Interpol's Operational Fusion Task Force in the Middle East ended its two-day meeting in Cairo on Tuesday, urging more cooperation in confronting the threat of terror and organised crime, writes Jailan Halawi Discussions at the second meeting of the International Criminal Police Organisation Interpol's Operational Fusion Task Force in the Middle East ended on Tuesday with a call for the international community to unite efforts to rein in terrorism and organised crime. The first meeting of the Task Force was held last year in Jordan and was attended by 26 countries. This year's meeting was attended by senior police and terrorism experts from 40 countries, who discussed how better to work together to fight terrorism through sharing information, technology and experience in the field. The meeting's closed sessions discussed the latest developments and data on organised crime, as well as ways of enhancing the efficiency of member states in facing the hazards of terrorism. Topping the meeting's agenda were discussions of specific terrorist attacks that have taken place in the region, challenges facing member states in securing their borders and the sharing of intelligence-related information. At the end of the meeting the Task Force group issued a statement that denounced terrorism in every form, saying that terrorism "has no specific nation, religion, origin or language and hence ought to be confronted globally through a comprehensive security strategy." The statement also urged more cooperation worldwide in combating terrorism, while enhancing the exchange of information in a bid to control all sources of support for terror. Equally important was the close monitoring of Internet-related crime and the necessity of developing ways of preventing the Internet from becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups, the statement noted. Member states were called upon to make the so-called "red notices" issued by Interpol more effective. Speaking at the opening session, Assistant Minister of the Interior Major-General Adli Fayed, also head of the General Security Department, advocated enhanced cooperation in fighting terrorism, especially Internet-related terrorism. The Internet is sometimes used to recruit members of terrorist groups, to promote terrorist ideologies and to teach ways of preparing explosive devices, as well as assign tasks. "We are all aware that the world is facing a great challenge that requires the international community to unite its efforts with a strong will and a new vision in order to effectively confront it," Fayed said. Terrorism has forced itself onto the international community's agenda because its repercussions extend beyond the nation, he said. "It has become evident that terrorism has expanded, that there are new cells spreading, and that the sources of terror have not yet been drained nor its causes healed properly, increasing this threat to which everyone is vulnerable." "Day after day, the hazards of terrorism become more evident, indicating that whatever [terrorist incidents] come next will be more fierce and aggressive. Hence, we need to unite and exert all efforts in finding a security strategy that can cope with the rapid development of such dangerous threats," he said. For his part, the Interpol secretary-general, a former New York University law professor and official in the US Treasury Department, Ronald K Noble, started his speech by describing the Fusion Task Force as "one of Interpol's most important achievements". The Task Force was set up in September 2002 in the wake of a rise in the scale and sophistication of international terrorist attacks, in order to encourage member states to exchange information on suspected and wanted terrorists. The Task Force aims to identify terrorist groups, share information and intelligence, and enhance the capacity of member states in addressing the threats of terrorism and organised crime. Noble explained that at the time the Task Force was established, many people had been sceptical about the initiative. "Indeed, terrorism investigations were thought to be too sensitive an area, and the idea that countries from all over the world would actually exchange information on persons suspected of terrorism seemed unrealistic. We were convinced that our vision was not unrealistic -- and time has proven us right," he noted. Some 114 countries worldwide now participate in the Force, providing information to Interpol and the global law-enforcement community on terrorism suspects. The number of suspected terrorists listed on the Force's database is now almost 12,000, and member states have exchanged information on over 6,000 suspects. For Noble, the toughest challenge is restricting the movement of terrorists. "Border security is a key factor against terrorism. Hindering terrorists' ability to travel freely is as important as freezing their money," he said. Interpol has taken steps to help member states secure their borders against criminals who attempt to cross using stolen travel documents. The organisation has created a Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database, which now lists more than 13 million stolen documents from 131 countries, of which eight million are passports and 5.5 million are identity cards. The organisation has also developed a system, called MIND/FIND (Mobile Integrated Network Device and Fixed Integrated Network Device), that enables police, particularly border officials at ports of entry, to check any travel document against Interpol's SLTD to ascertain within seconds whether any of Interpol's member states have reported the document stolen or lost. Noble said that the MIND/FIND system "has engaged a crucial development in how countries secure their borders against the use of fraudulent documents." Before its creation, the SLTD database was only used in cases where an individual aroused suspicion and for a very small fraction of travellers entering a country. As a result, a small country like Switzerland has been able to identify over 1,600 fraudulent documents this year alone. The small Caribbean island of Barbados has also identified 141 fraudulent documents since March this year. "The increased use of the SLTD database through progressive implementation of the MIND/ FIND system worldwide will generate considerable post-usage data that, when analysed systematically, will provide high-value intelligence for the global police community," Noble said. To this end, Interpol is planning to set up a Border Security Unit that will play a role in analysing data based on positive hits from the SLTD worldwide database, including the identification of global trends in the use of stolen or lost travel documents and the identification of organised crime and terrorist networks involved in passport theft and counterfeiting. The unit will help in the investigation of suspects and in cases involving stolen and lost travel documents. It will also assist in the development of border-protection expertise through the exchange of best practices in border security. Expressing his conviction that international border security is an issue that needs to be addressed through sustained cooperation among countries, Noble called upon Middle Eastern and North African countries to "embrace these tools and make it a priority to implement them in your countries".
