The State of Qatar participated Tuesday in the High-Level International Conference on “International and Regional Border Security and Management Cooperation to Counter Terrorism and Prevent the Movement of Terrorists” in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The delegation of the State of Qatar to the conference was headed by HE Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counter-Terrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution Dr. Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani.
In a statement before the conference, His Excellency reiterated that the State of Qatar will continue to support efforts to eliminate the threat of terrorism and enhance border security and management, praising the Dushanbe process, which represents a successful model for coordinating counter-terrorism efforts at the international and regional levels, indicating that this explains why the State of Qatar supported the convening of the previous two conferences, in 2018 and 2019.
Dr. Al Qahtani pointed out that terrorist activities often have a transnational dimension, such as terrorist travel, including foreign terrorist fighters, arms and drug smuggling, and other illegal cross-border activities, stressing in this regard that addressing these activities is extremely important.
HE Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counter-Terrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution stated that securing and managing borders effectively requires international and regional cooperation in accordance with international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law, consistent with the fourth pillar of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, noting that recent wars and conflicts as well as border disputes, including issues of demarcation and delimitation between states, have exacerbated this threat to regional and international security.
His Excellency also mentioned that corruption within the border agencies constitutes another serious challenge that undermines efforts to combat transnational organized crimes and the flow of foreign terrorist fighters, affirming that for the collective interest, and given the nature of international borders, border security requires international cooperation, capacity building, and most importantly the exchange of information and best practices.
His Excellency also considered that the participation of various actors, including governments, international and regional organizations and civil society, is essential to the success of such efforts, pointing out that this was emphasized in the latest resolution of the UN General Assembly regarding the review of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, as well as in the relevant Security Council resolutions.
Dr. Al Qahtani explained that these resolutions call on member states to enhance cooperation at the national, bilateral, regional and international levels in order to improve border and customs control, and to strengthen efforts to prevent the threat posed by terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters, through security, border management, criminal justice and information-sharing procedures, affirming that the State of Qatar attaches importance to these commitments, plays a proactive role in building relations with other countries, maintains information exchange, and conducts joint operations with them.
His Excellency indicated that the State of Qatar, at the national level, has modernized its national legislation and regulations, improved its capabilities and taken extensive measures in the field of border security and management, as well as in the field of aviation and maritime security indicating that this includes the huge investment made by the State of Qatar in the field of advanced technology and human resources, developing the analytical capacity to manage risks and improving the process of inspecting passengers and goods.
In this regard, His Excellency pointed to another vital component of the comprehensive border management in the State of Qatar, which is to achieve effective integration and high-level executive coordination among all relevant national agencies, as well as cooperating with relevant regional and international agencies, including making significant use of INTERPOL sources, stressing that these efforts have been intensified in preparation for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which will start next month.
The Special Envoy said that the report of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on its visit to the State of Qatar in February 2020 highlighted these laudable achievements. It also identified technical expertise in integrating law enforcement and border management techniques used by multiple agencies into a central system, including technical expertise in integrating INTERPOL databases into national systems as an area in which Qatar is well-positioned to provide technical assistance.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs