Country Report on Terrorism 2012 - Chapter 2 - Qatar

Overview: In 2012, Qatar did not experience any terrorist attacks or any political changes that would affect the Government of Qatar’s ability to combat terrorism. During the year, the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body, removed Qatar from its regular follow-up process after the Task Force determined that Qatar had improved its anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism regime and was either “Compliant or Largely Compliant” with all of the Task Force’s recommendations. Still, Qatar’s monitoring of private individuals’ and charitable associations’ contributions to foreign entities remained inconsistent. The Government of Qatar also maintained public ties to Hamas political leaders.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Qatar did not pass any new terrorism legislation or make significant changes to border security procedures. There were no significant arrests or prosecutions in terrorist cases, or incidents requiring response, including terrorism affecting U.S. citizens or facilities in 2012.

Countering Terrorist Finance: Qatar is a member of the MENAFATF. In 2012, in addition to regular outreach to financial institutions, Qatar’s Financial Intelligence Unit, a member of the Egmont Group, launched a multi-year strategy to promote greater transparency in financial transactions including issuing guidelines obligating reporting on suspicious transactions. Qatar’s Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law of 2010 requires Qatar’s Public Prosecutor to freeze the funds of terrorist organizations designated by the UNSC, and the government has begun to distribute lists of UN-designated terrorist entities and individuals to financial institutions. Implementation, however, remained inconsistent. For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, we refer you to the 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Qatar is a member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Qatari government did not participate in any notable counterterrorism activities with those organizations in 2012, however.

Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: The Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (a semi-public institute established by executive decree in 2007) organized a lecture series in 2012, with the Faculty of Islamic Studies at the Qatar Foundation, to help Qatari teachers “equip students with the skills and understanding to interact and communicate effectively and respectfully with other cultures.” The Government of Qatar also contracted a Doha-based private institute to study best practices in countering narratives used by terrorist groups to recruit members. The first of three research papers, published in February 2012, focused on EU engagement programs to reduce violent conflict.