The global governance frameworks around counterterrorism and international development have framed the role, value and impact of civil society as a critical ally but also, more recently, as a threat. At best, donor governments have acknowledged civil society as a key partner in fostering development, peace and security. At worst, some aid recipient governments have sought to limit the role of development and human rights groups only to delivering public services, or they view civil society as an enabler for funding terrorist groups. Yet there are opportunities for civil society actors to use counterterrorism and development policies and processes to their advantage.
Counterterrorism standards
Since 9/11 more than 140 governments have passed counterterrorism legislation, often in response to US pressure, UN Security Council resolutions and the counterterrorism guidelines developed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental policy making body established in 1989 by the G7, and hosted by the OECD, to combat global money laundering and terrorist financing. FATF’s Recommendation 8 singles out the NGO sector as being particularly vulnerable to abuse for financing terrorism and recommends that national governments take steps to prevent this. Governments have used this standard extensively to close the space for cross-border funding of civil society groups through the introduction of restrictive legislation. More recent examples are the 2010 Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in India and the 2009 NGO Policy in Sierra Leone.
These recommendations have also affected the ability of humanitarian, peace building and development groups to receive resources in conflict zones, to devastating effect. Last month, a Thomson Reuters investigation reported that 21 international and local NGOs (including a consortium of 90 Syrian NGOs) found that policies enacted to counter terrorist financing were forcing aid agencies in Syria to avoid communities controlled by extremist groups, making it harder to deliver vital supplies and leaving people vulnerable to radicalization. FATF standards also provide governments with the ability to rhetorically link civil society, terrorism and organized crime, a narrative that delegitimizes and isolates groups already operating on the margins of society because of their work on contested human rights issues.
