The UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB) organized a national training seminar on investigation, prosecution and adjudication of the financing of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) for senior Lebanese officials from the relevant national departments. This seminar was held in Beirut from 7 to 10 December 2015.
The event gathered 36 representatives from the following national departments: the Lebanese Army (Intelligence Directorate), the Counter-Terrorism Department, the Office for Combating Financial Crimes and Money Laundering, the Ministry of Justice, the Internal Security Forces, the Special Investigation Commission at the Banque du Liban, the Ministry of Interior, and the Office for Combatting Computer Crimes and the Protection of Intellectual Property. The participants had an opportunity to benefit from the expertise of a senior Lebanese judge and a senior Lebanese financial investigator from the Special Investigation Commission at the Banque du Liban, as well as international experts from the Ministry of Justice of Egypt and the Metropolitan Police Service of the United Kingdom, as well as the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the Security Council 1267 Committee, INTERPOL, United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and UNESCO.
During the workshop, experts and participants discussed different topics, including:
This workshop represented the unique opportunity in bringing together the most senior Lebanese officials from different sectors (the military, the judicial and the financial among others) and providing a forum for discussion and reflection on the issues at hand also in light of the recent law on terrorism financing adopted by Lebanon in November 2015.
The workshop, generously funded by the Government of Canada, was one of the activities organized under Phase II of the UNODC/TPB five-year Initiative on Criminal Justice Responses to Foreign Terrorist Fighters in the MENA region.