Holy See: Anti-corruption measures must not affect humanitarian assistance

By Vatican News

“We must avoid the risk” that measures against money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism “limit or inhibit the capacity of non-governmental and charitable organizations to provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable groups or persons.”

The warning was issued by Monsignor Roberto Campisi, Assessor at the Secretariat of State’s Section for General Affairs during a high-level Moneyval meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday.

“The commitment to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” he said, “is to be commended. Undoubtedly, those crimes pose a growing threat to the integrity of international financial systems and undermine the orderly coexistence of democratic societies and the rule of law. Therefore – Msgr Campisi added - they must be prevented and combatted with the greatest political commitment, such as the one represented in the Declaration of Ministers and high-level delegates of the member States and territories of Moneyval”, which was adopted during the meeting.

He stated that “A fundamental issue for the Holy See is the impact of FATF-GAFI standards on Non-for-Profit Organizations (NPOs) and civil society at large.”

“Unfortunately, we have witnessed some instances where AML-CFT standards have been abused to hinder the legitimate work of civil society and humanitarian organizations,” he said.

However, Msgr. Campisis concluded, “We must recall that, as recognized by the Financial Actions Task Force (FATF-GAFI), legitimate humanitarian activities by charitable organizations, including by religiously inspired organizations, contribute positively to the prevention of terrorism.”