In the framework of the technical assistance provided to Iraq, the UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB) organized a training on the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of financing of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) in Beirut from 7 to 9 December 2016. The training was held back-to-back with another training on the structural reform of the Iraqi Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to strengthen its cooperation with the national and international stakeholders in counter-terrorism matters and was held in Beirut from 5 to 7 December 2016.
The two trainings were complementary in the sense that the first highlighted the crucial role of the FIU in responding to the threat of FTFs, and the second put emphasis on the financial footprint as an essential element to effectively investigate, prosecute and adjudicate FTF cases.
The three-day training was generously funded by the Government of Canada under UNODC's Initiative on Strengthening the Legal Regime against FTFs in the Middle East, North Africa and South Eastern Europe. It gathered 14 Iraqi participants, consisting mainly of FIU officials as well as law enforcement and criminal justice officials, together with peers from the Lebanese FIU and judiciary. International experts from Switzerland, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the Security Council Committee pursuant to Resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011), and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da'esh) Al-Qaida and associated individuals groups undertakings and entities, the International Monetary Fund, and UNESCO also joined Iraqi participants.
In-depth discussions addressed the international legal and financial measures to be adopted on the national level in order to prevent inter-state travel and the financing of FTFs. The experts and Iraqi participants first analyzed traditional and new methods of ISIL financing, and were subsequently given presentations on relevant international legal instruments and requirements, as well as the key role of financial actors in detecting, analyzing, and dealing with suspicious transactions.
Participants were provided with a set of tools to effectively report suspicious transactions and encounter related challenges. Emphasis was also put on the pillars of an effective criminal justice response to trafficking in cultural property, including the search, seizure and confiscation of cultural property, as well as return, restitution or repatriation. UNODC presented in this regard the wealth of its relevant technical tools.
Concrete FTFs cases were presented in order to highlight the complementary role of relevant financial, law enforcement and judicial institutions to effectively prevent the financing of FTFs. Investigators and judiciary representatives presented different phases undertaken in their respective countries when suspicious transactions are reported, emphasizing inter alia, the necessity of internal cooperation between FIU, investigators and prosecutors.
At the end of the training, UNODC/TPB organized a visit to the military court responsible for dealing with terrorism cases in Lebanon. Iraqi officials were warmly welcomed and discussed similarities and differences in the adjudication of terrorism cases in both countries with other participants, as well as recent terrorist cases and their national and regional impact. Iraqi officials were thereafter invited to attend ongoing trials in order to obtain a comprehensive and concrete overview of their peers' practices and experience.
UNODC/TPB implemented a follow-up workshop on the prevention and suppression of illicit trafficking in cultural property as a source of terrorism financing. This workshop took place from 21 to 23 January 2017.
