In Turkey, counterterrorism measures have long been used to prevent the work carried out by civil society organisations. In 2021, the situation worsened for these organisations since the adoption, on 31 December 2020, of Law no. 7262 on the “Prevention of Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction”.
The stated objective of the Law is to implement several UN Security Council resolutions as well as recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (an independent global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog) regarding the fight against terrorism and its financing. Yet, the Law is used as another tool in the legal arsenal targeting independent civil society. Most of the articles in Law no. 7262 have no direct connection to this objective. For instance, the Law introduces amendments to seven laws including the Law on Associations and the Law on Aid Collection.
Non-governmental organisations supported by the US-based Chrest Foundation were among the first targeted. Several organisations were requested to undergo an audit procedure by the Interior Ministry’s Directorate General of Civil Society Relations. Not only does this request put a burdensome auditing process on organisations whose work is looked upon negatively by the authorities, but the Ministry also accused several associations of having “violated the Law on Associations” and “failed to abide by tax regulations”. Several NGO executives face legal actions. The impact of Law no. 7262 could snowball: organisations that had a partnership with an indicted association will also be audited by the relevant ministries.
The ambiguous scope of the Law, which fails to establish a clear link between the auditing process and the aim of combating money-laundering, will negatively impact any collaborative actions from independent civil society organisations in the country. Official concerns have been voiced in 2021 by the UN Special Rapporteurs, the Council of Europe and the Financial Action Task Force itself.
Failure to act against the Law will undermine the vibrancy of Turkey’s civil society and violate both Turkey’s Constitution and international treaties.