Access to funding and resources 210. The ability to seek, secure and use financial resources from domestic, foreign and international sources is an essential element of the right to freedom of association.305 The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to solicit, receive, and utilize resources for the express purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms through peaceful means […]”.306 The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has stated that states have the obligation to facilitate, not restrict, the access of associations, both registered and unregistered, to funding, including from foreign sources.307 211. In a number of participating States, access of NGOs to funding, especially from abroad, is seriously curtailed. Laws or other normative decrees and regulations in some participating States interfere with the freedom of NGOs to seek and receive foreign funding, for example, by compelling them to seek state authorization to carry out fundraising activities, imposing special requirements for the registration of raised funds and subjecting the organization to onerous financial reporting requirements. In addition, government authorities sometimes interfere directly in fundraising activities by controlling the distribution or reallocating grants from external donors to certain NGOs or projects. 212. Participating States should abolish all undue restrictions on foreign sources of fund- ing imposed under the pretext of combating “foreign interference” and defending “national interests”, and should respect the right of NGOs to promote and protect all human rights. They should ensure access to funding for NGOs – including from abroad – without the requirement to obtain prior governmental authorization and under equitable conditions. Any requirements must conform with “those ordinarily laid down for any other activity unrelated to human rights within the country to ensure transparency and accountability”308 and must be “in compliance with generally applicable foreign exchange and customs laws”.309 Furthermore “no laws should criminalize or delegitimize activities in defense of human rights on account of origin of funding thereto”.310 213. Prevention of money laundering or terrorist financing should not be used as a jus- tification or pretext for restricting NGO access to funding. While the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association noted in this context that states have an interest in protecting “national security or public safety”, which are legitimate grounds for restricting freedom of association, he 305  A/HRC/23/39, 24 April 2013. 306  Article 13. 307  A/HRC/23/39, 24 April 2013, paras. 17-18, 79 and 82. 308  A/HRC/RES/22/6, 12 April 2013, para. 9(b). 309  A/64/226, 4 August 2009, para. 123. 310  A/HRC/RES/22/6, 12 April 2013, para. 9(b). 98 Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders