The threat posed by racially or ethnically motivated terrorism (REMT), particularly white supremacist terrorism, remained a serious challenge for the global community. Continuing a trend that began in 2015, there were numerous deadly REMT attacks around the world in 2019, including in Christchurch, New Zealand; Halle, Germany; and El Paso, Texas.
In the countries listed below, significant human rights issues influenced the state of terrorist activity in the country and may have impeded effective counterterrorism policies and programs or supported causes and conditions for further violence. Such human rights issues included, among others: unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention (all of the preceding by both government and nonstate actors); harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; violence against and unjustified arrests of journalists; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; widespread and pervasive corruption; repression of religious freedom ad violence against religious minorities; and forced and bonded labor.
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African countries and regional organizations sustained ongoing counterterrorism efforts against threats in East Africa, the Sahel, and the Lake Chad region while increasing emphasis on preventing the expansion of terrorist groups, affiliates, and associated organizations into new operating areas in West Africa and Southern Africa.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali security forces continued cooperation with the United States to exert pressure on al-Shabaab, primarily through coordinated counterterrorism (CT) operations and small advances in governance in southern Somalia. The United States continued to support East African partners across the Horn of Africa in their efforts to build CT capacity, including in aviation and border security, advisory assistance for regional security forces, training and mentoring of law enforcement to manage crisis response and conduct investigations, and advancing criminal justice sector reforms. East African partners undertook efforts to develop and expand regional cooperation mechanisms to interdict terrorist travel and other terrorism-related activities.
Terrorists routinely manipulated local communal conflicts and their leaders to support terrorist operations by assisting with long-standing claims against other groups. For example, in Nigeria, terrorists exploited the fighting between the Peuhl and Fulani ethnic groups, as well as the perennial farmer-herder violence over water and grazing areas, to recruit supporters and advance their political and operational interests. Terrorists continued to carry out attacks on military outposts, kidnap western private citizens and humanitarian workers, attack churches, mosques and schools teaching western curricula, and assassinate civil servants and politicians. In Mali, the government has been unable to regain control of northern and central parts of the country. Burkina Faso also experienced increased terrorism in its northern and eastern provinces and in the southern and western parts of the country. There was also a notable uptick in violence in the tri-border region shared by Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which affected all three countries.
South Africa, however, saw a decrease in suspected terrorism-related incidents in 2019, following an unusually high number of incidents in 2018. ISIS facilitation networks and cells that were first publicly acknowledged by the South African government in 2016 remained a threat.
In 2019, governments in East Asia and the Pacific continued working to strengthen legal frameworks, investigate and prosecute terrorism cases, increase regional cooperation and information sharing, and address critical border and aviation security gaps. Regional cooperation between domestic law enforcement and judicial authorities among countries throughout Southeast Asia resulted in high numbers of terrorism-related arrests and, in many cases, successful prosecutions.
Multiple suicide bombings in the Philippines were a new phenomenon for the region. They included a complex attack against a military unit in Sulu, which involved the first Filipino suicide bomber, as well as a suicide attack at the Jolo Cathedral in Sulu, carried out by an Indonesian couple. Southeast Asian governments remained concerned about foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) returning from Iraq or Syria and using their operational skills, connections, and experience to launch domestic attacks.
Authorities in East Asia and the Pacific actively participated in regional and international efforts to counter terrorism. Australia, Fiji, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan are partners in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, and New Zealand are members of the GCTF. As co-chairs of the GCTF Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Working Group, Australia and Indonesia organized an annual plenary meeting and workshops on monitoring, measuring, and evaluating CVE programs, CVE in prisons, and the role of gender and civil society organizations in CVE.
Europe continued to face many ongoing terrorist threats and concerns in 2019, including from U.S.-designated FTOs, FTFs returning from Iraq and Syria, homegrown terrorists, and Iran-backed terrorists. Despite the total loss of its geographic territory, ISIS continued to project its influence by fomenting attacks against symbolic European targets and public spaces, and recruiting from European countries. Most of these incidents occurred in Western Europe and Russia and involved simple plots with easily executable tactics, such as the use of common tools and vehicles to injure or kill pedestrians.
European countries were integral to worldwide counterterrorism efforts in 2019. Thirty-nine European countries, the EU, INTERPOL, and NATO were active in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. In December, NATO Allies endorsed an update to the NATO Counterterrorism Action Plan, which includes efforts to increase resilience, expand cooperation with NATO partners and international organizations, and improve information sharing. The Counterterrorism Action Plan continues to support the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and NATO Mission Iraq.
In addition to continued terrorist activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan, South Asia in 2019 saw a volatile mix of insurgent attacks punctuated by major incidents of terrorism in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (now known as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir) and in Sri Lanka. A February 14 suicide bombing attack against an Indian paramilitary convoy in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir led to military hostilities and heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. Although ISIS lost the last remnants of its territory in Syria in March, it announced new branches in Pakistan and India in May and claimed responsibility for the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka in April.
While Pakistan continued to experience terrorist attacks, there were fewer attacks and casualties than in 2018, continuing an overall decline. Pakistani military and security forces undertook CT operations against groups that conducted attacks within Pakistan, such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ISIS-K, and the Balochistan Liberation Army. Pakistan took modest steps in 2019 to counter terror financing and restrain India-focused militant groups from conducting large-scale attacks following the February attack on a security convoy in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir linked to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Pakistan took action against some externally focused groups, including indicting Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and associates in three separate terrorism financing cases.
Central Asian countries remained concerned about the potential spillover of terrorism from Afghanistan, as well as the potential threat posed by the return of their citizens who traveled to Iraq or Syria to fight with terrorist groups, including ISIS. Between January and June, the Kazakhstan government led the world in FTF repatriations by bringing back 595 Kazakhstani fighters and family members from Syria, prosecuting those suspected of participating in terrorist activity abroad, and providing rehabilitation and reintegration services to the remainder. Also in 2019, the Uzbekistan government repatriated 220 FTF family members from Iraq and Syria, mostly women and children, while the Tajikistan government repatriated 95. The Kyrgyz Republic saw the return of about 300 FTFs and family members.
Many Latin American countries have porous borders, limited law enforcement capabilities, and established smuggling routes. Commercial hubs in the TBA and Panama remained regional nodes for money laundering and vulnerable to terrorist financing. Corruption, weak government institutions, insufficient interagency cooperation, weak or non-existent legislation, and a general lack of resources likewise remained obstacles to improving security. Nevertheless, some Western Hemisphere countries made significant progress in their counterterrorism efforts in 2019 and strengthened regional cooperation against terrorism.
To designate a country as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, the Secretary of State must determine that the government of such country has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. Once a country is designated, it remains a State Sponsor of Terrorism until the designation is rescinded in accordance with statutory criteria. A wide range of sanctions is imposed as a result of a State Sponsor of Terrorism designation, including:
The United States continues to support the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Division of Nuclear Security, which helps member states develop the capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to threats of nuclear terrorism through the development of guidance as well as the provision of training, technical advice, peer reviews, and other advisory services.
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