Government's line on terrorism and charities criticised

Finance | 1 Feb 2007

The government's "heavy-handed and draconian approach" to charities and terrorism could be fuelling rather than eliminating the terrorist threat, according to a new report written by NCVO policy staff and backed by a broad coalition of voluntary sector stakeholders.

Security and civil society - the impact of counter-terrorism measures on civil society organisations issues a stark warning about recent government policies and rhetoric around the financing of terrorist activities via charities. It says such policies could be creating mistrust amongst ethnic minority groups and prompting legitimate international relief charities to withdraw services in countries where proscribed terrorist groups operate, lest they break the law.

The report was produced in a bid to provide a counterweight to the forthcoming Home Office/Treasury review of the subject, a review that is expected to recommend handing government even greater powers to clamp down on charities suspected of terrorist abuse.

It warns that the number of charities that have been investigated for terrorist links, let alone found guilty, is 'minute'.

It also claims that existing regulation is sufficient to deal with the threat, and that the Charity Commission's independence from government must be fiercely protected in order to shore up confidence in its ability to take a proportionate and impartial response.

The report pinpoints several problems with the government's 'draconian' approach to date, not least the fact that its unilateral policy-making has been in breach of the Compact.

The report's authors also suggest that certain existing laws leave some international relief charities with the option of either doing their work and breaking the law, or withdrawing services from their beneficiaries. A legal opinion provided by lawyers from Doughty Street Chambers, states: "The existing terrorist financing laws are breathtakingly broad. They are motiveblind and on the face of it appear to criminalise any humanitarian work in certain areas of the world." See the full report at www.ncvo-vol.org.uk

Directory: Charity Commission | National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)

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