Impacts of the War on Terror on Canadian and International NGOs and Strategies for Moving Forward
On March 27th, 2017, the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (“ICLMG”), a national coalition of Canadian civil society organizations, released “Civil Liberties, National Security & International Solidarity: How the “war on terror” affects international co-operation”. The article describes ICLMG’s “cause [for] defending rights and freedoms in Canada and internationally from the impact of the war on terror,” and explains how Canadian and international NGOs are impacted by the “war on terror,” particularly by the current state of national security and use of anti-terrorism regimes. The “war on terror”, according to ICLMG, has caused a “widespread erosion of civil liberties and human rights” and is significantly impacting the Canadian international NGO movement by threatening the fundamental principles of “peace, justice and good governance.”
In particular, the article lists some of the impacts of the “war on terror” on Canadian NGO counterparts abroad, including the requirement for some recipient countries to adopt and comply with various anti-terrorism laws in order to receive official development assistance; various restrictions on activities and access to international funding; anti-terrorism legislation that is so broad it threatens criminalization of persons wishing to express dissent or alternative opinions on social and economic development; and disrupted local and international capacity to provide assistance. Additionally, the article outlines impacts of the “war on terror” on Canadians and Canadian NGOs operating locally, including constraints from the Canadian government; border and visa restrictions, financial controls and tracking; and new legislation with respect to information sharing, such as Bill C-51.
ICLMG states that in light of these risks, new strategies, alliances and allocation of resources are required by local and international NGOs in order to move forward with the protection of fundamental human rights. In this regard, ICLMG suggests a number of steps organizations can take, and that ICLMG will assist with, including educating NGO staff, engaging in frank discussions with counterparts, and adapting policies, amongst others, which ICLMG states would best be accomplished through “coalition work and taking advantage of shared knowledge and skills.”
While ICLMG’s article provides an excellent overview of some of the impacts that local and international NGOs face as a result of the “war on terror”, as well as some helpful steps in moving forward, another helpful resource to refer to is the Canadian Bar Association’s (“CBA”) recent submission in December 2016 to the federal government on National Security and Housing, in which CBA made 23 recommendations for changes to the existing national security legislation, including amendments to Bill C-51, the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act, the Charities Registration (Security Information) Act, and provisions of the Criminal Code, as well as policy and operational changes for agencies involved in national security. Further information on CBA’s submission can be found here.