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Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – have important consequences for all people in society. When governments provide information and meaningful channels for the public to engage in these decisions, we can better ensure public money is spent on public interests.
The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in the budget process.
The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 9th edition of the OBS covers 125 countries. Visit www.internationalbudget.org/open-budget-survey for more information, including the full OBS methodology, the 2023 Global Report, findings for all surveyed countries, and the Data Explorer.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Best Practices Paper on Combating the Abuse of NonProfit Organisations was first written in 2002 at a time when the FATF had just introduced standards to address specific terrorist financing (TF) vulnerabilities and threats in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Since then, the threat environment has evolved, government experience implementing Recommendation 8 has advanced, and the non-profit organisation (NPO) sector and self-regulatory mechanisms have also continued to evolve. A limited update of the best practices paper was conducted in 2013 with specific input from the NPO sector to reflect the revised FATF Recommendations and the need to protect the legitimate activities of NPOs. The FATF published a typologies report on the Risk of Terrorist Abuse in Non-Profit Organisations (the typologies report) in June 2014, and the best practices paper has now been further revised to reflect some of the findings of that report along with additional input and examples of good practice from governments and the private sector.
The FATF recognises the vital importance of the NPO community in providing charitable services around the world, as well as the difficulty of providing assistance to those in need, often in remote regions, and applauds the efforts of the NPO community to meet such needs. One of the main objectives of this best practices paper is to facilitate NPO efforts and protect the integrity of the NPO sector by providing examples of additional ways that governments and the NPO sector can work towards protecting the global NPO sector from terrorist abuse. These good practices are not mandatory elements of the FATF Standards1, and are included as examples only.
The FATF is committed to maintaining a close and constructive dialogue with the private sector, including the NPO sector, as important partners in ensuring the integrity of the financial system.
For more information download the paper below.
Open-Budget-Survey-Zimbabwe-2023.pdf