Violence and Security

CoE Commission Calls for Criminal Action Against "Hate Speech"

March 28, 2016

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, a body of the Council of Europe ("CoE"), has called for government officials to take action against "hate speech," including through regulatory and criminal measures aimed at eliminating speech that tends to promote hostility toward and discrimination against certain defined groups.
EU Reaches Deal with Turkey on Migrant Return

March 28, 2016

The New York Times reports that EU and Turkish leaders have reached an agreement under which Turkey will accept the return of migrants from the Middle East, including Syria, who have entered the EU in return for $6.6 billion in aid, provisional acceptance of visa-free travel for Turkish citizens within the EU, and a resumption of talks on Turkish EU membership.
UNHCR Calls for US to Hasten Refugee Resettlement

March 23, 2016

KCLU reports that the head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees ("UNHCR"), Filippo Grandi, has asked US President Barack Obama to speed along the process of resettling refugees from Syria in the US in order to help meet the UNHCR's resettlement target of 400,000 people.
Refugee Liability Bill Advances Indiana Legislature

March 23, 2016

AP reports that the Indiana House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee has approved a bill that would hold refugee resettlement agencies liable for the criminal acts of refugees these agencies place in the state.
Tennessee Bill Seeks Lawsuit over Refugee Placement

March 23, 2016

The Tennessean reports that a resolution approving a lawsuit by Tennessee against the federal government for the placement of refugees in the state has advanced through a subcommittee of the Tennessee House of Representatives.
"Genocide" Designation Shows US Hesitation to Emphasize Islamist Terror Threat

March 21, 2016

US Secretary of State John Kerry's recent announcement that his department concurs with a unanimous congressional resolution stating that the Islamic State ("IS") has committed genocide puts the spotlight on President Obama's next steps, given his longstanding resistance to emphasizing violent Islamism as a national security threat.
IS Is Possible Culprit in Latest Suicide Bombing in Istanbul

March 21, 2016

Preliminary reports by Turkish authorities suggest that Islamic State ("IS") actors may have perpetrated the latest lethal suicide bombing attack in Istanbul, the fourth attack since the start of the new year in Turkey's major cities of Istanbul and Ankara.
Study Strategizes on Prevention of Foreign Jihadi Flows to and from Syrian War

March 21, 2016

A new report issued by a prominent Washington think tank on foreign jihadi flows to the war in Syria lays out strategies for closing the jihadi transit routes through Turkey to Syria and back to Libya and identifies mechanisms for threat prevention associated with Islamist extremist fighters returning to their source countries.
IS Develops Cross-Generational Jihadis for Long-term Caliphate

March 17, 2016

According to multiple UN and nongovernmental organization reports, the Islamic State ("IS") is working systematically to build inter-generational support for jihad to expand an international caliphate, using military training and education indoctrination of children and youth and threats of violent penalties on families refusing to dedicate their children to the IS cause.
UN Rights Official Emphasizes Speech Protections Against Criminalization as Incitement

March 17, 2016

The UN Special Rapporteur for the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism warned in a report to the UN General Assembly against the slippery slope involved in using counter-terrorism as a legitimizing strategy for violations of free speech, as well as media and religious freedoms.