Kuwait Counter-terrorism Contributions

With reference to what was mentioned in an article in your esteemed Newspaper

entitled Hillary Clinton right to call Saudis on extremism published on 14/6/2016, the
Embassy wishes to convey its disapproval of the criticism and allegations stated by the
presumptive presidential candidate Ms. Hillary Clinton for what she described as the role of
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the global funding of the ideology of extremism, in the wake
of the latest events in Orlando City.
In this regard, the Press Section at the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Australia wishes to
clarify a number of facts relating to the position of Kuwait towards supporting the international
efforts in combating terrorism, as follows:
Measures taken by Kuwait to combat the financing of terrorism:
First, the Embassy confirms that the State of Kuwait has come a long way with the
United States and coalition countries to help dry up terrorist funding sources through many
procedures that have been regularly briefed to its friends in the United States and coalition
countries, who in turn have praised Kuwait's commitment in this regard.
Furthermore, the Embassy wishes to advise that the State of Kuwait has introduced a
number of laws and legislations that dried up the sources of terrorism. Kuwait is a member of
the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) .
The State of Kuwait has put in place a series of new and important steps and measures
to combat terrorism and cutting off its financing resources, such as ratifying the 1999
International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, as well as issuing
Anti-Money Laundering and Combating The Financing of Terrorism Law 2013, hence there are
many legal cases taken to the Kuwaiti courts relating to allegations of collecting money for
terrorist financing purposes and sent to banned organisations.
The State of Kuwait has formed a ministerial counter-terrorism committee which
includes 16 governmental bodies and chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held regular
meetings for the implementation of Kuwait's obligations under The United Nations Security
Council resolutions.
In June 2015, the parliament of Kuwait passed a cybercrime law criminalizing
fundraising operations via the Internet to finance terrorism, thus this law closes a loophole in the
law that used to allow and facilitate the financing of extremism.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour has adopted several procedures to regulate
and monitor the collection of charitable donations and to ensure the legitimacy of foreign
beneficiaries through collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Additionally, new
regulations are implemented now to oblige individuals and organizations to register and apply
for a license, as well as unifying fundraising operations on social communication networks by
assigning a team to chase the illegal donation operations via the Internet.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour in cooperation with the Ministry
of Interior has taken action against unauthorized fundraising by individuals or non-registered
groups in mosques during the holy month of Ramadan.
International and regional cooperation:
The State of Kuwait has demonstrated its cooperation in relation to combating terrorism
on both the regional and international levels, through participation in
the Global Counterterrorism Forum. The State of Kuwait is also a member in the Organization
of Islamic Cooperation and The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, it also
participated in the U.S. GCC Counter-terrorism and Border Security Working group meeting
in Riyadh in August 2015.
The State of Kuwait also actively participates alongside the Cooperation Council for the
Arab States of the Gulf in the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF),
which is the authority responsible of combating this recent source of terrorist financing.

The Kuwaiti Government hosted international meetings on issues related to the fight
against extremist ideologies and terrorist financing, including the meeting of the Small Group of
the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh in April 2016, with the participation of a Senior
representative from Australia. The Embassy confirms that the State of Kuwait continues to
support logistically the international coalition in combating the scourge of terrorism by hosting
such meetings, besides it is also committed to supporting the stability of the liberated areas from
the control of terrorist organizations, dry up the sources financing these organizations, counter
cyber-attacks and stop the flow of foreign fighters into areas of conflict.
The Embassy wishes to clarify that, despite the great achievement accomplished
through the combined international efforts in combating Daesh, there is an urgent need to
continue exerting efforts to reach greater achievements in order to defeat terrorism and get rid of
all its evil by continuing to coordinate international efforts and agreeing on the practical steps
that ensure drying up the sources of its financing.
The Embassy wishes to also convey its deep concern at the deteriorating humanitarian
situation in Syria and the growing humanitarian needs caused by the conflict. Therefore, in
order to meet the overwhelming humanitarian needs, the State of Kuwait has hosted three
conferences for this purpose, followed by the fourth conference held in London in February
2016, which emphasises the determination of the international community to enhance the efforts
aimed at combating the international terrorist activities of Daesh.
The State of Kuwait stresses the need for continued cooperation between the security
agencies in all different countries, including the exchange of information in order to track down
terrorists, dry up their funding, pursue them everywhere, and then eliminate them, especially
after their success in igniting unrest in some countries during the past few years and in acquiring
sophisticated weapons and large amounts of money which enabled them to develop their tools
and methods.
Serious International efforts should find a fair and urgent solutions to the crises and
issues causing suffering to many people in the world, primarily in the Middle East such as the
"Palestinian cause" and the crises in Syria, Libya and other countries, as such solutions will
contribute to the reduction of terrorism.
The annual report issued by the US State Department 2015:
This report refers to and states that the US Department of State praised and commend
the role of the State of Kuwait in combating terrorism through what it called a package of strict
measures that track terrorists and disrupt their operations before they are executed. The report
confirms that the anti-terrorism agencies in Kuwait are well-engaged in training and have good
resources, it also clarifies that Kuwait continued its programs to improve its border security
through the employment of biometric systems and aerial reconnaissance, as well as launching a
number of campaigns through radio, television and billboards to combat extremism. The
Ministry of social Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken steps
to regulate and monitor the collection of charitable donations and ensure the legitimacy of
foreign beneficiaries. The report also states that Kuwait has established and supported its
capacities to face the threat of Daesh which committed its first terrorist operation in Kuwait in
June 2015 through the detonation of a mosque killing 27 and injuring 227 others, and hence
fifteen suspects of different nationalities, who were involved in the incident, have received
death and jail sentences.
The Embassy wishes to clarify that in order to counter terrorist attacks, the Kuwaiti
government has increased its cooperation in the efforts aimed at fighting violent extremism and
supported by its strong ties with the United States to face terrorism. Kuwait has taken a number
of actions in this area to improve and follow-up the regulations related to paying donations to
charitable organizations, confirm its credibility, and to monitor financial transfers to foreign
parties.
The Embassy confirms that the fighting violent extremism and the threat of Daesh
and other terrorist movements is not limited to a certain country or territory, therefore defeating
these organizations permanently requires extensive and strong efforts. The Embassy also
stresses determination to eliminate Daesh and its distorted ideology and help the communities
it has devastated.

In conclusion, the Embassy confirms that it is erroneous to link terrorist groups to

any religion, race or a particular group, and it emphasises that it is quite aware of the huge
responsibility and the magnitude of confronting challenges, however, the Embassy is confident
that once united the world can bear this responsibility and fulfil its requirements.
The Embassy hopes that your distinguished Newspaper verifies the accuracy of the
resolute measures taken by the State of Kuwait in its fight against terrorism, and to investigate
conclusions made out of electoral objectives and does not comply with reality. Furthermore,
based on the right to reply freely, the Embassy wishes to kindly request that your esteemed
Newspaper have this response published in the same page where the above-mentioned article
was published.