Violence and Security

UN Agents Criticize US Refugee Barriers

February 03, 2017

A group of UN human rights mandate holders has published a news release criticizing US President Donald Trump's executive order raising barriers to the entry of migrants as "clearly discriminatory" and a violation of the US's international obligations to protect refugees.
UNESCO Recommendations Address Hate Speech, Radicalization

February 01, 2017

Presenting the findings of a UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) study indicating "no clear causal link between online propaganda and youth radicalization," UNESCO presenters at a conference on "cyberhate" advocated a human rights-based approach to youth radicalization and global standards on "the legal limits for hate speech."
Pakistan Grows as Haven for Global Jihad

January 31, 2017

As Pakistan emerges as a hothouse for a widening constellation of extremist Islamist groups, regional security experts suggest the country's state institutions lack the capacity and will to effectively counter the systematic recruitment and radicalization programs that are targeting the country's youth for global jihadi operations.
UAE, India Agree to Combat Radical Islamist Terror

January 31, 2017

The governments of the United Arab Emirates and India have announced an agreement to develop bilateral policies combating religious radicalization and terrorism by state and non-state actors, in a message that Indian officials say will help to counter the spread of activities by violent Islamist groups in South Asian spaces such as Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Canadian Premier Calls Quebec Shooting a Terrorist Act

January 31, 2017

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a lethal shooting at a Quebec City mosque an act of terror committed by a perpetrator with a history of xenophobic and anti-Muslim posts on social media.
Jihadi Sites Hail Trump Order as Gift for Global Islamism

January 31, 2017

Jihadist social media sites have hailed US President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries as evidence of al-Qaeda leadership predictions that "the West would eventually turn against its Muslim citizens,” heralding the US ban as a recruiting gift for radical Islamists committed to creating a global caliphate.
UN, IOM Call for Resumption of US Refugee Program

January 30, 2017

Asserting that refugees resettled in the US are "some of the most vetted individuals entering the United States," the UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have called on US President Donald Trump to reverse his restriction on migrants from seven countries deemed a terror threat and work toward "safe and secure resettlement" of refugees.
UN Symposium Explores "Hate Speech" Solutions

January 27, 2017

Ahead of a UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) symposium in Brussels on "xenophobic hate speech" in the global media, UNAOC High Representative Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser labeled as hate speech media stories indicating that migrants impose a "strain on public benefits" or are "threats to national security" and applauded efforts to restrict such reporting.
CoE Seeks Prosecution of "Fake News" Sources

January 26, 2017

In a speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE), the CoE's Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland called for the combating of "fake news" on the internet and for the collection by national authorities of evidence on "violent and hateful fake news" to aid prosecution of its sources.
Al-Shabab Carries Out Another Attack in Somali Capital

January 25, 2017

The Somali al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab carried out a lethal attack against a hotel in the country's capital city in yet another terrorist assault on soft civilian targets aimed to bring down the fragile Somali government and establish sharia law across East Africa.