9 Nov. 2005

International organisations join forces to combat terrorist financing News 09/11/2005 - OSCE OSCE conference participants call for "global network" to suppress terrorist financing Key links OSCE Representatives from a number of organisations, including NATO and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, met with OSCE officials in Vienna, 9-11 November, to discuss combating the financing of terrorism. Financing has emerged as a crucial front in combating the threat of international terrorism, freezing assets such as bank accounts or cash and drugs at borders before they can be used to support future attacks. Global anti-terrorism network “We must use political, diplomatic, and economic means to create a network of international organisations and states,” said Patrick Hardouin, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Regional, Economic and Security Affairs at NATO. “Through this network, we must gather and exchange data on terrorist financing and develop relevant international financial standards.” The issues discussed at the conference included the drafting and amending of legislation designed to combat terrorist financing, and examining ways of improving current investigative tools and techniques. The final day of the conference shifted the focus on how to prevent charities from being used for money laundering and improving on government regulations and self-regulation mechanisms. The conference was organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.