Amnesty International has accused India of using recommendations from the global money-laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), in a heavy-handed manner to target civil society organizations and silence activists and critics. Critics have long alleged harassment within civil society and media in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government, although the government denies these claims.
Amnesty claims that India is misusing FATF recommendations to enact severe laws that restrict the non-profit sector and block organizations from receiving funding. The FATF, consisting of 39 nations and of which India has been a member since 2010, is responsible for addressing global money laundering and terrorist financing.
Critics argue that Modi’s government has put pressure on rights groups by closely scrutinizing their finances and cracking down on foreign funding. Under the pretext of countering terrorism, the Indian government is said to have employed FATF recommendations to bolster its financial and counter-terrorism laws, which are frequently used to target and silence dissenting voices.
According to a report, India has revoked the licenses of over 20,600 non-governmental organizations in the past decade, with nearly 6,000 of these cancellations occurring since 2022. In 2020, Amnesty International had to halt its operations in India due to the freezing of its bank accounts. The Indian government defended its actions, alleging Amnesty’s involvement in “illegal practices” related to large money transfers from Amnesty UK to India.
Journalists critical of the government also claim increased harassment, both online through the powerful presence of Modi’s ruling party on social media and in the physical world.
By FCCT Editorial Team freeslots dinogame telegram营销
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}