In This Issue:

Events

Lunchtime Policy Forum -  Countering Terrorism and Other Transnational Threats: Towards a Rule of Law Based Approach?

On Tuesday, 6 April 2010, the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation convened a policy forum on “Countering Terrorism and Other Transnational Threats: Towards a Rule of Law Based Approach?” Moderated by Center Director Alistair Millar, the policy forum convened more than fifty participants from the United Nations, member states, civil society, and the media to consider the current evolution of the United Nations’ work on counterterrorism and other transnational threats such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and arms trafficking. Participants heard addresses from Ambassador Mike Smith, Executive Director of the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate; Ms. Joanne Mariner, Director, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program, Human Rights Watch; and Mr. James Cockayne, Senior Fellow and Director, New York Office, Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation.

Ambassador Smith stressed the evolving nature of the United Nations’ counterterrorism work, and the comparative advantages that the United Nations can bring to bear in norm-setting, developing political legitimacy, and working with partners to develop rule-of-law promoting solutions to new challenges posed by changing terrorist threats. He suggested that the United Nations is increasingly looking to ‘non-traditional’ areas – such as education and engagement with religious actors – as ways to ensure the long term impact of a counterterrorism efforts. Ms. Mariner stressed the influence of UN frameworks on the actions of member states, describing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and Security Council Resolution 1904 – which creates the position of Ombudsperson to assist the Al Qaida sanctions committee consider delisting requests – as “a step in the right direction.” Mr. Cockayne stressed the need to consider counterterrorism in the broader context of transnational crime and multifaceted efforts to “build out the rule of law,” by building better connections within the United Nations, and between the United Nations and national, regional, and private sector partners. The panelists took numerous questions from the floor, including on issues such as cooperation between states and the Al Qaida sanctions committee, and the challenges states confront in adapting international sanctions regimes in light of efforts to engage certain Taliban elements.

Click here to see the agenda.
Click here for more photos from the Policy Forum.

IGAD/ICPAT Regional Training of Trainers: Mutual Assistance & Extradition Under the Recently Adopted IGAD Conventions

On 23-25 March 2010, the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation and Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD’s) Capacity Building Program Against Terrorism (ICPAT) with the support of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a training seminar in Nairobi on extradition and mutual legal assistance. Participants in the training workshop included law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judges from IGAD member states. The meeting was facilitated by resource persons from the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, ICPAT, Amicus Legal Consultants Ltd., the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism, the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, and the Pan African Lawyers Union, among others.

Click here to see the Draft IGAD Reference Manual.

Click here to see the background paper.

Workshop on Building Capacity in the Area of Counterterrorism in West Africa in the Framework of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy

On 16-17 February 2010, the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, with support from the government of Denmark, co-hosted a workshop on "Building Capacity in the Area of Counterterrorism in West Africa in the Framework of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy" which took place in Abuja, Nigeria. This project is the sixth component of a broader effort by the Center to enhance implementation of the UN Strategy in different regions around the globe, which includes past projects on southern and East Africa as well as a concurrent assessment of North Africa. The goal of this meeting, and the larger project of which it is a part, is to identify and prioritize the unmet counterterrorism and related capacity needs of countries in West Africa across the four pillars of the UN Strategy and strengthen counterterrorism related cooperation among states in West Africa and between the region and the United Nations.

Click here to read the meeting summary.
Click here (French) to see the agenda.
Click here (French) to read the discussion paper.

Counterterrorism and Human Rights: Opportunities to Improve U.S. and UN Policy

On 5 February 2010, the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation and Human Rights First co-sponsored a meeting at Akin Gump in New York on “Counterterrorism and Human Rights: Opportunities to Improve U.S. and UN Policy.” This meeting was the first in a series of workshops and briefings that the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation is holding over the next year on the issue. The primary objective of this project is to encourage the United States to take the lead in getting the UN Security Council to reestablish credibility internationally on human rights issues, in particular by correcting the lack of attention to human rights in the work of its counterterrorism-related subsidiary bodies and by promoting more cooperation between those bodies (and the broader political/security machinery in New York) and the UN human rights machinery in Geneva.

Click here to read the meeting summary.

Click here to read the background paper.