Attorney-General's Department’s Post

EUAM Iraq together with Al-Nahrain Centre and the Office of the National Security Advisor hosted a two-day seminar on "Women in Violent Extremism": Entryways and Effective Responses?’ attended by members of the national committees for countering violent extremism and counterterrorism and other government stakeholders as well as representatives of Iraqi research institutes and civil society organisations.  With the presentations by the Government of Finland’s Institute for Health and Welfare and a researcher from Al-Nahrain Centre for Strategic Studies as scene-setters, participants discussed various push and pull factors behind women joining violent terrorist organisations, and how national policies and practices should be tailored to address specific dynamics related to the various roles that women can play in violent extremism ranging from victims to radicalisators to operatives.  In their opening remarks, the National Security Advisor of Iraq, Qassim Al-Araji, and the Head of the EU Advisory Mission in Iraq Anders Wiberg emphasised the need for knowledge-based policies and practices to prevent and counter violent extremism, while the representative of the UN Office of Counterterrorism in Iraq presented on the global perspective, and the Chair of the National Committee for Countering Violent Extremism outlined related Iraqi policies. Al-Nahrain Centre of Strategic Studies and the EU Advisory Mission will summarise the main conclusions and recommendations for dissemination amongst Iraqi stakeholders and further collaboration to promote research-based development and implementation of national policy in the field of countering violent extremism.

On 29 May Global Center on Cooperative Security and Rights and Security International were joined by #civilsociety partners, to launch a report on independent CSO-UN #counterterrorism engagement exploring the potential avenues for independent engagement by civil society with the United Nations counterterrorism architecture. Based on input from more than 170 civil society representatives from around the world, we found an overwhelming consensus that the United Nations is failing to sufficiently engage with, promote, and protect civil society in the context of its counterterrorism agenda. The report outlines/describes the hesitation of many groups worldwide to engage with the UN on counterterrorism, the barriers they face, and their aspirations for the UN’s role in promoting and protecting civil society. For meaningful, inclusive, and independent civil society engagement around the UN’s counterterrorism regime, governments and the UN must take urgent action to protect #humanrights and defend civic space. #defendcivicspace Check out the Global Center and Rights & RSI's CSO-UN engagement report, understand the background of the scoping study, read our CSO partners' regional landscape assessment reports, and re-watch the 29 May launch event by visiting: https://lnkd.in/eJ5zU_Ec

In our new article, Franziska Praxl-Tabuchi & I delve into civil Society Engagement with the United Nations on Counterterrorism – A Perilous, Uphill Challenge. 👇 https://lnkd.in/ec6DSHEX

🌍 Under the guise of countering terrorism, regional organisations in the MENA engage in transnational repression. In our latest analysis, MENA Rights Group explains how regional bodies enable human rights violations in the MENA region through abusive counter-terrorism legislative frameworks. The paper particularly focuses on the Arab Interior Ministers' Council, and outlines recommendations to address the human rights concerns posed by this Arab League body. We also share our firsthand experience raising our human rights concerns to UN counterterrorism bodies that directly cooperate with problematic regional bodies and regret the lack of civil society inclusion in this process. Read the full analysis ⬇ https://lnkd.in/dN6rYiyb #counterterrorism #mena #humanrights #arableague

The Granada Declaration : the focus will be on a new European enlargement process. https://lnkd.in/eww5SHGE Turkey is nonetheless a key partner of the EU in many areas of mutual interest, such as migration, counter-terrorism, public health, climate and regional issues. the European Council declared that the EU stands ready to engage with Turkey in a gradual, proportionate and reversible manner in areas of common interest, subject to the conditions set out. https://lnkd.in/eVdgJi9h

At the annual meeting of the 46 United Nations entities involved in counter-terrorism, I called for human rights to be placed at the heart of counter-terrorism efforts in Africa, including by preventing and remedying state violations of human rights that stimulate terrorism https://lnkd.in/gBTtwt4T

📢 Our #CTWeek report is out The 2023 #CounterTerrorism Week Visibility Report presents key conclusions and outcomes of the Third High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States, as well as 40 thematic side events co-organized with 95 stakeholders. 🗣️More than 1000 participants representing 160 Member States, 23 regional and international organizations, 23 United Nations entities, as well as 135 institutions from academia, civil society, and private sector attended #CTWeek between 19-23 June 2023 to exchange experiences and discuss critical issues in countering terrorism and preventing and countering violent extremism 🧑⚖️ The Report also highlights the adoption on 22 June of the 8th review resolution of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy by the UN General Assembly. The adoption of the resolution without a vote preserved the tradition of consensus behind the Strategy. 📘 Check out the report https://lnkd.in/g83CxpzD 📰 Read the summary  https://lnkd.in/egdkhdh4 #UNiteToCounterTerrorism

Last month, GIFCT worked with BSR to convene an expert discussion on practical human rights-based approaches to preventing terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms. The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, ARTICLE 19, and BSR weighed in alongside GIFCT on the following questions: ▶ What does having a #humanrights policy mean in practice for companies? ▶ What does human rights due diligence in the context of #counterterrorism and violent extremism online mean in practice? ▶ How should human rights be factored into the definitions of terrorism and violent extremism, and the use of designation lists? Here's a summary of the panel, including links to further resources: https://lnkd.in/gGMSg-Td

The newest 1540 Compass is out and includes an article by myself on the way bioterrorism has been included in national counter-terrorism legislation. Published by UNICRI - United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, 1540 Compass is an e-journal f dedicated to advancing the objectives, awareness and implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) (UNSCR 1540) and its successor resolutions. The current issue is a special issue on “20 Years of UNSCR 1540”. In light of this I have researched counter-terrorism legislation adopted during this time period to consider the most common ways states seek to incorporate bioterrorism in their legislation. It also consider the conformity of these common approaches with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540.