Anti-terrorism laws have chilling effect on Somalia
UK - Fear of prosecution under UK and US counter-terror laws hinders those trying to provide humanitarian assistance in areas held by Islamic militants
Strict British and US counterterrorism laws are discouraging humanitarian organisations from delivering vital emergency assistance to millions of people facing starvation and fatal diseases in drought-hit Somalia. Senior humanitarian officials say the laws, which target any individual or organisation found to have materially assisted a terrorist group, exert a “chilling effect” on vital assistance in areas of Somalia controlled by Islamic militants from alShabaab, an al-Qaida affiliate. The worst drought for 40 years in the unstable east African country threatens 6 million people with famine. Most of the worst hit around 2 million people live in areas run by al-Shabaab. Humanitarian officials say it is almost impossible to guarantee that no aid will reach the extremists if they work there, and fear this means they will fall foul of the laws, exposing them to potential prosecution. “US and UK terrorism financing laws are a significant discouragement to operating in al-Shabaab areas. At the very least, you could end up wasting a huge amount of time explaining yourself; at worst, if substantial amounts of aid were appropriated by al-Shabaab as has happened to people in the past you could end up in court with your organisation shut down,” said the country director of one major international NGO working in Somalia. Moving any aid by land in Somalia involves paying “taxes” at road blocks run by different armed groups, including al-Shabaab. UN experts estimated that at the height of its power in 2010 al-Shabaab imposed fees and taxes that totalled on average $90,000 per aid agency every six months.
Also, any access to al-Shabaab controlled areas for NGOs would have to involve negotiations with local community and clan elders, of whom some are likely to be connected to the insurgents. Justin Brady, a senior UN humanitarian official responsible for overseeing the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars of international assistance in Somalia, said the primary reason for NGOs avoiding areas run by al-Shabaab remained the security threat posed by the Islamic militants. But, he said, the US and UK laws were poorly understood and a disincentive.
(Theguardian.com)