In This Issue:
Recent Publications
 "Developing Regional Counterterrorism Cooperation in South Asia"
West Point CTC Sentinel
December 2009 - By Alistair Millar
In light of the 2008 attacks in Mumbai and numerous terrorist attacks since, this article looks at the pressing need and prospects for developing a regional approach to intelligence sharing, law enforcement, and other forms of counterterrorism cooperation in South Asia. It highlights some of the challenges to developing effective regional counterterrorism cooperation in South Asia by looking at the counterterrorism efforts of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It argues that South Asian states and their external partners need to move beyond well intended statements to focus on building practical counterterrorism cooperation at the technical level. Specifically, it recommends the establishment of a new regional counterterrorism forum for cooperation, with the necessary expertise and mandate to provide training and implement related counterterrorism capacity building efforts in South Asia, arguing that building the capacity of, and trust between, law enforcement and judicial officials and other technical counterterrorism practitioners in the region could also build a foundation for higher levels of political cooperation against terrorism.
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The G8's Counterterrorism Action Group: A Stock-Taking and the Need For Reform
November 2009
More than eight years after the 11 September 2001 attacks, the need for more effective multilateral coordination and cooperation among the increasing number of counterterrorism donors remains significant. The G8’s Counterterrorism Action Group (CTAG), established at the Evian summit in 2003, continues to offer the best available opportunity for donors to coordinate their efforts and for strategic thinking among major donors about engaging in different countries or regions, assessing the effectiveness of capacity-building assistance to date, and fine-tuning approaches going forward. This paper, prepared on behalf of Canada, the incoming CTAG president, takes stock of the group’s efforts to date and identifies a number of reforms, both short and longer-term, which CTAG members should consider adopting to enhance the group’s effectiveness.
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 Policy Brief - The Need for Enhanced Regional Responses to Terrorism in South Asia
December 2009 - By General V.P. Malik
In the fifth in a series of policy briefs by the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation and collaborating experts, Center advisory council member, General Ved Prakash Malik, offers his thoughts on improving regional counterterrorism cooperation in South Asia. Writing from his experience as a former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army and current president of the Institute of Security Studies at the Observer Research Foundation, Malik argues for a new regional approach to counterterrorism in South Asia and offers lessons from India’s experience.
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 Policy Brief - Global Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1540: An Enhanced UN Response is Needed
October 2009 - By Eric Rosand
This policy brief examines the work of the United Nations to promote implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540, which is aimed at preventing weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery from getting into the hands of non-state actors. It argues that the capacity of the United Nations to promote implementation of the resolution, in particular that of the Security Council’s 1540 Committee and its Group of Experts, should be strengthened and provides specific recommendations for how that should be done.
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More Publications... |
Events
Workshop on Raising Awareness of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Among Civil Society in Southeast Asia
18-19 November 2009 | The Sultan Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia
 The Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation and Nahdatul Ulama (NU), with support from the governments of Germany and Sweden, co-hosted a workshop in Jakarta on 18-19 November 2009 to raise awareness of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy among civil society in Southeast Asia and explore the possibilities for greater civil society participation in efforts to implement the global framework in a manner that reflects the local contexts, needs, and priorities across the region. Participants in the workshop included representatives from civil society from across Southeast Asia working on an array of issues related to the implementation of the UN Strategy. The workshop aimed to build on the rich contributions of civil society to furthering human security in Southeast Asia and lay the foundations for the development of a civil society network related to the issues covered in the UN Strategy.
Click here to read the meeting summary.
Click here to read the background paper.
Press Coverage:
“Civil Societies Discuss Ways to Combat Terrorism in Southeast Asia,” Sujadi Siswo, Channel NewsAsia, 20 November 2009 (Link to Video)
"Gov't Told to Give Space to Civil Society in Combating Terrorism," Jakarta Post, 18 November 2009
"The UN and Civil Society's Role in Countering Terrorism," Abdul Wahid Maktub and Alistair Millar, Jakarta Post, 18 November 2009
"War Against Terror in Southeast Asia," Rommel Banlaoi, Jakarta Post, 18 November 2009
Luncheon Discussion on Building Capacity in the Area of Counterterrorism in West Africa
13 November 2009 | Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations, New York, NY
On 13 November 2009, the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations and the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation hosted a meeting on “Building Capacity in the Area of Counterterrorism in West Africa in the Framework of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.” The luncheon included speakers from the Economic Community of West African States Commission in Abuja and the UN Counter‐Terrorism Executive Directorate who provided updates on their respective efforts to promote counterterrorism cooperation and capacity‐building in West Africa.
Click here for more information.
