Law & Paneir

BY NOZHAN ETEZADOSALTANEH I quote Ataturk, who began his career as a politician in 1923 by making a series of speeches demanding political rights for women. Now, at first blink it would be difficult to imagine anything more improbable than an Ottoman pasha and a general beginning his political career on a feminist platform, but that’s exactly what he did. He said, with his usual terseness and clarity, “Our most urgent task today is to catch up with the modern world.” “We will not catch up with the modern world if we only modernize half the population.” “We” refers to Turkey, of course. Simple, clear and, I think, overwhelmingly true. The same is true in the Arab world today and is one of the more encouraging factors in Iraq, where women have done better than in most other places and will play an increasingly important role in Iraqi political society. These were some of the remarks of Professor Bernard Lewis who researches relations between Islam and the West regarding the sta...

by Robert M. Young Under what circumstances and with what rationale do people kill and maim one another and, in particular, innocent people and children, in the name of a higher cause? This has recently occurred in Oklahoma City, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, former Yugoslavia and, of course, New York and Washington. If we cast our net more widely we can add Rwanda and Iraq, and if we broaden our scope again we can include world wars, civil wars and dictatorships, for example in Uganda, Chile, Argentina and the history of pogroms, the Spanish Inquisition, slavery in the Americas, the genocide of the native Americans. In Oklahoma City the higher cause was the Militia movement in America, seeking to preserve a special reading of individual rights in the face of the federal government, Jews and the United Nations. In Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and probably in New York and Washington it was Moslem fundamentalism under the sponsorship of Osama Bin Laden, while in the Balkans it was ethnic c...

Introduction The threat posed by Europeans being radicalised, many of who are also travelling abroad to fight, is likely to persist in the coming years. An effective response to these issues requires a comprehensive approach and long term commitment. The primary responsibility in the fight against terrorism lies with the member states. However, the EU can and should play a supportive role that helps respond to the cross-border nature of the threat.  The role of the Council Since the beginning of 2013, the issues of radicalisation and foreign terrorist fighters have been regular items on the agenda of the Council of the EU and the European Council. They have developed a comprehensive response , including both internal and external lines of action.  After the terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015, the European Union decided to reinforce its response and accelerate the implementation of agreed measures. On 12 February, EU leaders held a debate on the wa...

Assessing the Impact of ISIL The success of ISIL since 2014 has revived the threat of terrorism in Malaysia and Indonesia. It has led to an estimated 600-1,000 Southeast Asians to travel to Syria and Iraq to gain jihadist experience and given a new generation of members a pedestal. Some 169 Indonesians alone have been turned back by Turkish authorities, and many more cannot get to Syria and Iraq because of the logistical logjam caused by proactive measures by regional security forces. But ISIL has increased the rate of indoctrination and induction. Importantly they have broadened the traditional base of JI’s recruitment, and have members representing the entire spectrum of society, including women.  Some, such as the MIT and Ba’asyir’s Jemmah Anshaur Tauhid (JAT), have publicly pledged  bai’yat  to ISIL. (In early January, Ba’asyir, through his lawyer, renounced his ties to ISIL, but that came just days before his 12 January court hearing to appeal for an early...

Purpose AUSTRAC has prepared this  Terrorism financing in Australia 2014  report to raise awareness and strengthen the national response to the serious threat of terrorism financing. The report is based on a classified national risk assessment of the Australian terrorism financing environment completed by AUSTRAC in 2014 in collaboration with a number of key partner agencies, particularly the Australian Federal Police (AFP). This public report presents a consolidated picture of the Australian terrorism financing environment - current and emerging risks and threats, the channels used to raise and transfer funds, indicators to help identify suspicious activity, and the legal and regulatory framework in place to help deter and detect terrorism financing. While classified and sensitive information has been excluded from this public report, its key findings and terrorism financing methodologies, trends and observations are consistent with the classified national risk assessme...

Fundraising campaigns are an important means for non-governmental organisations, other associations and foundations to raise funds for their activities. Funds raised by fundraising campaigns must be used to promote a non-profit cause. Despite this principle, fundraising campaigns can also promote negative phenomena such as money laundering and terrorist financing. This is because fundraising activities and the work of associations in general can be used to launder money or to finance terrorists. It is important to note that in terms of terrorist financing, even small sums of money from different sources can make a big difference.  The authorities have various supervisory means available to them for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. With regard to fundraising campaigns, the goal is to ensure that legitimate fundraisers are able to pursue their goals and raise funds for their chosen cause while preventing criminals from taking advantage of these associations ...

The international community has made the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism a priority. Among the goals of this effort are: protecting the integrity and stability of the international financial system, cutting off the resources available to terrorists, and making it more difficult for those engaged in crime to profit from their criminal activities. The IMF's unique blend of universal membership, surveillance functions, and financial sector expertise make it an integral and essential component of international efforts to combat money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. In 2000, the Fund responded to calls from the international community to expand its work in the area of anti-money laundering (AML) in general and concerning the abuse of Offshore Financial Centers (OFC) in particular by initiating an OFC assessment program and exploring how it could incorporate AML work into its activities, especially Article IV surveillance and the newly-es...