U.S. and Saudi Arabia to Co-Chair New Terrorist Financing Targeting Center
On May 21, 2017, the United States of America (“U.S.”) and Saudi Arabia announced an intention to establish and co-chair the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (“TFTC”). The TFTC is intended to increase and formalize cooperation between the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council, as it pertains to countering terrorist financing. The stated goals of the TFTC are to:
- Identify, track, and share information regarding terrorist financial networks;
- Coordinate joint disruptive actions, and;
- Offer support to countries in the region that need assistance building capacity to counter terrorist finance threats.
States involved in the new TFTC include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the U.S (the “Participants”). These states put together a Memorandum of Understanding on Countering the Financing of Terrorism (the “MOU”), a non-legally binding document that states the intentions of the participating states. The MOU states that it does not replace or modify “existing bilateral information sharing and operational relationships among the Participants.” The MOU also specifically references “establishing workshops on best practices in line with Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) standards.” As a matter of background, the FATF is an inter-governmental body responsible for setting and monitoring international standards for combating money laundering and financing of terrorism and proliferation. Organizations operating in the Persian Gulf region or with a particular interest in countering terrorist financing measures should keep an eye on the developments around the new TFTC.
New Study on the Impact of International Counter-Terrorism on Civil Society Organisations Released
In April 2017, the Brot für die Welt (English translation: Bread for the World) released a study entitled “The impact of international counterterrorism on civil society organisations: Understanding the role of the Financial Action Task Force.” Bread for the World is a German civil society organization, acting on behalf of the Protestant Churches in Germany, which is globally active in development and relief projects. The organization observed issues encountered by partner organizations around the world and decided to look into the matter. The report “examines the impact of international counterterrorism frameworks on the work of civil society organisations.” It particularly focuses on the impact of the Financial Action Task Force (the “FATF”). This resource may be useful to organizations operating internationally, to help them gain an understanding of the impacts of counter-terrorism measures globally. The report covers such topics as: “How the international counterterrorism framework affects the work of INGOs and their partners on the ground”, “The FATF and the worldwide proliferation of restrictive non-profit laws”, “ how due diligence and ‘de-risking’ is limiting civil society’s access to financial services”, and the effect of terrorist blacklisting on the sector.