CHRR joins global anti-money laundering and terrorism financing coalition

CHRR joins global anti-money laundering and terrorism financing coalition

CHRR joins a coalition of non-profit organisations (NPO) from regions around the world facing restrictions due to anti-money laundering and combatting terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules and regulations.

The coalition has been set up to ensure that civil society is effectively engaged in the debate on anti-money-laundering and combatting terrorism financing.

Speaking at the end of a 3-day Expert Hub workshop in Paris, France, CHRR executive director Michael Kaiyatsa, said the Coalition will advocate for improvement in the quality and effectiveness of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluations with sustained outreach to the non-profit sector, and the effective, risk-based implementation of FATF Recommendations affecting NPOs, particularly Recommendation 8.

He said the group will also promote peer learning, share information and generate knowledge. It will also develop guidance, collect good practices, and monitor threats.

The aim is to mitigate the unintended consequences of countering the financing of terrorism policies on civil society in order that legitimate civil society work charitable activities are not disrupted.

The advocacy agenda is driven by policy changes at the FATF/global/national level that require swift action and engagement by NPOs as well as by a bottom-up process emerging from impact felt by NPOs on the ground.

During the workshop, participants discussed new trends and restrictions affecting NPOs. Discussed also were issues around Risk Assessments, the financial access of NPOs (so called ‘bank de-risking’) and money laundering and NPOs.

Advocacy strategies and the way forward were discussed at some length.