{"id":10683,"date":"2024-03-28T15:05:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T19:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charityandsecurity.org\/?p=10683"},"modified":"2024-03-28T15:07:25","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T19:07:25","slug":"csns-year-in-review-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charityandsecurity.org\/news\/csns-year-in-review-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"C&SN\u2019s Year in Review: 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
Throughout 2023, eruptions of conflict and multiple natural disasters in regions already burdened by violence and inequity compounded the turmoil experienced by millions. Yet, because conflict zones and politically unstable regions are often subject to some of the harshest global counter-terrorism (CT) regulations, civil society organizations (CSOs) operating in these regions often face nearly insurmountable challenges in supporting communities that are caught between being both the most difficult to reach and being the most in need – through no fault of their own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is largely because overly broad national security measures create a complex and burdensome operating environment for humanitarian, peacebuilding, and human rights organizations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is where the Charity & Security Network\u2019s (C&SN\u2019s) work begins. Since late 2008, we have protected nonprofits from these measures. Although 2023 saw almost unprecedented challenges for humanitarian responses, peacebuilding processes, and human rights work, in addition to continued shrinking civic space globally, C&SN led and contributed to a number of key achievements that best enabled civil society to thrive. Below are highlights of the work C&SN is most proud of undertaking throughout 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n At the start of 2023, C&SN welcomed <\/span>Katherine Tomaszewski<\/span><\/a>, a human rights lawyer, to serve as the organization\u2019s Legal Analyst. Katherine provides invaluable legal expertise on international human rights and humanitarian law across all of C&SN\u2019s issue areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sanctions remain one of the most notorious impediments nonprofits face in implementing their work. This remains true in part because the use of sanctions continues to be politically expedient – even if not efficacious – and thus the number of sanctions issued by nations, especially the U.S., and multilateral institutions, such as the UN, is growing. Financial institutions (FIs) are often hesitant to execute transactions in sanctioned jurisdictions. This equates to an ongoing uphill climb for non-government organizations (NGOs) NGOs to implement their life-saving programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In April, to help guide nonprofits in understanding the U.S. Department of Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control\u2019s (OFAC) sanctions regimes and general licenses (GLs), C&SN issued <\/span>Understanding OFAC\u2019s 2023 Supplemental Guidance for the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance Under the New & Amended Dec. 2022 General Licenses<\/span><\/i><\/a>. This guidance updates <\/span>OFAC\u2019s 2014 Guidance Related to the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance by Not-for-Profit Non-Governmental Organizations<\/span><\/i><\/a>, on which C&SN also <\/span>provided analysis<\/span><\/a>. Throughout the walkthrough C&SN issued, we outline what nonprofits need to know, highlight what activities are permitted, provide analysis on what activities and transactions are authorized under the new and amended baseline GLs the Treasury Department issued in Dec. 2022, and explored what needs to be done in the future to better protect civil society.<\/span><\/p>\n In June, C&SN prepared a <\/span>summary and analysis<\/span><\/a> of the four new Sudan GLs that OFAC issued in response to the conflict in the country, following President Biden\u2019s Executive Order (EO) 14098 in May. These GLs authorize certain activities and transactions in Sudan, including <\/span>General License 2<\/span><\/a> (GL 2), which authorizes NGO-related activities, such as providing humanitarian aid and peacebuilding programs.<\/span><\/p>\n In February, OFAC issued <\/span>General License 23<\/span><\/a> (GL 23), to authorize transactions in support of aid and relief to Syria in the wake of the deadly earthquake. Although GL 23 helped facilitate aid to Syria, in part due to its strong language surrounding authorizations for FIs, and providing extra reassurances to nonprofits about what activities are permitted under the Syrian Sanctions Regulations (SySR), GL 23 included a sunset clause to end on Aug. 8.