ECNL submitted comments to the Draft Recommendations to Member States Regarding a Code of Conduct for Non-Profit Organisations To Promote Transparency and Accountability Best Practices, a discussion document issued by the DG Justice, Freedom and Security of the European Commission in July 2005.
ECNL's comments have been endorsed by the Hungarian Environmental and Partnership Foundation, the Environmental Management and Law Association, and the CEE Working Group on NGO Governance.
Public consultation of this discussion document has been extended to September 19, 2005. Please feel free to refer to and support our Comments if you are planning to submit your opinion as well. We are happy to assist if you need further information and we would appreciate any feedback regarding the use of our points and arguments.
So what is this about?
The Draft Recommendations aim to enhance transparency and accountability of the nonprofit sectors accross Europe in an effort to prevent the abuse of nonprofit organizations for terrorist and other criminal purposes; and to provide guidance to its Member States on the implementation of the FATF Special Recommendation VIII on Non-Profit Organisations (FATF is the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, an international body that has in its mandate to develop standards and recommendations in the fight against terrorist financing).
Here is a summary of our most important comments:
- The purpose and scope of the Draft Recommendations should be clear as to whether the intent is to address counter-terrorism concerns through oversight mechanisms (at the national or supra-national level) or to more broadly promote the transparency and accountability of NPOs through a code of conduct.
- If the intent is to support a voluntary code of conduct, then the code should be the end result, and not the beginning, of a long process of education and consultation within the NPO sector.
- If the intent is to support a certification program based on the code, then the program must be carefully considered to ensure it meets the local and European-wide circumstances.
- The Draft Recommendations are silent on scalability, recommending the application of the same standards and requirements to all NPOs, regardless of their size, purpose and experience.
- Section A.1 should be reviewed carefully to ensure that the oversight mechanisms do not conflict with existing national-level legal requirements or international law.
- Section B should be reviewed carefully to ensure that the code provisions do not merely repeat already-existing legal requirements, that all terms are clear, and that they address fundamental issues of accountability.