Fighting the global terrorism threat as well as the scourge of piracy calls for stronger cooperation among G8 countries, the group’s interior and justice ministers said on Saturday.
Despite some successes, “terrorism is still one of the most serious threats to international security,” the G8 ministers said in a final statement after three days of talks near Rome.
Extremists have shown a “significant offensive capability” and “organizational flexibility,” they said, along with an ability to recruit and radicalize their followers, which is “a cause of great concern.”
“The counter-terrorism cooperation between G8 nations is essential” to stop the spread of such radicalism, the justice chiefs of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US said.
“The exchange of information on the movement of funding to finance terrorist groups is a major example” of such cooperation, Italian Justice Minister Angelino Alfano said when presenting the final communique.
Interpol’s special anti-terrorism taskforce said there was a database of more than 8,000 suspects linked to terrorist activists and a network of nearly 200 contact officers in more than 100 countries.
The head of the global police organization spoke to the G8 ministers on Friday on the rising attacks of piracy on the seas, especially off the east African coast of Somalia, saying law enforcement was the missing link in combating this organized crime.
“There is clearly a need for a common international strategy that includes a law enforcement element to combat maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea,” Interpol Secretary-General Robert Noble said in a statement.
“Right now, we are in a situation in which there are pirates in custody while others have been arrested and released, but there is no central system in place for collecting, exchanging and processing data to help connect the dots,” Noble said, suggesting creating an investigative prosecutorial taskforce.
“These pirates are organized criminals targeting victims, taking them hostage and using extortion to get money — we must therefore follow the money trail to strike a blow at the economic interests of this type of organized crime,” he said.
The G8 justice ministers agreed that steps must be taken “to deprive the pirates of the proceeds of their criminal activity,” their statement said.
They also encouraged countries affected by piracy — either because of ships flying their flag being targeted, or their nationals being crew members or passengers on held ships.
It noted that cooperation between states capturing pirates and those able to prosecute them plays “a valuable role in counter-piracy efforts.”
The International Maritime Bureau said pirate attacks off Somalia in the first quarter of this year surged 10-fold to 61, compared with the same period last year. A total of 114 attempted attacks have occurred since the start of the year, and pirates have seized 29 ships.
On the sidelines of the G8 ministers’ meeting, anti-globalization and far left groups organized a demonstration that drew some 4,000 people, ANSA news agency reported.
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