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n GL 23 was only active for a short six-month time period despite experts stating that rebuilding in Syria could <\/span>take a generation<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In July, Katherine Tomaszewski, C&SN\u2019s legal analyst attended a regional meeting and working dialogue in Rome focused on \u201c<\/span>Exploring Positive Measures for a Sustainable Solution in Syria<\/span><\/a>\u201d. Amongst other topics, the convening addressed the impact of sanctions on Syria and the resulting banking and funding issues that stem from these policies, in addition to identifying practical solutions to keep the Syria humanitarian crisis a priority for policymakers in the U.S. and EU. Solutions included the extension of GL 23 and engagement at this regional meeting <\/span>informed C&SN\u2019s advocacy<\/span><\/a> around the GL\u2019s extension.<\/span><\/p>\n In parallel, throughout July, C&SN conducted extensive advocacy to U.S. government (USG) stakeholders, and engaged key financial sector actors and civil society partners, to advocate for the continuation of GL 23. Using evidence from these engagements and convenings, C&SN <\/span>laid out<\/span><\/a> the positive impacts of GL 23, the reasons for these impacts, and the importance of the licenses\u2019 extension. In early August, C&SN sent a <\/span>letter<\/span><\/a> to the honorable Brian Nelson, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department, urging OFAC to extend the authorization.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, the license was not extended, and Treasury instead released an<\/span> OFAC Compliance Communiqu\u00e9: Guidance for the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance to Syria<\/span><\/i><\/a> and an amended <\/span>Syria Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ 937)<\/span><\/i><\/a>. These underscored existing sanctions exemptions for nonprofit activity in Syria. C&SN responded by <\/span>providing a resource<\/span><\/a> that highlighted how humanitarian organizations and FIs can leverage language in the Compliance Communiqu\u00e9, FAQ 937, and <\/span>existing Syria GLs<\/span><\/a> to continue making transactions to the country and unpacking how to navigate the complex SySR.<\/span><\/p>\n In May, C&SN\u2019s Associate Director, Policy & Advocacy, Ashleigh Subramanian-Montgomery, participated in the \u201c<\/span>A New Code of Conduct: Taking Sanctions Reform Further to Advance Humanitarianism<\/span><\/a>\u201d conference at Wilton Park. A code of conduct, or guiding principles, and a checklist with minimum prerequisites for decision-makers imposing sanctions and for sanctions monitoring and review, was analyzed and discussed throughout the conference, culminating in an <\/span>outcome report<\/span><\/a>. This conference built on the <\/span>2022 Wilton Park Sanctions conference<\/span><\/a>, \u201cSanctions, Incentives, and Human Security: Economic Statecraft and Humanitarian Crises\u201d, which C&SN also participated in and which culminated, in a similar fashion, with an <\/span>outcome report<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n One of the core challenges NPOs face while working in conflict zones and sanctioned areas, is that existing counter-terrorism measures (CTMs) create a chilling effect on FIs, who may de-risk their NPO clients working in these regions to avoid violating sanctions and overly burdensome anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML\/CFT) measures. This has been a <\/span>key area of advocacy<\/span><\/a> for C&SN for years, and 2023 yielded further progress in protecting and advocating for the rights of financial access of frontline NPOs.<\/span><\/p>\n Alongside our partner the <\/span>Human Security Collective<\/span><\/a> (HSC), C&SN has co-led the <\/span>Global NPO Coalition on FATF<\/span><\/a> (FATF Coalition) since 2014 (with a short break in 2022). The Coalition advocates for measures of the <\/span>Financial Action Task Force<\/span><\/a> (FATF), particularly Recommendation 8 (R.8), to be truly risk-based and not cause the <\/span>undue burdens and restrictions on NPO operations<\/span><\/a> that the implementation of CFT measures so often creates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In May, C&SN, in collaboration with the FATF Coalition, attended the <\/span>Private Sector Consultative Forum<\/span><\/a> (PSCF) at the headquarters of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna. The PSCF serves as FATF\u2019s annual forum that convenes government, private sector, and FATF stakeholders to discuss ways to thwart and prevent terrorist financing (TF) and money laundering (ML). At this event, the FATF Coalition led a panel on \u201c<\/span>TF Abuse, NPOs and De-risking: Discussion on ensuring financial services for legitimate NPOs and the FATF\u2019s ongoing work on updating its Best Practices Paper<\/span><\/a>\u201d, which was moderated by the former vice president of FATF. The FATF Coalition also organized a side event in which NPO representatives from across the globe showcased effective implementation of the \u201crisk-based approach\u201d (RBA) at country level, and presented solutions to financial access challenges that NPOs currently face. The side event was co-moderated by C&SN and HSC.