C onference on Building Stronger Partnerships to Prevent Terrorism
8 October 2009 | Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, Washington, DC
On 8 October 2009, the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, with support from the Ford Foundation, hosted a conference in Washington, DC on “Building Stronger Partnerships to Prevent Terrorism." The goal was to focus attention on cooperative non-military counterterrorism efforts and steps the United States can take to strengthen those efforts. Participants in the full-day event included current senior U.S. and foreign government officials, senior representatives from the United Nations and regional organizations, academic and other non-governmental experts, and distinguished members of the Center’s international advisory council. The conference highlighted the comparative advantages of multilateral bodies in general and specifically as they relate to efforts to strengthen cooperation in two priority regions for U.S. counterterrorism efforts, South Asia and the Horn of Africa. The conference elicited concrete recommendations aimed at enhancing U.S. multilateral counterterrorism engagement, as well as making these international and regional actors more effective.
Click here for more information, including a meeting summary.
Workshop on Building Capacity in the Area of Counterterrorism in West Africa in the Framework of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
17 September 2009 | Danish Permanent Representation to the EU, Brussels, Belgium
On 17 September 2009, the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark organized a workshop on “Building Capacity in the Area of Counterterrorism in West Africa in the Framework of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.” The meeting included representatives from the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States Commission as well as other relevant regional and subregional organizations. It served as a preparatory meeting to build support for the larger, follow-on workshop, which will be convened in West Africa in early 2010 and will include representatives from ECOWAS member states, external partner governments, and nongovernmental experts. The participants at the workshop in Brussels discussed counterterrorism and broader related capacity-building efforts in West Africa and focused in particular on the possibility of developing a subregional strategy on counterterrorism and a mechanism for facilitating improved subregional counterterrorism cooperation and capacity building.
Click here to read the background paper.
Click here to read the meeting summary.
Workshop on Implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in North Africa
15-16 September 2009 | Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, The Netherlands
On 15-16 September 2009, the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a workshop in The Hague as part of a project on “Implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in North Africa.” This meeting included representatives from the United Nations and relevant regional and subregional organizations and researchers and other nongovernmental experts from North Africa and Europe. It was the precursor to a larger, follow-on meeting the Center plans on organizing in North Africa in early 2010 to which government representatives from the subregion and partner countries will be invited. The September workshop considered the threats and vulnerabilities to terrorism in North Africa as well as national, subregional, regional, and international efforts to address them. The participants discussed the UN Strategy in a subregional context, considering the potential opportunities it offers for, among other things, enhancing counterterrorism cooperation and capacity building in the subregion and its overall preparedness to combat terrorism, as well as for stimulating more coherent and effective engagement by the United Nations and other external partners (e.g., the European Union and the United States) in the subregion on issues related to terrorism and counterterrorism.
Click here to read the background paper.
Click here to read the meeting summary.
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Newsworthy
22 December 2009
"U.N. Measure Offers Recourse to Blacklisted," New York Times
Read more.
9 December 2009
"International Counterterrorism Policy in the Obama Administration," Remarks by Daniel Benjamin, Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State, Jamestown Conference, Washington, DC
Read more.
3 December 2009
"Dead Men on UN Terror List Hinder Global Fight Against Al-Qaeda," Bloomberg, quoting Center Co-Director Eric Rosand
Read more.
2 December 2009
"The Torture Debate Doesn't Belong in 9/11 Courtroom," Op-ed by Center Visiting Fellow Carie Lemack, USA Today
Read more.
1 December 2009
"Africa Looks Beyond 'War on Terror'," Africa Renewal, quoting Center Co-Director Eric Rosand
Read more.
10 November 2009
"Marking Jordan's 9/11, Global Survivors of Terrorism Speak Out," Jordan Times, quoting Center Visiting Fellow Carie Lemack
Read more.
9 November 2009
"Set Up Regional Cooperation to Combat Terrorism," Daily Star
Read more.
29 October 2009
"Address: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council," Remarks by Navanethem Pillay, New York, NY
Read more.
26 October 2009
"Briefing to the United Nations Security Council Committee," Remarks by Paul Vlaanderen, President of the Financial Action Task Force, New York, NY
Read more.
14 October 2009
"The Role of Civil Society in Counterterrorism," Remarks by Eric Rosand, Center Co-Director, presentation for the European Union's Counter-Terrorism Committee, Brussels, Belgium
Read more.
13 October 2009
International Workshop for National C-T Focal Points, "Better Linking National and Global Counter-Terrorism Efforts," Remarks delivered by H.E. Ambassador Jürg Lindenmann of Switzerland, Vienna, Austria
Read more.
12 October 2009
"Secretary-General's Message to International Workshop for National Counter-Terrorism Focal Points," Remarks delivered by Jean-Paul Laborde, Special Advisor to the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Vienna, Austria
Read more.
1 October 2009
"UNSCR 1540 at a Cross Roads: The Challenges of Implementation," Remarks by Eric Rosand, Center Co-Director, delivered for a special meeting of civil society representatives, New York, NY
Read more.
13 August 2009
"A New Course in the World, a New Approach at the U.N.," Remarks by Amb. Susan Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York University's Center for Global Affairs, New York, NY
Read more.
6 August 2009
"A New Approach to Safeguarding Americans," Remarks by John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC
Read more. |
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