How can civil society meaningfully contribute to discussions on preventing terrorist financing in the NPO sector: example from Germany

02-11-2020
A new report by VENRO outlines tangible and concrete actions to improve engagement.

Germany is currently being assessed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the implementation of international standards for the prevention of terrorist financing and money laundering. In preparation for the country assessment, our Expert Hub members, VENRO, a German non profit network, conducted a survey among civil society sector in 2019 to find out how they assess the risk of terrorist financing and what measures they take to minimize the risk.

This report has analyzed the survey results, it will help increase awareness of the issues, concerns, mitigation measures and potential improvements for both civil society and government and serve as a catalyst for further engagement among all stakeholders.  It strongly shows how civil society can meaningfully contribute to the discussion about countering terrorism risk with real, tangible and concrete actions.

In the report, VENRO encourages:

  • the government to open a dialogue with the broader sector on how it can best raise awareness amongst donors and the public, and support civil society organizations facing greater risks in understanding and protecting themselves against potential vulnerabilities;
  • a dialogue about risks faced by civil society working in specific high-risk environments, and coping with challenges in accessing financial services;
  • further government support for the development and exchange of good practice within the sector;
  • a multi-stakeholder dialogue with other relevant entities such as banks, financial regulators and other financial service providers;
  • action to alleviate restrictions on cross-border transactions for organizations pursuing international development cooperation and humanitarian aid; as well as
  • the government to continue and expand support for self-regulatory regimes for civil society, which tend to enjoy a high degree of ownership.

Read the full report:

https://venro.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dateien/Daten/Publikationen/Sonstige/venro-bericht-prevention-20209-UA-1.pdf