Bi-weekly News and Opinion Roundup - April 30, 2020
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The Covid-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on many long-standing issues NPOs face when carrying out their work, particularly in regard to national security related restrictions.
Government response to the pandemic has exacerbated these problems and created new ones. Read how C&SN's work on addressing national security challenges posed to nonprofits is more important than ever in our latest
blog
. (April 30)
GAO is reminding FDIC and the Federal Reserve that it should undertake a review of Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering regulations and revise them to address bank derisking.
Find out more at
C&SN News
. (April 29)
Following a significant delay in the update of the NPO sections of the FFEIC’s
Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Examination Manual
, and in light of the urgent need to send program funds abroad to address the Covid-19 crisis, C&SN has published an open letter to the regulators.
Read the full story and view the letter at
C&SN News
. (April 27)
C&SN joined over 70 organizations in an April 23 letter to President Trump, Steve Mnuchin, and Mike Pompeo calling for relief from sanctions programs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It notes the “critical state of the health infrastructures and economies of these sanctioned locations, and how, without immediate intervention, millions of people face severe economic hardship, infection, and death.” View the letter and read the story at
C&SN News
. (April 27)
Who should interpret and apply international humanitarian law in the counterterrorism context is the focus of a legal briefing from the Harvard Program on International Law and Armed Conflict.
Read
C&SN’s report abstract
to learn more. (April 22)
The Global Fragility Act, intended to increase investment in preventing global violence
,
charges the U.S. government with creating a Global Fragility Strategy by September 2020
. A new policy brief from Mercy Corps outlines how implementing this strategy could look for global peacebuilders. Read
C&SN’s report abstract
and view Mercy Corps’ full policy brief. (April 22)
On April 15, the FFIEC issued a partial update to the
Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual
.
Nonprofits, industry, financial institutions and other government agencies have eagerly awaited revisions to what has become known as the “bible” of bank examinations, which was last revised in 2014. Read the full story at
C&SN News
. (April 22)
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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid continued their series of fact sheets on the challenges and needs for humanitarian aid in fragile zones.
Find their snapshot of Yemen at
Relief Web
. (April 23)
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Across the globe there is evidence that emergency powers are being widely promulgated that go far beyond a tailored response to the current health crisis.
Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Kate Brannen and Ryan Goodman analyze the extent of government measures being taken in response to COVID-19, and the trend for security policies to overreach and impede on civil liberties in the wake of national crises. Read their analysis at
Just Security
. (April 22)
In the wake of COVID-19, socioeconomic inequalities that had already been growing for years are more visible than ever.
Governments are exploiting the crisis to introduce emergency powers and crack down on civil liberties. Just Security published a webinar series, with experts, academics, and journalists analyzing the wide-spread effects of COVID-19 on society. Find the recordings at
Just Security
. (April 16)
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On April 15, the FFIEC updated portions of its BSA/AML Manual.
Although directed to bank examiners, the Manual offers insight to financial institutions about regulatory expectations for compliance, including how banks will be evaluated in the examination process. Carl A. Fornaris, Kyle R. Freeny, and Marina Olman-Pal provide analysis at the
National Law Review
. (April 22)
AML RightSource provides further analysis on the updates made to the Bank Examination Manual.
There have been positive changes in this revision, emphasizing a risk-based approach. “Too many times, examiners (and auditors) have defaulted to ‘it’s in the manual’ instead of dialogue and ‘risk-focused’ review - a message this version emphasizes,” says John Byrne. Read the full analysis at
AML RightSource
. (April 21)
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Various nongovernmental organizations in Hyderabad, India, have been forced to close their kitchens and food distribution to populations in need as a result of government measures meant to contain COVID-19.
As a result, families in poverty who are dependent on aid are struggling to cope with hunger in addition to the health risks posed by the pandemic. Read the full story at
Daiji World
. (April 22)
International aid organizations are caught in a dilemma: should they cut travel of essential staff and limit service delivery to communities that depend on aid, or continue travel with the risk of potentially exposing new communities to COVID-19?
The challenges have emphasized the importance of collaboration with local partners to carry out essential activities. Rebecca Root provides analysis at
Devex
. (April 27)
Social distancing measures enforced in Malta and Italy have effectively closed ports due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
A report found that government measures are hampering the ability for nonprofits to support migrants at sea, endangering lives in the process. Eric Reidy reports at
The New Humanitarian
. (April 28)
USAID moved to block aid delivery to Gaza over fears that it may support the U.S.-listed terrorist organization, Hamas.
Instead, the agency plans to send aid to the West Bank where aid is believed to be less likely diverted. Jon Levine reports at
New York Post
. (April 25)
The northeast region of Syria, a Kurdish autonomous region known as Rojava, is currently isolated from international aid due to border closures with Turkey and Iraq.
Additionally, the region is outside the control of Damascus, which currently controls aid disbursement in Syria. As a result, Rojava is particularly vulnerable should COVID-19 spread to the region. Joanne Stocker reports at
Rudaw
. (April 22)
The Washington Post provides further coverage of the humanitarian access challenges in Rojava, the northeast region of Syria.
The report found that the closure of a single border crossing has resulted in a $40 million shortfall for 2020 for nonprofit organizations depending on U.N. support for their operations in northeast Syria. This includes $30 million for health care, mostly to prevent and respond to COVID-19. Edith Lederer reports at
The Washington Post
. (April 28)
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Government measures being taken to control the spread of the coronavirus are also affecting the mobility of peacebuilders and nonprofits working to educate and build trust in conflict zones.
Tarila Marclint Ebiede assesses the impact COVID-19 will have on conflicts across Africa, and elaborates on strategies for ensuring peacebuilding processes are maintained throughout the pandemic. Read the analysis at
The Conversation
. (April 26)
Passed with strong bipartisan support in December 2019, the Global Fragility Act aims to transform U.S. foreign policy and assistance to fragile and conflict-affected states.
This will create an influx of resources for global peacebuilders to implement new programs that address the root causes of conflict. Read Susanna P. Campbell’s policy brief at
Mercy Corps
. (April 21)
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Recent statements from U.S. and EU authorities say the sanctions they impose do not target aid.
The Norwegian Refugee Council welcomes those statements but calls on states and multilateral bodies to now take concrete action to ensure that sanctions do not hinder the response to the Covid-19 pandemic in countries already suffering humanitarian crises. Read the NRC’s full statement at their
website
. (April 22)
Since January 2018, OFAC, which administers most U.S. economic sanctions programs, has imposed $1.28 billion in civil penalties on foreign and U.S. companies.
The National Law Review provides an overview of the hooks through which OFAC can assert jurisdiction over foreign parties, and recaps the significant business consequences that can result from violation of U.S. sanctions. Tahlya Townsend provides analysis at the
National Law Review
. (April 15)
Pakistan has removed thousands of names from its terrorist watch list in what the country says is an effort to meet its obligations ahead of a new round of assessments by the Financial Action Task Force, set for June 2020.
Dylan Takar reports at
The Wall Street Journal
. (April 21)
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