As countries become better at detecting, investigating, and prosecuting terrorism suspects, including returning foreign terrorist fighters, prison services across the world are faced with a growing number of terrorism offenders in their institutions. The presence of these violent extremist offenders (VEOs) in the justice system poses new challenges to prison and probation services as well as to a range of other stakeholders and intervention providers involved in their management, rehabilitation and reintegration.
There is a clear urgency to address radicalization and recruitment to violent extremism in prisons and effectively reintegrate terrorism offenders. Yet the lack of understanding of the extent of the problem has led many governments to implement hasty solutions based on untested assumptions and anecdotal evidence. This article explores the challenges and issues regarding prison management and the process to rehabilitate and reintegrate VEOs. This essay is part of the 2017 Global Terrorism Index (GTI).
The UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) was established in 2004 with the core mission of supporting the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) in monitoring the implementation of counterterrorism obligations required by Security Council Resolution 1373 and facilitating technical assistance to member states to aid their implementation activities. Since 2004, however, CTED’s mandate has expanded considerably in response to the evolution of the threat and the increased number of stakeholders benefiting from CTED assessments and analyses, a group that includes not only the council itself, but also UN member states in general, regional and functional organizations, and other counterterrorism-relevant entities inside and outside the UN system.
This policy brief looks at CTED’s role in light of the need to maintain and strengthen its comparative advantage in assessing member states’ counterterrorism efforts while addressing existing and emerging threats of terrorism and aligning its working methodologies with these developments. It also assesses what CTED and the CTC can do to enhance coordination with partners within and outside the UN system. It then examines the benefits and limitations of CTED’s outputs in relation to its mandate, comparative advantage, capacity, and impact, and concludes by offering some ideas and recommendations for the Security Council, the CTC, and CTED to consider for the next four years and beyond.
This paper assesses how the revised Official Development Assistance (ODA) guidelines will impact the European Union (EU) and its decisions on financing external support for actions to prevent violent extremism. It examines the situation before and after the revision to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ODA eligibility rules, and concludes with specific recommendations for the EU to consider, including: devoting more resources to activities aimed at preventing violent extremism (PVE) across a wider array of EU Instruments (geographic and thematic); and urging the EU and its member states to press the OECD to collect, analyze, and disseminate data on how PVE funds are spent when recorded as ODA.
The South Asia Judges Toolkit provides practice-oriented guidance to judges and judicial training academies of the Member States of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on the adjudication of terrorism and related cases in line with customary international and human rights law and norms. The Toolkit is designed to support judicial academies in the development of national bench books and practice manuals by providing guiding principles and resources. In the absence of a national manual, the toolkit can be used by judges as a reference guide. The contents of the Toolkit may also prove useful for other professionals working in this field, such as prosecutors and investigators.
The Global Center convened a series of regional consultations for judges to support the dissemination and implementation of the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s (GCTF) The Hague Memorandum on Good Practices for the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offenses (Hague Memorandum). The program was delivered under the auspices of the GCTF’s Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group and Horn of Africa Regional Capacity Building Working Group, with financial support from the United States Government.
Following an 18-month consultative process with judges and magistrates handling terrorism and related cases from East Africa and Southeast Asia, this publication offers a series of recommendations intended to inform policymakers and judicial administrators to support the implementation of the Hague Memorandum. For each region, an elaboration of the Hague Memorandum offers a more detailed analysis of law and practice, highlighting areas of convergence and divergence with the good practices and identifying institutional actors for their implementation. After a brief overview of the consultative process, this document presents 30 recommendations representing the consensus of the judges who engaged in the process.
Despite the Greater Horn of Africa’s reputation as one of the most conflict-affected parts of the world, the rise of extremist political violence in recent years has led to a heightened sense of insecurity in the subregion. Observers have increasingly raised concerns about the subregion’s potential vulnerability to violent extremism and the ongoing threat posed by al-Shabaab in Somalia. Preventing and countering violent extremism (CVE) in the Greater Horn has become a key priority for a growing community of national, regional, and international stakeholders.
This report provides an overarching survey of regional and national drivers of violent extremism and other sources of insecurity in the Greater Horn, and provides an overview of responses by government and civil society actors in a subset of countries in the subregion: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Part of a broader program to strengthen regional CVE capacities supported by the U.S. Department of State, the report offers strategic and policy-related insights for CVE stakeholders and highlights the need for holistic strategies that support inclusive and sustainable responses to violent extremism.
In recent years, the role of women in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) has gained momentum in the international counterterrorism policy discourse. Several questions emerge when discussing the particulars of why and how women partake in both violent extremism and P/CVE efforts. For example, what are the different roles that women can undertake in a terrorist organization? Are females recruited differently than their male counterparts? What roles do they play in inciting or persuading others to join violent extremist groups? Is there a particular role for women in countering terrorism and P/CVE? Are specific policies aimed at women a necessity moving forward? How can a gender analysis be effectively integrated into P/CVE policy and programming?
The collection of essays contained in this edited volume by the Global Center and Hedayah seeks to build the body of literature on women and P/CVE by drawing on examples from a number of countries and regions. The essays contain both policy-level recommendations as well as programmatic suggestions, and seek to answer some of the outstanding questions regarding the types of roles women might play in P/CVE efforts.
It is well documented that economic and social development are better attained in the absence of violent conflict. Relatedly, a consensus is building that violent extremism and terrorism are both international security and development issues. However, a gap remains between the policies, practices, and tools used by those concerned with international security and those responsible for stabilization and development cooperation. The gap exists at an organizational level within governments and other bureaucracies and in implementation of programming on the ground. An integrated approach has the potential to play a stronger role in strengthening community resilience against violent extremism and reducing many of its enabling factors.
This policy brief examines the nexus between countering violent extremism and development assistance, looking specifically at opportunities and risks, different approaches taken by donor organizations, and the impact on programs and implementers. It highlights lessons learned and emerging practices, and provides recommendations that could increase their efficiency and impact.
“De-risking” refers to financial institutions closing the accounts of clients perceived as high risk for money laundering or terrorist financing abuse, namely money service businesses, nonprofit organizations, correspondent banks, and foreign embassies.
This report explores the links between bank de-risking and the ascendance of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism policy. It presents a nuanced overview of the driving factors and influences behind de-risking and its potential impact on financial inclusion, particularly for vulnerable communities. The report includes case studies highlighting innovative approaches to, and lessons learned from, addressing financial access challenges across six different sectors. It concludes with recommendations to better address de-risking challenges for banks, regulators, and bank clients experienced in or at risk of account closures.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to roll out a plan of action to improve multilateral efforts on countering violent extremism (CVE), or what the United Nations increasingly calls “preventing” violent extremism, known under the acronym PVE. The forthcoming UN plan of action on preventing violent extremism will cap an intense year for new policies and programs in the field, which kicked off during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism hosted by President Barack Obama and followed up at the opening of the UN General Assembly. The article explores why CVE is more critical than ever and why it is important to differentiate CVE from traditional counterterrorism measures. Looking ahead to discussions among member states and the UN system on a plan of action on CVE, the article encourages states to invest sufficient political capital to ensure that the outcome is best suited to their strategic goals. Overall, the article underscores that CVE measures represent a valuable opportunity to shape more concrete prevention efforts with an urgency that reflects the scale of the challenge.
