Seven experts from the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate will be visiting Guyana from next Monday to Tuesday to conduct an assessment of the country’s efforts in implementation of the UN anti-terrorism resolution.
The team will meet with senior government officials as well as officials from the law enforcement agencies.to review efforts in the implementation of United Nations Resolution 1373, which calls for the suppression of terrorist financing and the improvement of international cooperation, the Home Ministry said yesterday.
The team comprises Weixiong Chen, Deputy Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED); Elisabeth Joyce, Section Chief, CTED, Coordinator of delegation; Sue Takasu – CTED Senior Legal Officer; Enrique Ochoa, Committee Expert from ‘1540 Committee;’ Henrik Juhl Madsen, Associate Professional Officer, Maritime Security and Facilitation, Maritime Safety Division; Yuen Chi-Kin Luke – Interpol Officer; and David Alamos Martinez – Terrorism Prevention expert, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The two-day visit will commence with an opening session at 9am on Monday at the Guyana Police Force Officers Training Centre, where Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee will deliver the feature address.
The ministry said it welcomes the team to Guyana and looks forward to the successful completion of its assignment.
The team’s visit comes in the midst of protracted deliberations on reforms to the Anti-Money Laundering Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Bill.
Following the failure of the National Assembly to pass the amendments after the parties could not reach consensus in May, Guyana was required to submit documents to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) detailing progress made on implementing amendment bill by August 26. Government made a submission but was unable to report that the legislative component of the body’s recommendations had been implemented, Attorney-General Anil Nandlall recently said. Guyana’s progress is again set to be reviewed in November.
According to its website, the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) was established by Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), which was adopted unanimously on 28 September 2001 in the wake of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
