The payment of ransoms to terrorist groups is one of the sources of income, which supports their recruitment efforts, strengthens their operational capability to organize and carry out terrorist attacks, and incentivises future incidents of kidnapping for ransom.
Within the framework of the Programme on Strengthening the Legal Regime against Terrorism in Iraq, the UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB) held a regional workshop on preventing and denying the benefits of kidnapping for ransom by terrorists in Dead Sea, Jordan, from 7 to 9 November 2016.
This regional workshop aimed at showing the different factual and legal aspects of kidnapping for ransom. It gathered about 30 participants from Iraq, the Middle East and Northern Africa, in addition to Gulf countries and experts from other States and international organizations. The workshop comprised of in-depth discussions and lively exchanges among judicial and law enforcement officers, as well as policy-makers, dealing with the complex legal and technical questions surrounding the fight against kidnapping for ransom.
The agenda covered the relevant universal legal instruments to counter terrorism, particularly Security Council resolutions 2133 (2014), 2161 (2014), 2199 (2015), and the three conventions, namely of 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, the 1979 International Convention against the Taking of Hostages, and the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
In addition, this workshop aimed at exploring and exchanging with the senior audience good practices, which could be implemented by criminal justice officials in this area.
As a result of this workshop, during a final roundtable that involved all the participants, a list of recommendations was drafted based on the Algiers Memorandum on Good Practices on Preventing and Denying the Benefits of Kidnapping for Ransom by Terrorists. The recommendations took into consideration all priorities and concerns relating to the prevention and countering of kidnapping for ransom as a criminal act, as well as preventing terrorists from using ransom payments as a primary funding source for their operations. A follow up with Iraq will be conducted to develop a national strategy for combating kidnapping for ransom by terrorist groups.
