Counter-terrorism laws are stopping our charity doing vital work

T he breadth and vagueness of UK counter-terrorism legislation has created a fog of uncertainty not only for charities – Muslim and non-Muslim – but also for banks and the Charity Commission.

This uncertainty is undermining the capacity of aid agencies to get aid through to those who desperately need it in conflict zones. The Overseas Development Institute warned on Thursday that millions of pounds of donations to charities that have been working in places like Syria, Gaza and Iraq have been held up, blocked or returned by banks, over fears that the money could end up financing terrorism.

Related: Banks block charity donations over terrorism funding fears

Our organisation, Islamic Relief, operates in some of the world’s most challenging places in terms of aid delivery – including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. We have experienced first hand the adverse effects that counter-terrorism legislation can have on charities and their services.

During the Somali famine of 2011, for example, one of our partners put together a proposal for a cash-for-work programme for people displaced by conflict and weakened by hunger. To ensure compliance with counter-terrorism regulations our internal processes required that every beneficiary of the programme be screened against watch lists of proscribed organisations and individuals.

This meant we had to drop the cash-for-work element of the programme. It was totally unrealistic for us to do the required screening in remote areas with little or no documentation. Counter-terrorism requirements, therefore, limited our capacity to assist people in a major emergency.

In 2012, as the Overseas Development Institute’s report highlights, we discovered that would-be donors to Islamic Relief who were banking with the Swiss bank UBS had had their donations blocked by the bank when they tried to transfer funds to us. No explanation was given when we sought clarification.

I believe the onus should be on the government to help us all find a way through this fog. Aspects of this important legislation need explaining and clarifying – as the joint committee reviewing the draft protection of charities bill urged last week.

It is not easy to operate in conflict zones. We have developed financial processes and management systems over many years to ensure that aid gets through to those who need it and does not fall into the wrong hands.

We do many things to ensure this, including keeping cash transactions to a minimum in volatile locations, screening everyone we employ globally and everyone we work with as well as using independent auditors to confirm our field offices are working appropriately and effectively. For example, in Syria we work through a network of Syrian nationals employed directly by us, enabling us to maintain more control over how aid is delivered and to whom, something that is more challenging if you operate through third parties.

We will continue to do all we can to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalised, but to do so we need more guidance and support from government to navigate our way through the minefield of counter-terrorism legislation.

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