NCJ Number
205681
Date Published
March 2004
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This report reviews the status of technical assistance provided by the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the Division for Treaty Affairs of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and presents an overview of the responses received from member states and international organizations regarding the nature of links between terrorism and other forms of crime.
Abstract
The focus of technical assistance by the Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) over the past 16 months has been on assisting member states, upon request, in facilitating the ratification and implementation of the 12 international conventions and protocols on terrorism. During this period, the TPB has provided assistance to 73 countries. Two technical assistance projects to "strengthen the legal regime against terrorism" were implemented under the framework of the Global Program Against Terrorism in the period under review. This assistance included the provision of a legislative guide to universal antiterrorism instruments and accompanying checklist. Regional and subregional workshops were held to inform national experts and criminal justice officials about the requirements of resolution 1373 (2001), the requirements for ratifying and implementing the universal antiterrorism instruments, and international cooperation arrangements. In 2004 the focus of the technical assistance activities of the TPB will continue to be on providing member states with assistance in ratifying and implementing the universal antiterrorism instruments. The responses of member states and international organizations regarding links between terrorism and other forms of crime indicate that terrorist groups have been frequently involved in other crimes, particularly drug trafficking, money laundering, and the falsification of travel and identity or other official documents. Several countries noted links between incidents of the corruption of public officials and international terrorism, and others reported links between terrorists and firearms trafficking, the smuggling of illegal migrants, and other forms of exploitation of illegal markets. The links between terrorism and other forms of crime were reported to be mostly of an operational, logistical, or financial nature. Such links were reported to have increased in several countries over the past 10 years. Appended summaries of various relevant meetings