<\/span><\/p>\n This year, the FATF undertook public consultations on the <\/span>revisions to R.8 and its Interpretive Note<\/span><\/a> (INR), and to the accompanying<\/span> Best Practices Paper<\/span><\/a> (BPP) on R.8 implementation, to take steps to address how <\/span>over-application of R.8 negatively impacts NPOs<\/span><\/a>. In August, the Coalition worked collaboratively to <\/span>provide input<\/span><\/a> on much-needed changes to <\/span>R.8 \/ INR<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>BPP<\/span><\/a>. Great care was taken to provide input while also advocating for FATF changes at a fundamental methodological and systemic level, recognizing that these revisions are a necessary but not wholly sufficient way to address the unintended consequences R.8 has had on NPOs. C&SN contributed extensive input to the <\/span>FATF Coalition submission<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, C&SN <\/span>submitted organizational input<\/span><\/a> on revisions to R.8 \/ INR, which were both submitted to FATF and shared with interlocutors at Treasury. FATF <\/span>approved of the revisions<\/span><\/a> to R.8 \/ INR and the Best Practices Paper at their Plenary in October, and the revisions to both <\/span>R.8 \/ INR<\/span><\/a> and to the <\/span>Best Practices Paper<\/span><\/a> were officially released in November.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In September, C&SN attended the \u201c<\/span>Risk and Consequence: The Future of FATF Recommendation 8 for Financial Integrity and for Civil Society<\/span><\/a>\u201d global conference in Bonn, which was co-organized by the FATF Coalition. The conference unpacked how to maintain compliance with FATF regulations without diminishing capacity for civic space, and concluded with forward-looking panels and discussions on what <\/span>the future holds for R.8 and civil society actors<\/span><\/a>. C&SN moderated the \u201cUpdate on recent studies pertaining to Recommendation 8 and the larger questions around its implementation\u201d research panel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Supporting partner efforts on addressing the impacts of CFT measures on civil society, C&SN provided extensive input into the Amnesty International (AI) report, <\/span>Weaponizing Counterterrorism: India\u2019s exploitation of terrorism financing assessments to target the civil society<\/span><\/i><\/a>, published in September. Additionally, in early November, C&SN partnered with Amnesty and Human Rights Watch (HRW) to release a <\/span>statement urging FATF<\/span><\/a> to call on the Indian government to stop prosecuting, intimidating, and harassing human rights defenders, activists, and NPOs in the country on the pretext of countering terrorist financing. Both Amnesty\u2019s report and the joint statement were published ahead of <\/span>FATF\u2019s 4th Mutual Evaluation (ME) assessment of India<\/span><\/a>, which kicked off later in November.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In June, C&SN attended a workshop in the Netherlands on \u201c<\/span>The Role of New Technologies in Anti-money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT)<\/span><\/a>\u201d. It provided training to CSOs on the crossover of CT and CFT, and technology, covering specific topics such as CT and surveillance, CT and platform content moderation, CFT and financial access, CT and emergency powers, and CT in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation. The convening fostered diverse perspectives on the use of technology in AML\/CFT measures across all parts of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n In December, C&SN provided <\/span>written input<\/span><\/a> to Treasury outlining key asks from the NGO community ahead of Treasury publishing their 2024 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment (NTFRA). The input requested that Treasury take into consideration three main points:<\/span><\/p>\n Since 2018, C&SN has tracked and countered troubling lawfare tactics used by politically motivated actors seeking to shut down or otherwise impede and undermine civil society, and has worked to support and protect nonprofits from these attacks. This work continued throughout 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In February, C&SN <\/span>raised awareness<\/span><\/a> around the lawfare attacks that led to the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ), a U.S.-based activist network that provides fiscal sponsorship and fundraising services for a global alliance of peace and justice organizations, including those in Palestine, to be deplatformed, due to their support of the Palestinian NGO Samidoun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In May, C&SN hosted a roundtable with civil society leaders and attorneys whose organizations have been the targets of lawfare attacks designed to impede their programs. The purpose of the roundtable was to educate and inform participants about the nature of politically motivated attacks and litigation and how to best prepare and defend against lawfare attacks on civil society. <\/span>The aim of these suits is often to impose time-intensive labor and financial burdens on CSOs whose initiatives are deemed a threat to lawfare groups\u2019 political