Bi-weekly News and Opinion Roundup - July 7, 2022 |
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In response to a call for inputs from Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, for a “Report on the Impact of Counter-Terrorism on Peacemaking, Peacebuilding, Sustaining Peace, Conflict Prevention and Resolution,” C&SN submitted comments highlighting the impacts of the U.S.’ legal framework for counterterrorism on peacebuilding and conflict prevention programs. Read the comments here. (July 8).
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A new training manual by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offers strategies “for bringing together diverse groups of young people and providing them with an inclusive, safe and conflict-sensitive space to gain skills in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.” Find the manual here. (June 28).
A joint report by the International Federation for Human Rights and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders details the Turkish government’s “use of administrative proceedings and sanctions by state bodies against HRDs (human rights defenders) and civil society in retaliation for and to obstruct and stigmatise their human rights work.” Read the report here. (June 2022).
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In welcome news for financial institutions and civil society organizations, suits filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) against European banks arguing that they are liable for injuries the plaintiffs suffered in terrorist attacks by Hamas hit a roadblock at the Supreme Court when the court denied the plaintiffs’ petition for certiorari, effectively upholding the Second Circuit’s ruling that the banks in question cannot be held liable for funds transfers to organizations with alleged ties to Hamas. Read Law 360’s report here and C&SN’s case summary here. (June 27).
The Greek government is creating an increasingly hostile environment for human rights defenders working on migration, according to Human Rights Watch. “With Greece facing intense international criticism over unlawful pushbacks of migrants at its borders and wider human rights concerns related to migration and asylum, the Greek government has moved to silence groups and individuals documenting these abuses.” Human Rights Watch reports. (June 24).
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Third Sector “features and analysis writer Rebecca Cooney and senior reporter Russell Hargrave explore a recent report by the Civil Society Group, which looks at the difficulties charities face with finding appropriate banking facilities.” Listen to the episode here. (July 1).
On June 14, Conciliation Resources, the Muslim Charities Forum and Bond, an international consortium of nonprofits, hosted an event on financial access challenges faced by nonprofits due to widespread risk aversion in the banking sector. C&SN Director Paul Carroll and Associate Director for Policy and Advocacy Ashleigh Subramanian-Montgomery participated in the event, highlighting the work of the Global NPO coalition on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Read about the event and its key takeaways here. (June 2022).
Opportunities
A 12-month project of The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), the Task Force on a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance (TARIF), is aiming “to strengthen global democracy by identifying viable ways in which the UK and US can combine efforts in tackling illicit finance.” As it prepares to release its final recommendations, TARIF will be heading to Washington DC this month to meet with stakeholders, and invites those interested to get in touch if you would like to learn more by emailing RUSI’s Center for Financial Crimes and Security Studies at cfcs@rusi.org. Find a year’s worth of TARIF publications and analyses here. (July 2022).
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The REACH Initiative recently published a brief on displacement trends in Ukraine, finding that as of June 23, 6.25 million people have been reported as internally displaced within Ukraine. Read the summary on Relief Web, and the full brief here. (July 5).
As part of a blog series by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) on the gendered impacts of armed conflict, ICRC experts address the topic’s relationship to international humanitarian law, arguing that understanding the “gendered civilian terrain can inform how practitioners apply IHL obligations.” Read the blog here. (June 30).
As drought in the Horn of Africa continues to intensify, leaving an estimated 18.4 million people in the region facing severe hunger, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is calling on donors to increase funding. Read a summary of the appeal here, and the full appeal here. (June 28).
The UN Security Council is set to vote on July 10 on the renewal of a cross-border aid mechanism for northwest Syria that offers an essential lifeline for millions of civilians. Concerns are growing that Russia may veto its renewal in protest of international sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, among other geopolitical factors. The New Humanitarian reports. (June 27).
Adam Weinstein, a Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute, looks at U.S. policy in Afghanistan in the wake of a devastating earthquake, arguing that the Biden administration’s “risk averse approach to engagement with Taliban-led Afghanistan falls short,” when it comes to supporting the people of Afghanistan. Read his take in Responsible Statecraft. (June 24).
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Egypt is using arbitrary travel bans to target journalists, human rights activists and researchers for peaceful activities, ruining lives and suppressing human rights activism in the process. Human Rights Watch reports. (July 6).
Advocates for accountability and justice for the killing of Abu Akleh, a journalist shot and killed by Israeli forces in May, are speaking out against the U.S. State Department’s assertion that there is no evidence that the killing was intentional. Al Jazeera reports. (July 5).
Episode 3 of the International Committee for the Red Cross’ (ICRC) podcast, Humanity in War, explores the gendered impacts of armed conflict with ICRC Director of International Law and Policy Helen Durham and UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights Fionnuala Ni Aolain. Listen to the podcast here. (June 30).
The European Commission has lifted its suspension of funding for Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, after concluding “that there is no suspicions of irregularities and/or fraud affecting EU funds in the implementation of [Al-Haq’s] EU funded project.” Read Al-Haq’s statement here. (June 30).
In encouraging news for human rights and civil society, the Israeli government has for the second time delayed the implementation of an ordinance that would severely restrict foreign travel to the West Bank, setting quotas for students and teachers, and imposing other onerous restrictions. The ordinance is on hold until at least early September. The Guardian reports. (June 29).
In its latest podcast episode, the Alliance for Peacebuilding talks with Iryna Venediktova, Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Dunja Mijatović, Commissioner for Human Rights for the Council of Europe, Vera Mjeku, Co-Founder of Rally For Her Justice, and AfP Senior Fellow Tanya Domi on the international communities role in preventing sexual violence in conflict and holding its perpatrators accountable. Listen to the episode here. (June 28).
In a blow to the First Amendment, a federal court has ruled that Arkansas can penalize government contractors who support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting the Israeli government. Specifically, the ruling allows the state to require its contractors to cut their fees by 20 percent “if they refuse to sign a pledge saying they won't support the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement (BDS).” Common Dreams reports. (June 23).
For “outstanding services to the development and protection of international human rights,” Al-Haq, a leading Palestinian human rights organization, was awarded the Bruno Kreisky’s Prize for Human Rights 2022. The award was recognized by Al-Haq “as an expression of solidarity, especially in light of the latest unprecedented attacks on Palestinian civil society and human rights organisations, and a contribution to the enhancement of shared human rights values globally.” Read Al-Haq’s statement here. (June 23).
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The European Commission has released a guidance note “to provide practical direction on how to comply with EU restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘EU sanctions’) when providing humanitarian aid.” Read the note here. (June 30).
In light of the devastating impact of the freezing of Afghanistan’s foreign reserves, the Biden administration has been engaging with the Taliban to explore options for making at least some of Afghanistan’s frozen funds available to stabilize the Afghan economy. The Washington Post reports. (June 28).
On June 15, the UK implemented a strict liability standard for sanctions violations, abandoning the EU’s limited liability standard requiring “knowledge/reasonable cause to suspect.” Steptoe reports. (June 8).
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