UN body in charge of NGO-accreditation fails to dismiss application from major Bin Laden, Hamas supporter

A terrorist front organization is seeking formal UN NGO status. On January 27, 2014, the Islamic African Relief Agency's (IARA) deferred application came before the UN Committee in charge of NGO accreditation.

At a 2013 UN NGO Committee session, the US representative said that the IARA was designated as a terrorist organization by the US Treasury Department in 2004 "for providing support to Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, Hamas and other terrorist groups. They were involved in terrorist financing ... and have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars" to terrorist organizations. The UN press release, on the other hand, described this terrorist patron as an organization "focused on humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and development".

On January 27, 2014 at the UN Committee the US delegate questioned Sudan-based IARA regarding its classification as a terrorist organization by the United States government. The representative of Sudan - a member of the UN NGO Committee - stepped in to defend the IARA on the grounds that "there was no evidence that this organization supported terrorist activities" and asked that the application "move forward". The representative of Pakistan also objected to the questions posed by the United States. Consideration of the application will continue.