OFAC’s interpretation, “major media organizations would also be prohibited from publishing interviews with influential figures who are designated under U.S. sanctions law—which media organizations currently do routinely, particularly in their coverage of conflict regions.” In the same press release, Anna Diakun, one of the lawyers on the case and a staff attorney at the Knight Institute, is quoted stating, “[t]he government can’t be allowed to dictate which voices Americans are permitted to hear from on issues of global politics.”
The Charity & Security Network is monitoring the developments in this case closely. The decisions and conclusions that result could significantly impact NGOs and the ability to associate with individuals or groups essential to humanitarian, peacebuilding, and human rights work.