PAKISTAN
Building on the initiatives developed in 2010, TPB launched a wide range of activities for Pakistan in 2011. In order to strengthen the country's legal responses to terrorism and enhance the capacity of the criminal justice system to implement the international legal instruments against terrorism, the Government of Pakistan has ratified 11 of the universal legal instruments against terrorism, developed legislation that contain provisions addressing terrorist acts and allowing for international cooperation, established agencies (e.g. National Counter Terrorism Authority) to enhance national coordination and improve international cooperation. Specifically, in the fall of 2011, TPB provided assistance to Pakistan by organizing several workshops dealing with counter-terrorism. The following activities were undertaken in the second half of 2011:
sub-regional Workshop on Countering the use of the internet for terrorist purposes
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation (26 to 28 July 2011)
TPB organized the workshop in cooperation with the Coordinating Council of the Prosecutor- General's Office. The workshop brought together experts from Pakistan and CIS countries. The St. Petersburg Juridical Institute of Russian Academy of the Prosecutor-General's Office hosted the workshop and provided substantive support for the event together with UNODC exerts and international presenters. 31 representatives attended from the following countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. The workshop provided support to the participating practitioners in developing their national legislation, criminal justice procedures, and preventative measures on countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes and related crimes. The workshop concentrated on the wide scope of threats posed by the use of Internet for terrorist purposes, including incitement to commit acts of terrorism, recruitment of terrorists, fundraising and terrorist financing, training, targeting and planning terrorist acts.
National Workshop on counter-financing of terrorism and anti-money laundering
Bhurban, Pakistan (8 to 10 September 2011)
Pursuant to a special request from the Government of Pakistan to provide a series of training workshops on Counter-Financing of Terrorism and Anti-Money Laundering issues, UNDOC organized a workshop to provide training on the investigation and prosecution of terrorist financing cases. The purpose of the workshop was to support the efforts of Pakistani authorities working towards implementation of international counter-terrorism requirements particularly as related to countering the financing of terrorism. Participants in this workshop included approximately 30 senior or mid-ranking officials from the Pakistani Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Interior, the Counter Terrorism Wing/Federal Investigation Agency, the National Counter Terrorism Authority, the National Accountability Bureau, the Financial Monitoring Unit, the Federal Board of Revenue, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and prosecutors at the provincial anti terrorism courts.
Pakistan-Southeast Asia workshop on implementing the legal framework in countering the financing of terrorism
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (20-22 September 2011)
In partnership with the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), TPB organized a workshop on countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). The workshop supported the strengthening of the CFT legal framework, its effective implementation and encouraged international co-operation in CFT matters. Thirteen Pakistan officials attended the workshop, representing the Financial Monitoring Unit, National Accountability Bureau, National Counter-Terrorism Authority, law enforcement and judiciary from Pakistan. Participants also included representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, as well as from the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering. Participants were able to familiarize themselves with the extensive range of requirements and good practices to effectively counter the financing of terrorism (including the provisions of the Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the Nine Special Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force. The workshop was followed by a half-day visit to the Malaysian Financial Intelligence Unit.
CENTRAL ASIA
UNODC's presence in Central Asia began 1993 with the establishment of the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Today there are Programme Offices in all five Central Asian States: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Much effort has gone into promoting adherence to international instruments and in supporting States in bringing their domestic laws into compliance with them.
Moreover, UNODC/TPB has played a key role and provided substantive leading expertise in implementing the United Nation's global counter-terrorism strategy in Central Asia. The CTITF Working Group on Preventing and Resolving Conflict, in collaboration with Member States in the region, has developed an initiative to assist Central Asian States to devise a regional Plan of Action to implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The regional Plan of Action is the outcome of three expert meetings and various negotiations, conducted over the course of two years, to assist Central Asian States in implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which was adopted at High Level Meeting on Implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia.
To further provide assistance in Central Asia a number of regional and national training activities for investigators, lawyers, prosecutors and judges have been implemented. With a traditional emphasis on building capacity in counter-terrorism through technical assistance, the training activities provided practitioners with new tools in combating terrorism. From November to December 2011, the following activities were held in Central Asia:
Legislative drafting workshop on the implementation of the universal legal instruments against terrorism
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (24-25 November 2011)
UNODC/TPB, together with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (Anti Terrorism Unit and Office in Bishkek), substantively led a counter-terrorism legislative drafting workshop for approximately 30 Kyrgyz officials, representing the National Security Committee, the Ministry of the Interior, Justice, Defense and Foreign Affairs, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Prosecutor General's Office and the Parliament (Commission on Defense and Security).
Promotion of accession to the International Counter-terrorism conventions and protocols
Tokyo, Japan (19-20 December 2011)
In December 2011, a seminar on the "Promotion of Accession to the International Counter-Terrorism Conventions and Protocols" was held in Tokyo, Japan, with participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The seminar focused on the current terrorism threat in the Central Asian countries, as well as progress and challenges in their respective domestic implementation of the International Counter-Terrorism Conventions and Protocols, particularly on combating the financing of terrorism. The seminar was organized by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and substantively supported by UNODC/TPB.