Last year, ECNL provided assistance to CSO partners in Serbia to push back against AML/CFT limitations and to submit complaint to the UN Special Rapporteurs. We also worked with international bodies to ensure that security-related over-regulation is not cited as justification to restrict civic freedoms. Among others, the UN Special Rapporteurs expressed concern that Serbian authorities are using oversight powers designed to target the financing of terrorism to obtain banking information and information on financial transactions of more than 50 CSOs, media associations and other groups working on human rights and investigative journalism. They requested response from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global standard-setting body for AML/CFT regulation.
As the case is now fully public, the FATF response is especially important and relevant for CSOs’ global and national- level advocacy against the abuse of AML/CFT standards. In short, the FATF reiterates that their standards are “designed to protect NPOs from terrorist financing, while also ensuring that their legitimate charitable activities are not disrupted or discouraged. The Standards were drafted to ensure that they are in line with international principles on human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It is in direct contradiction to the FATF Standards and categorically unacceptable if its measures are exploited and used to oppress human rights under the pretext of counter-terrorism. Should this be identified in the course of a mutual evaluation, a country would be assessed negatively for not implementing the risk-based approach outlined in the FATF’s Standards.
The full response from FATF is available here.
This again confirms that countries must not adopt overly restrictive measures nor approaches or unnecessary investigations towards civil society under guise of AML/CFT framework. On the contrary, only by respecting human rights, fundamental freedoms and risk- based approach, countries can achieve effective and sustainable counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering results.
------------------------
The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin also gave a video interview on the case, available in Serbian here: https://www.glasamerike.net/a/ujedinjene-nacije-provera-pismo-odgovor-vlada-srbije/5753270.html