The Russian Ministry of Interior Affairs is making no secret of its satisfaction: the G8 ministers of interior affairs, ministers of justice, and general prosecutors managed to sign cooperation agreements for countering terrorism during their recent Moscow meeting. 

These agreements do not feature such abstract calls as “we need to better, deepen, and enhance our work.” They concern actual designs and implementation of practical measures.

Their results will be discussed in Germany next year.  According to the participants of the international forum, the cooperative sprit is deepening among law enforcement agencies, as new momentum helps effective interaction. 

Russia’s Minister of Interior Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev talked about the main outcomes of the meeting.  

- Mr. Nurgaliyev, what law-enforcement issues were at the top of the meeting's agenda? 

- The paramount goal was finding common ways to combat the new challenges and threats of this millennium. There appeared a need for an updated and more effective anti-crime and anti-terrorism strategy. 

The G8 law enforcement agencies need to augment joint efforts. The meeting's agenda was quite busy. 

We dealt with a wide range of issues associated with fighting terrorism and its new manifestations.

Terrorism over the Internet

- What new manifestations of terrorism do you mean?

- These are radicalization, recruitment, attacks on critical infrastructure objects, as well as attempt to acquire WMD and biological technologies. 

There is an obvious need to struggle against cyber terrorism as well. It is crucial that all states use Internet resources as instruments to suppress this evil and prevent the spread of the terrorist ideology across the globe.  

- You suggested making it impossible for terrorists to access telecommunication technologies, the cyberspace, and the Internet in order to prevent cyber crime.     

- It is no secret that today the Web is more and more often used by terrorists as an information center that has detailed guidelines explaining how to remain secret, design explosive devices and weapons, as well as how to use them.  This is where new terrorist recruits are found and trained - through crime videos. The G8 countries' response should therefore be prompt, large-scale, and coordinated.  

Just as dangerous is illegal migration that is the source of drugs and weapons smuggling, human trade, and the disturbance of our countries' demographic balance.    

- Having raised the illegal migration issue, what did you agree on? 

- We were supportive of adopting the UN Convention against transnational organized crime and a supplemental Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air. We called upon all states to step up cooperation based on these universal legal documents.      

When it comes to such issues, Interpol has a special role to play. Law enforcement chiefs decided to use its smuggling and human trade databases more extensively. Another system that we are going to utilize would allow us to keep track of issued, lost, and invalid passports. 

We were committed to making sure that the systems that read new-generation identification documents are compatible.  

- How is it possible to make them compatible? 

- What we mean is making systems that can read each other and work out common criteria for producing and processing documents with biometric  features. 

Another important agreement is on the G8 sponsorship of an international database on juvenile sex slaves and fight against child abuse. This database is being created under the auspices of the Interpol as well.   

Finally, special attention was directed to G8 cooperation in perfecting its legal framework, including legal aid to criminal cases.   

I am sure that today cooperation within the framework of the Group of Eight is evolving in a mutually-beneficial direction, as we share the understanding of the destructive consequences of new challenges and threats.  

As for the legal framework, it is no secret that the reason different states have inconsistencies in the field of law enforcement is simply that they do not often share views on the issues. This circumstance, in its turn, makes it easier for international organizations, including the terrorist and the extremist ones, to operate.

DNA of Evidence

- Have there been any improvements?

- The imperfect legal framework for fighting terrorism and other forms of transnational crime is a common problem. It was addressed at the meeting.  

We reiterated the inadmissibility of granting asylum to terrorists and other individuals involved in the perpetration of criminal acts, in compliance with the Geneva Convention of Refugee Status. We also emphasized that it would be mandatory to stick to the principles of UN Security Council's Resolution 1373, calling upon all states to reject terrorists a refugee status. It reads that political motives shall not be considered a reason for refusing to hand over terrorism suspects.     

Apart from that, we agreed to use DNA testing data as evidence in terrorism and criminal investigation, and to design a clear legal framework for exchanging this kind of data.   

Findings of a comparative study of the G8 countries anti-terrorism law are going to be used to adopt common legal approaches and decisions.  

Security Services' Business Partners

- As the forum chairman, did you manage to change the format of the event, making it less declarative and more practical?  

- G8 cooperation is gaining momentum, based on - as I mentioned before - the realization of new challenges and the need to exchange preemptive information. We must have direct operative contacts and act together. 

I am proud to say that we have advanced on the G8 cooperation path, primarily, in the field of anti-terrorism protection of transportation facilities. We are working together to stop the instigation, the sponsorship, and the perpetration of terrorist attacks.    

Fostering the spirit of partnership, the meeting was quite rewarding for all of us. We did have a frank and constructive dialogue.

Experts have yet to develop the proposals voiced at the meeting. Once implemented, their results will be reviewed by the ministers of interior affairs, justice and general prosecutors from the G8 nations at the upcoming meeting in Germany in 2007.  

I am sure that implementing the agreements reached at the Moscow session will expedite anti-terrorist and anti-crime cooperation within the Group of Eight. 

The results of this meeting prove very strongly that global partnership mechanisms do work, and quite successfully so.  

However, law-enforcement agencies are not likely to respond appropriately to the new challenges and new threats of the 21st century without the support of society at large and of private businesses. We are “natural partners” here because business, including transportation, energy, telecommunication companies, incurs tangible losses every time terrorists or cyber criminals strike. Our cooperation should therefore become systematic.  

- What decisions were made at the meeting? 

- We approved a number of documents on fighting the terrorism threat. These included the G8 Principles on International Cooperation to Prevent and Fight the Instigation, Sponsorship and Perpetration of Terrorist Attacks; and the G8 Recommendations on Anti-terrorism Protection of Transport Facilities and Infrastructures.   

At the end of the meeting, a resolution was signed on a wide range of issues considered during the discussions. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in Moscow in November.