Elections at the UN: Australia’s approach

Australia is expected to be elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the first time on Monday 16 October in New York.

It’s a significant candidacy—we have the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the work of the pre-eminent inter-governmental body overseeing the protection and promotion of global human rights and, in doing so, also promote our own interests and build influence as a global player.

The candidacy presents a timely opportunity to consider the value of serving on UN inter-governmental bodies and Australia’s rationale and approach in putting itself forward as a candidate on a regular basis.

This new ASPI paper by Sally Weston examines the electoral process to serve on UN organs and bodies.

It explores the opportunities for representation and what it often takes to ensure that candidacies are successful in an inherently competitive field.

It also examines the benefits of Australian representation in UN bodies and organs and provides recommendations for Australia to sustain its UN engagement by strategically presenting candidacies to the UN membership.

The 2017 independent review of intelligence: Views from The Strategist

Over the past 40 years, Australian governments have periodically commissioned reviews of the Australian intelligence community (AIC). The first such inquiry—the Hope Royal Commission of 1974—was commissioned by the Whitlam government as a way of shedding light on what had hitherto been a shadowy group of little-known and little-understood government agencies. It was also the beginning of a journey that would eventually bring the AIC more into public view and onto a firm legislative footing. The second Hope Royal Commission, in 1983, was partly a response to some dramatic external events, in the forms of the Coomb–Ivanov affair and a poorly judged Australian Secret Intelligence Service training exercise that went badly wrong. But it was also a continuation of the process begun by the previous commission.

Big data in national security

ASPI is releasing two research publications on the uses and limitations of big data in national security.

The first report, ‘Big Data in national security’, provides a high-level analysis of how big data capabilities can be used and managed by Australia’s national security community.

The second product, ‘Big Data in National Security – Online Resource’, is a background paper which provides policy makers and the public with a detailed analysis of the key concepts, trends, and challenges of big data in national security.

Big data requires big governance…

Hear Dr John Coyne discussing the report with author Michael Chi;

Watch the publication launch…

The research was conducted with the support and sponsorship of DXC Technology, formerly CSC Australia.

Bid Data in National Security online resources

‘Santa Muerte’, are the Mexican cartels really coming?

Whether in Mexico, the US or Australia, the image of the transnational serious and organised crime (OC) threat from ‘Mexican cartels’ used to construct policy doesn’t appear to engage with the reality that there’s no homogeneous Mexican cartel, cartels or OC group.

This report argues that, for Australia and Asia, the menace of Mexican OC is no longer looming on the horizon; it has already arrived.

However, the nature of the Mexican OC problem in Australia and Asia is not likely to be the same as that found in either the US or Mexico. To respond effectively to this rising threat, Australian policymakers need to approach the issue with a more informed perspective that engages with the complex nature of the various groups that collectively form what’s broadly considered to be Mexican OC.

Furthermore, the policy response to Mexican OC will need to more agile than the measures contained in Australia’s current National Organised Crime Response.

Response to Mexica cartels report to his Excellency Ambassador Armando G. Alvarez

Fractured Europe: The Schengen Area and European border security

The simultaneous ‘crises’ of irregular migration and terrorism have demonstrated the continued importance of border security for Schengen member states and the EU as a whole.

The principles of the EU have become closely aligned with the existence of the Schengen Area, which created a distinction between ‘internal’ and ‘external’ borders in Europe; it also created a tension between the goals of European integration and the core Westphalian principle of state sovereignty.

This paper assesses some of the factors behind member states resorting to national over collective action in response to recent challenges, exploring the role of intelligence and institutions such as Frontex, before ultimately arguing for the creation of a European Agenda on Border Security to provide a strategic framework for border security in Europe.

Border security lessons for Australia from Europe’s Schengen experience

This Strategic Insights report explores Calum Jeffray’s key observations in his report Fractured Europe: the Schengen Area and European border security and analyses them through an Australian and then an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) border security lens.

It also provides recommendations for Australian border security policymakers based on the lessons learned from the Schengen experience. It examines the implications of Schengen for ASEAN member states in the development of the ASEAN Economic Community.

COUNTERTERRORISM YEARBOOK 2017

This yearbook looks at those areas around the world where terrorism and counterterrorism (CT) are in greatest focus. Each chapter examines CT developments in 2016, including the terrorist threat being faced and how governments and others have approached CT through both policy and operations. Countries and regions covered include Australia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Turkey, UK, USA, Canada, Africa, Russia and China.

Through this first Counterterrorism Yearbook, in what will be an annual publication, we aim to promote understanding and contribute to shared knowledge of CT.

The authors of individual pieces are Anthony Bergin, Jacinta Carroll, Colin Clarke, Michael Clarke, Virginia Comolli, Greg Fealy, Fadi Hakura, Peter Jennings, Shashank Joshi, Lydia Khalil, Joseph Chinyong Liow, Olga Oliker, Raffaello Pantucci, Thomas Renard, Vern White, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The future of the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation: Indonesia’s chance to promote a new era of regional law enforcement cooperation

For 13 years, the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) has served as a regional rallying point for much-needed counterterrorism capacity development and cooperation.

Since its inception in 2004, with strong bilateral support from the Australian Government,1 JCLEC’s operating and donor environments have evolved considerably. The strong relationship between the Indonesian National Police (POLRI) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) that has raised and sustained JCLEC is in a state of decline. Regional partners and donors are now considering JCLEC’s future.

There are some big decisions to be made, the most pressing of which is whether JCLEC should become a truly regional body or an Indonesian Government institution.

The Sultanate of Women: Exploring female roles in perpetrating and preventing violent extremism

This paper examines the appeal of Islamic State (IS) to Western women and explores how women can be employed in countering violent extremism (CVE) structures to prevent further involvement. It aims to deliver a comprehensive analysis for academics, policymakers and practitioners working in CVE program and policy design and implementation in order to bridge the gap between community development work and security and intelligence.

Two case studies of Australian women—Zehra Duman (a.k.a. Umm Abdullatif al-Australi) and Zaynab Sharrouf (a.k.a. Umm Hafs)—illustrate the appeal as well as the contradictions.

A series of recommendations suggests changes to existing CVE structures and their approaches to integrating, women.

Sofia Patel discusses the paper.

The American face of ISIS: Analysis of ISIS-related terrorism in the US March 2014–August 2016

Contributors: Piper Mik, Sarah Starr, Ala Tineh, Walker Gunning & Jacinta Carroll

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is mobilising sympathisers in the US at rates much higher than seen for previous terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda.

To understand this new American face of ISIS, the Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST) study examined 112 cases of individuals who perpetrated ISIS-related offences, were indicted by the US Justice Department for such offences, or both, in the US between March 2014 and August 2016.

This is the first comprehensive analysis of ISIS-related cases to examine the profiles of indictees overall, as well as to identify characteristics associated with each of the offence types. The findings are striking, and provide a valuable contribution to understanding the contemporary face of ISIS-related terrorism in the US.