Animal welfare organisation Nowzad is situated in Britain.
It operated mostly in Afghanistan before the nation fell in August 2021.
In August 2021, in response to media reports concerning the charity’s attempts to evacuate people and animals from Afghanistan, the regulator initiated a regulatory compliance case.
Operation Ark was the name given to the evacuation attempt, which attracted a lot of attention from the public and lawmakers.
In this case, it was determined whether Operation Ark and the charity’s acts conformed to charity law and its stated aims.
Operation Ark did fit within the charitable organization’s stated objectives, according to the Commission, which found no regulatory issues with it.
The Commission came to the conclusion that the operation’s goals were made clear to donors during fundraising, that the trustees’ decisions and actions at the time were reasonable, and that it was therefore acceptable to use the money raised for Operation Ark to transport staff and animals out of Afghanistan.
The Commission was not authorised to take into account the potential or actual involvement of the government in the exodus of staff and animals from Afghanistan.
As the situation in Afghanistan continues to change, the Commission has been interacting more frequently with the trustees as they prepare for major obstacles and ask fundamental questions about how the charity will operate in the future.
In order to do this, the Commission has offered the trustees advice and direction on a variety of topics, such as internal governance and efficient risk management when working in conflict zones.
According to Tracy Howarth, the Charity Commission’s assistant director of casework and proactive regulation:
We take all complaints that are brought to our attention seriously and will always evaluate them objectively and thoroughly in light of the law and the Commission’s own standards.
We found no evidence of wrongdoing in this case, and we applauded the trustees’ continuous efforts to run the charity under trying conditions.
The Commission’s purpose is to assist trustees in carrying out their legal obligations and responsibilities and to take corrective action when necessary.
In order to ensure that they respond correctly to the uncertainty and problems they are currently facing, we have given Nowzad’s trustees some advice.