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30 June 2015

GAO Report on US Government’s Program of Designating Terrorist Organizations: What Does It Accomplish?

June 26, 2015

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just released a report on the designation of foreign terrorist organizations entitled Combating Terrorism: Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation Process and U.S. Agency Enforcement Actions. As of December 31, 2014, 59 organizations had been designated by the US Government as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, with 13 FTO designations occurring between 2012 and 2014.

According to the report, U.S. agencies reported enforcing FTO designations through three key legal consequences—blocking assets, prosecuting individuals, and imposing immigration restrictions—that target FTOs, their members, and individuals that provide support to those organizations. The restrictions and penalties that agencies reported imposing vary widely. For example, as of 2013, Treasury has blocked about $22 million in assets relating to 7 of 59 designated FTOs.

The full report can be downloaded here.

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