The draft legislation would effectively bar foreign nongovernmental organizations from maintaining representative offices in Russia. If passed, it would affect the country's entire international nonprofit sector, ranging from think tanks such as the Carnegie Moscow Center to civil-liberties groups such as Human Rights Watch.

Supporters of the bill say bill would prevent foreign terror organizations from gaining a foothold in Russia and to stamp out extremism.

However, according to Chris Cavanaugh, head of the Moscow office of IREX, an international nonprofit, "This could be the first step toward closing down all foreign NGOs in Russia. It's a huge step backward for civil society here."

See the the WSJ article for more information.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 01:44:53 PM



Senate Wraps Up Muslim Charity Inquiry, Finds Nothing
From the Washington Post:

The Senate Finance Committee has wrapped up a high-profile investigation into U.S. Muslim organizations and terrorism financing, saying it discovered nothing alarming enough to warrant new laws or other measures, officials said.

The inquiry, which took nearly two years, was highly unusual in that the committee pored through private financial information held by the government. The panel had asked the Internal Revenue Service for the financial records and donor lists of two dozen Muslim charities, think tanks and other organizations. Nine were based in the D.C. area.

Read the whole story.

For background on the inquiry into Muslim charities.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 12:39:58 PM

Thursday, November 17, 2005