New York: The State of Qatar has reiterated its commitment to continue cooperation with the United Nations and Member States to eradicate terrorism, affirming its cooperation with multilateral bodies within the framework of international cooperation. Qatar has also expressed its belief in the importance of evidence-based policies and an understanding of the causes and forms of links between terrorism and organized crime, stressing its endeavor to enhance information security, encourage international cooperation to combat cybercrime, and provide a safe and robust cyber environment.
This came in a statement delivered by HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani before the UN Security Council, which held an official meeting on "addressing the links between terrorism and organized crime."
Her Excellency stated that the State of Qatar continuously cooperates with these bodies within the framework of international cooperation to identify best practices for a coordinated and effective response through initiatives, referring to the international academic conference to study the relationship between organized crime and terrorism, which was held in Doha on April 25, 2018, in cooperation between the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the College of Law at Qatar University.
Her Excellency noted that in May 2017 Doha hosted a workshop on stopping terrorist financing, held in cooperation with the UNODC and the Financial Action Task Force in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA FATF). and also pointed to the State of Qatar's participation in sponsoring the high-level conference on international and regional cooperation in combating terrorism financing through illicit drug trafficking and organized crime, which was held by Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe on 17-17 / 5/2019 in coordination with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office.
HE the Permanent Representative went on saying "Believing in the importance of evidence-based policies and understanding the causes, forms, and circumstances of the links between terrorism and crime, the State of Qatar participated in sponsoring the study on 'identifying and exploring the relationship between human trafficking, terrorism and terrorist financing', conducted by the Executive Directorate of Counter-Terrorism Office in 2018 to shed light on this important issue.
Her Excellency also touched on the necessary measures taken by the State of Qatar at the domestic level, especially the continuous updating of laws and regulations related to combating terrorism and its financing, to tackle any emerging terrorist challenges. She pointed out that the State of Qatar has repeatedly updated its national legislation and regulations related to combating cyber-crime and terrorism and preventing the spread of weapons.
HE Sheikha Alya Al-Thani stated that misusing information resources and technologies and harnessing them to facilitate suspicious financial transactions is a constantly growing risk, that requires thorough studying and effective tackling. She stressed that the State of Qatar seeks to enhance information security and encourage international cooperation to combat cybercrime and provide a safe and strong cyber environment, pointing out that Qatar has been a victim of cybercrime that has been a pretext for fabricating a regional crisis that has severely damaged regional and international security and stability since 2017.
Her Excellency praised the national committees established by the State of Qatar to combat terrorism, organized crime, arms proliferation and interdependence between them, and took financial and economic measures, such as investigations to discover networks that facilitate organized crime, noting the strict customs measures imposed by the State of Qatar to combat the import of contraband.
Warning of the danger of international terrorism and crime in all their forms, Her Excellency said that "what increases these dangers is that terrorist groups feed on crime, and in return, criminal gangs have benefited from the spread of terrorism." She referred to terrorist groups active in human trafficking by recruiting young men to carry out terrorist operations and using sexual violence as a terrorism tactic.
On the backdrop of the threat of terrorism and organized crime and in light of the current challenges posed by (COVID-19) pandemic, Her Excellency said, that these dangers are not limited to a specific country, and therefore bilateral and multilateral cooperation is necessary for an effective response, underlining the important role played by the UN bodies and agencies.
Concluding her statement, HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani reiterated the State of Qatar's commitment to continue cooperation with the United Nations and member states to eradicate terrorism, stressing that international terrorism in its various forms poses a grave threat, as is the case with organized crime, of various kinds that include human trafficking, drugs, weapons, and electronic piracy to name a few.