As part of our Monitoring Freedom of Association Project supported by the European Union, we have prepared an information note examining the November 2023 update to the Recommendation. A brief assessment of the updates to Recommendation No. 8 as well as the translation of the updated FATF Recommendation No. 8 and the Interpretative Note can be found in the information note.
What has happened?
National regulations enacted on the basis of Recommendation No. 8 to protect non-profit organizations from the abuse of terrorist financing have had a negative impact on civil society organizations in many countries around the world and in Europe, including Turkey. Aid collection and distribution activities were the most affected by these negative regulations.
The FATF stated that it would undertake a revision of Recommendation 8 in July 2023 and launched an online consultation with NPOs to seek views on the draft amendment they had prepared and gave NPOs until 18 August 2023 to submit their comments on the draft amendment. The FATF also announced that it would finalize the amendment, taking into account the views collected, at its General Assembly in October 2023. The FATF recently announced the updated version of its recommendations on the “International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing and Proliferation of Terrorism”, including Recommendation 8.
What are the positive developments in this recommendation?
The following statement has been added to FATF Recommendation 8: “Countries should take targeted, proportionate and risk-based measures in line with the risk-based approach, without unduly disrupting or impeding the activities of legitimate non-profit organizations.”
While the previous FATF Recommendation 8 from February 2023 only referred to the UN Charter and "international human rights law", the interpretative note with the amendment in November 2023 also refers to "international refugee law" and "international humanitarian law".