Violence and Security

Hezbollah Prioritizes Attack on American Homeland

October 18, 2017

American counterterrorism officials have warned that Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Islamist militant group, is prioritizing its capacity for an assault on US soil as part of the group’s efforts to expand its footprint in the Americas.
ICRC: Counterterrorism Must Maintain Focus on Rights

October 17, 2017

Raising questions regarding the interplay between national security and the global rights agenda, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for governments, in the context of bolstering their counterterrorism capabilities, to recognize "the need for counterterrorism activities to be conducted with full respect for the protection afforded to all individuals by international law."
CoE Official: Sweden Must Loosen Refugee Restrictions

October 17, 2017

Following a visit to Sweden, Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks called on the country's government to lift limitations on family reunification among refugees and to give the "benefit of the doubt" to asylum seekers who claim to be minors by giving them favorable legal treatment.
UN Agent: French Emergency Powers Law Violates Rights

October 17, 2017

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and terrorism Fionnuala Ní Aoláin recently warned that French legislation seeking to "normalize" the government's emergency powers could have "grave consequences" for the global human rights agenda in France and could result in "discriminatory repercussions," particularly against Muslims.
UNESCO Combats "Fake News" in Media Education

October 16, 2017

At a workshop in Nigeria, Fackson Banda of UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication called for the inclusion of "citizenship education" in journalist education programs around the world to counter the rise of "fake news" and propaganda and to promote "solidarity" and "tolerance."
OSCE Official Critiques German "Hate Speech" Law

October 16, 2017

While he praised the objective of the law in protecting vulnerable groups as "important and legitimate," the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir has warned that Germany's new law fining social media companies for their failure to remove "illegal hate speech" is "overly broad" and could produce a chilling effect on the freedom of speech in the country.
OSCE Hosts Seminar on "Hate Speech" in Kazakhstan

October 16, 2017

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) recently hosted a seminar in Kazakhstan for representatives from the media, government, and nongovernmental organizations seeking "to equip journalists with the tools to counter hate speech in the media and on the internet," including by combating "destructive human behaviour" online.
Police Link Gulf Money to Jihadi Attacks in Spain

October 11, 2017

The mosque at the center of the August jihadi attacks in Spain received funding for many years from Arab Gulf Islamist monarchies to support a range of mosque activities for spreading political Islamism through preaching, recruitment, radicalization, and violence.
German "Hate Speech" Legislation Sparks Criticism

October 11, 2017

Politico reports that, as German legislation punishing social media companies with substantial fines for their failure to quickly remove "illegal hate speech" from their platforms takes effect, tech firms and free-speech groups are critiquing the transfer of responsibility in enforcing the country's broad hate-speech laws from public officials to private companies.
EC Plans Large-Scale African Refugee Resettlement

October 11, 2017

The Telegraph reports that the European Commission (EC) has set aside €500 million euros to resettle 50,000 asylum seekers from North Africa in EU countries, following the failure of the EU's previous quota program that attempted to force EU member states to resettle a minimum number of refugees in their territory.