MEASURES TO ELIMINATE TERRORIST FUNDRAISING

Contextual Framework

1. Countermeasures against terrorism must include effective actions to impede the flow of funds that terrorist organizations depend on to secure and maintain weapons, equipment, and other materials, and to pay for training, travel, false documentation, recruiting, salaries, communications, and/or any other activity intended to finance acts pursuing terrorist goals. A significant portion of the fiscal needs of terrorist organizations are met from the proceeds of traditional criminal activity and from the solicitation of ostensibly charitable, humanitarian, and philanthropic contributions, some of which are diverted to fund terrorist operations.

2. The effectiveness of measures to counter transnational terrorist fundraising will be enhanced through cooperative action among OAS member states.

3. OAS member states recognize that states that seek to disrupt financial flows to terrorist organizations make it possible to move ahead in cooperation with other states to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism.

Execution of measures against terrorist fundraising

4. Through CICTE or other competent entities, OAS member states agree to consider adopting the following measures to counter terrorist fundraising, evaluating, where necessary, the desirability of strengthening national laws:

a. Promote the necessary measures to discern and then block the capital flows financing terrorism, within the framework of the laws already in force in each state, or by devising norms that are compatible with them and make it possible to achieve objectives.

b. Ensure that law enforcement officials are trained in the prevention and detection of terrorist fundraising and, in the performance of their duties, encourage them to cooperate in international training efforts designed to address terrorist fundraising;

c. Ensure that records of financial transactions are available to law enforcement officials and that each member state has the legal and logistical means to enable their law enforcement officials to share with their counterparts in other member states documentary, financial and other information useful in criminal investigations and/or civil and administrative matters related to terrorist fundraising;

d. Cooperate, in a manner consistent with national laws and states' international commitments, with other member states in international investigations and prosecutions of terrorist fundraising violations, including assisting with locating and interviewing witnesses and with obtaining financial and other relevant documents;

e. Apply norms that create the bases and effective mechanisms to reinforce agreements and treaties on extradition for criminal offenses involving terrorist fundraising;

f. Apply norms that require financial institutions to maintain records of financial transactions for at least five years;

g. Apply norms that require financial institutions to obtain, and maintain records of, information that allows them to identify, verify, and know their customers;

h. Apply norms that ensure that financial institutions bring financial activities presumed to be intended to fund terrorist acts or activities to the timely attention of the competent authorities;

i. Apply norms that protect against the misuse of currency in transactions involving financial institutions and in cross-border transportation;

j. Apply norms that compel financial institutions to comply with the requirements to protect a member state's financial system from abuse by terrorist fundraisers.