agendas. <\/span>Guest speakers spoke about their experience defending recent politically motivated and baseless cases brought against their organizations under the <\/span>False Claims Act (FCA) and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), walking participants through what it was like defending the case, covering key aspects of getting the cases dismissed, and sharing what was important to their donors and supporters throughout the litigation. The roundtable also covered future implications for lawfare, including monitoring cases that may not implicate civil society at first glance, but that could have sweeping consequences for humanitarian and peacebuilding work, such as the <\/span>Twitter v. Taamneh<\/span><\/i> Supreme Court Case. The roundtable was held under <\/span>Chatham House Rule<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n See more on C&SN\u2019s involvement in this case under the “Legal Analysis” section below.<\/span><\/p>\n The U.S. prohibition on material support to terrorism statutes are in dire need of an update; absent this, they continue to impede the important work of peacebuilding and humanitarian assistance, and are routinely weaponized by lawfare and politically motivated groups, and those looking to shutter civic space and dissenting civil society voices and organizations. In 2023, C&SN continued our work to make reforms to these statutes, and to protect NGOs whose work is constricted by them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In May, C&SN, in partnership with the <\/span>Alliance for Peacebuilding<\/span><\/a> (AfP), and the <\/span>International Civil Society Action Network<\/span><\/a> (ICAN), jointly presented at <\/span>PeaceCon 2023<\/span><\/a> a session titled \u201c<\/span>The Tea on the Material Support Ban to Terrorist Organizations: It Undermines Peacebuilding \u2013 Time for a New Approach to Prevent Conflict and Address Violent Extremism<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Panelists included civil society actors from Afghanistan, Kenya, and Syria. C&SN provided a <\/span>historical overview<\/span><\/a> of the U.S. material support statute, while partner CSOs raised the problems it poses for peacebuilders looking to engage all sides of a conflict – with particular attention paid to the negative impacts on women peacebuilders and women-led peacebuilding organizations – and pathways for addressing these issues at a policy and legislative level.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In November, C&SN <\/span>urged<\/span><\/a> President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken to ignore calls and proposed legislation in Congress to re-designate the Houthis in Yemen as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), as this would impede any hopes of inclusive peace talks and effectively shut down the humanitarian aid programs underway there. It is these programs, run by a variety of NGOs, that are serving as the last line of prevention to avoid such catastrophes.<\/span><\/p>\n C&SN continued to closely monitor U.S. legislation with implications under the U.S. material support law and to educate policymakers on how broad material support language can impede humanitarian and peacebuilding operations for innocent civilians living in terrorist-controlled areas. C&SN also continued to advocate for legislative reform to the outdated material support laws for humanitarian, peacebuilding, and non-commercial development actors, that would more closely harmonize with the new and amended baseline GLs issued by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Find more on our material support work under the \u201cPalestinian Civil Society Under Attack\u201d section below.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This year, C&SN added new cases to its extensive list of <\/span>litigation summaries<\/span><\/a>, which cover key cases – often reaching the Supreme Court – dealing with national security laws that influence the operations of NGOs.<\/span><\/p>\n In February, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) <\/span>heard oral arguments<\/span><\/a> on <\/span>C&SN Welcomes New Legal Analyst<\/b><\/h2>\n
Resources, Clarity, & Advocacy on Sanctions\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
Guidance on OFAC Regulations<\/b><\/h3>\n
Advocating for Continued Humanitarian Safeguards in Syria<\/b><\/h3>\n
Wilton Park Sanctions Conference\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
Financial Access\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
Advocacy to the FATF<\/b><\/h3>\n
New Frontiers in AML\/CFT\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
The U.S.\u2019 Upcoming NTFRA\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n
Lawfare<\/b><\/h2>\n
Deplatforming<\/b><\/h3>\n
C&SN Roundtable: FCA and ATA Litigation and the Implications for Civil Society<\/b><\/h3>\n
Material Support<\/b><\/h2>\n
PeaceCon 2023 Presentation: Impacts of Material Support on Peacebuilding<\/b><\/h3>\n
Material Support in Legislation<\/b><\/h3>\n
Legal Analysis<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ATA: Twitter v. Taamneh<\/strong><\/h3>\n