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Commission asked to take more proactive approach to terrorism

Fundraising | Gemma Ware | 1 Jul 2007

A government review of the safeguards in place to protect charities from funding terrorist activity has recommended the Charity Commission take a more proactive approach to investigating suspected or potential links between charities and terrorism.

A long-awaited joint consultation document published at the start of May by the Home Office and HM Treasury said that the Charity Commission should “develop its investigative capacity” and develop closer links with counter-terrorism agencies to identify where the charity sector could be financing terrorism.

Although the review said that actual instances of terrorist abuse were “very rare”, it cited the financial trail followed after the 7 July London bombings in 2005, which investigators found had direct or indirect links to eight different charities. Six other charities have also been linked to the networks suspected of being behind two further foiled terrorism attacks.

The consultation paper recommended charities should take a ‘risk-based approach’ approach to the issue and suggested that a ‘know your beneficiary’ principle would help stop funding reaching terrorist organisations. “All those involved in the charitable sector should commit themselves to ensuring that charities do not provide a transmission belt for funds to terrorist networks,” it said.

The review found that there is no “routine sharing of information” on the risk of financing terrorism between the government and the charity sector. It suggested that Commission investigators take a more proactive approach to investigating suspect cases and more training should be given to caseworkers.

In March the Treasury committed an extra £1m of funding during 2007-08 to increase the Commission’s capacity for tackling terrorist links to charity and promote public trust and confidence in charities.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), which worked with the Government to tone down what the umbrella body had called a “heavy-handed and draconian approach” to charities and terrorism, said there was still a danger to public trust and confidence in charities if the risk of terrorist abuse was overstated. Liz Atkins, director of public policy at NCVO, said: “By placing a veil of suspicion over all charities, the Government is in danger of damaging the trusted reputation of the voluntary sector and making people less likely to donate to good causes.”

Martin Hearson, sector advocacy officer at British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND), said that although the content of the review was “fairly reasonable”, he was concerned that it would “create a culture of suspicion of charities” that would impact on public opinion and could place a high administrative burden on charities aligned to religious movements. Hearson added ethnic minority charities were the biggest growing area of membership for BOND. “I think it will be sad if part of the impact of this is that it restricts their activities and creates an area of suspicion around their work.”

The government is inviting responses to the consultation by 2 August 2007 before it reaches a decision on how to implement the recommendations of the review.

For more on how terrorism is impacting on fundraising, visit www.professionalfundraising.co.uk/features/89

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