Humanitarian relief should not be held hostage by broader disputes or ongoing negotiations with Iran. C&SN and others are urging the Biden administration to relieve sanctions on Iran that have been inhibiting humanitarian trade. Read Matthew Petti in Responsible Statecraft on the group effort, and read the full letter here. (April 21).
This C&SN-Commissioned report, in partnership with the London School of Economics and Political Science, takes an in depth look at the due diligence and risk mitigation procedures that NGOs have implemented to prevent diversion of funds and assets and adhere to counter-terrorism financing laws. It also offers a set of recommendations for NGOs and stakeholders. Read the full report here.
Rowaq Arabi, a quarterly peer-reviewed journal issued by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, is calling for “original research exploring critical approaches to the study of terrorism, counterterrorism, human rights violations, radicalisation and authoritarianism in the MENA region.” Read the full submission guidelines here.
The International Center for Not-For-Profit Law (ICNL) details concerns over the Foreign Agents Registration Act’s impact on civil society. Read the full briefer here.
Hinting at one shift in the agency’s understanding of CVE, the Executive Summary states that “USAID and other donors now understand that programming designed to strengthen and influence local institutions and communities systemically is likely to have a greater effect on radicalization and recruitment to violence than programming designed to address a particular driver.” Read the full report here.
Retired Ambassador Ilan Baruch, who chairs the Policy Working Group, argues that “by adopting the IHRA definition [of antisemitism], the EU is playing into the agendas of Israel advocacy groups that undermine civil society work against the occupation.” Read the full article in +972 Magazine. (April 19).
In an open letter, a wide range of civil society organizations call on the world’s governments to increase aid to help the 270 million people around the world facing hunger, starvation, and famine. Read the full letter here.
Iman Saleh, the general coordinator of the Yemeni Liberation Movement and a hunger striker calling for the U.S. to end its support for the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen, details the experience, and the purpose, of the hunger strike. “I am starving, but I am not being starved. I am suffering, but I can choose to end that suffering.” Read the full article in the Washington Post. (April 8).
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) argues that “as our understanding of the climate crisis becomes more complex, so too must the strategies designed to address it.” Read the full article here. (April 15).
Samina Ansari, director of Avyanna, a Kabul-based consultancy firm working on public diplomacy, argues for greater inclusion of Afghan civil society in the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan. Read the full article in the Diplomat. (April 14).
Michael Breen, President and CEO of Human Rights First, makes the case for strengthening the Global Magnitsky Act during its reauthorization process. Read his take in Just Security. (April 20)
Miriam Berger offers an overview of U.S. sanctions and highlights the work of advocacy groups and some members of Congress to push for stronger humanitarian exemptions. Read the full article in the Washington Post. (April 15).
Andrew Boyle, Counsel in the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, argues for reforms to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to prevent abuse of the sweeping sanctions authorities embedded in it. Read the full article in Just Security. (April 13).
The New York Time Editorial Board argues that the Trump administration’s strategy towards Iran has failed, and urges the Biden administration to lift some sanctions on Iran in order to revive the Iran nuclear agreement. Importantly, the authors argue that “most of all, the status quo is unsustainable because of the toll sanctions are taking on ordinary Iranians.” Read the full article in the New York Times. (April 10).
