National counter-terrorism (C-T) policies and challenges to human rights and civil liberties: Case study of United Kingdom

In the UK the rise post-2005 in “home-grown” terrorism, relying to a significant extent on strikes on soft targets by “self-starters,” means that the search for effective preventive measures remains a continuing concern. Below a number of the preventive counter-terror measures adopted post-9/11, and incrementally strengthened in response to the current threat, are found to fall into three categories and represent interventions at the stages in the path toward attacks. This chapter focuses on selected examples of these preventive measures. In terms of three key stages, firstly, there is the attempt to prevent radicalization, under the “Prevent” strategy. A second strategy relies on taking certain measures to control the activities of those considered likely – on the balance of probabilities – to engage in terrorist-related activity. A third preventive strategy relies on the special terrorism offences under the Terrorism Acts 2000 and 2006, as amended, intended to allow for intervention at a very early stage in terrorist plots and in preparing or instigating terrorist acts (“precursor” offences)

In Conversation with Mubin Shaikh: From Salafi Jihadist to Undercover Agent inside the "Toronto 18" Terrorist Group

This interview with former undercover agent Mubin Shaikh can help academics and security practitioners understand the key role played and the challenges faced by covert human intelligence sources within domestic terrorist groups. The interview highlights the identity crisis, the personal factors, and the allure of jihadi militancy that initially drove Shaikh to join a Salafi jihadist group. It investigates Shaikh’s process of disengagement from the Salafi jihadist belief system and his rediscovery of a moderate, inclusive, and benevolent form of Islam. It explores his work as an undercover agent for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team responsible for disrupting domestic terrorist groups. The “Toronto 18” terrorist cell, the key role played by undercover agents in preventing terrorist action, and the challenges posed by entrapment are also discussed

When Law Frees Us to Speak

A central aim of online abuse is to silence victims. That effort is as regrettable as it is successful. In the face of cyberharassment and sexualprivacy invasions, women and marginalized groups retreat from online engagement. These documented chilling effects, however, are not inevitable. Beyond its deterrent function, the law has an equally important expressive role. In this Article, we highlight law’s capacity to shape social norms and behavior through education. We focus on a neglected dimension of law’s expressive role: its capacity to empower victims to express their truths and engage with others. Our argument is theoretical and empirical. We present new empirical research showing cyberharassment law’s salutary effects on women’s online expression. We then consider the implications of those findings for victims of sexual-privacy invasions

The Police-ization of the Military

This essay will briefly review the background of the use of the armed forces in a police capacity, discuss the growth of that role in the I980s and 1990s, and forecast an even greater expansion into that role in the near future due to the emerging threat of catastrophic terrorism. It will contend that this increased reliance on military resources for policing is not in the interest of either the armed forces or the public. Finally, it will make some observations with a view towards minimizing the dangers of police-ization of the military while ensuring the Nation\u27s public safety

Women\u2019s human rights when experiencing humanitarian crises and conflicts: the impact of United Nations Security Council Resolutions on women, peace, security, and the CEDAW General Recommendation no. 30.

Violence and insecurity are strictly linked to unequal political, social, and economic power. However, the continuity of violence is obscured by masculinist and patriarchal rules of security within gendered structures, especially inside the division of public/private dimensions and spaces, of production-reproduction activities, and of conflicts of war/peace. Nowadays, there is a general perception of the gendered dimensions of humanitarian emergencies in public policy outcomes and more in general in institutional contexts where the central role of women in security and maintaining peace, at all levels of decision making, both prior to, during, and after the conflict stage, hostilities, and peace-keeping and peace-building stages, as well as in trying to pursue a condition of reconciliation and reconstruction, has been formally recognized at international level. Nevertheless, it is necessary to focus on some problems related to the conceptualization of and legal provision for \u2018gender based security\u2019 and its subsequent effects upon accountability, with particular reference to transitional justice and post-conflict societies. It is important to assess a range of contemporary issues implicated for women and security, such as violence and other forms of harassment in times of post-conflict

Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

[Excerpt] This report focuses on international and domestic human trafficking and U.S. policy responses, with particular emphasis on the TVPA and its subsequent reauthorizations. The report begins with a description of key TIP-related definitions and an overview of the human trafficking problem. It follows with an overview of major foreign policy responses to international human trafficking. The report then focuses on responses to trafficking into and within the United States, examining relief for trafficking victims in the United States and discussing U.S. law enforcement efforts to combat domestic trafficking. The report concludes with an overview of current anti-trafficking legislation and an analysis of policy issues

Terrorist Financing and Money Laundering

Terrorism  causes  enormous  costs  to  society.  Since  the  9/11  attacks,  the  “war  on  terror”  has  therefore  been  an  important  challenge  to  all  civilized  countries.  In  the  present  contribution  we  analyze the root causes and costs of terrorist activity, thereby setting the stage for discussing the  need for measures against terrorist financing. We argue that running a terrorist organization requires  substantial financial resources which are transferred to the groups through clandestine and often  illegal channels. Anti-money laundering policies may appear useful measures to stop transfers to  terrorist groups; however, they are not sufficient means to deal with all facets of terrorist financing.  Compared  to  similar  activities  of  organized  crime,  terrorist  financing  involves  “reverse”  money  laundering. This is a consequence of some fundamental differences between terrorism and organized  crime, which also lead to different implications in terms of choosing appropriate counter-measures.terrorist financing, causes and costs of terrorism, money laundering, organized  crime vs. terrorism, anti-terrorist financing policies