Mutual trust, dialogue needed to prevent terrorist abuse of non-profit organizations, say participants of workshop in Bratislava

BRATISLAVA, 28 October 2014 - Government authorities and non-profit organizations need to engage in regular dialogue on the basis of mutual trust to ensure non-profit organizations are not abused by terrorists or operate as fronts for the financing of terrorism, said participants of a three-day regional workshop which opened today in the Slovak capital.

The workshop brings together representatives of government authorities responsible for regulation and oversight of non-profit organizations, such as policy-makers, charity regulators, law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence units as well as representatives of non-profit organizations.

The workshop discusses the protection of non-profit organizations in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Participants from these countries are taking part in the discussions, being accompanied by many more experts from other countries and international entities.

The focus will be on the practices and possible capacity-building needs of OSCE participating States in meeting their international commitments on combating the financing of terrorism while upholding the freedom of association.

Participants exchanged views about non-profit organizations that make up the “charitable sector” acknowledging that while they are both vital in providing public services and addressing some of the conditions conducive to terrorism, they can also be abused both unwittingly and knowingly for the financing of terrorism.     

The challenge for States is how to implement legislation and policies to combat terrorism without infringing on the freedom of association and the right of non-profit organizations to access funding and carry out activities.

“This workshop is not about telling participants what they should or not should do, but about how to raise the bar of standards and forging national and international co-operation for better and more effective approaches in countering the financing of terrorism,” said Thomas Wuchte, OSCE Head on Anti-terrorism Issues.

The event is organized by the OSCE and the Global Centre on Cooperative Security in consultation with the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.

It aims to facilitate inter-agency and international communication and co-operation and empower non-profit organizations to guard against being used for terrorist financing.