Khaleej Times, May 11, 2013
FNC discusses bill on counter-terrorism centre
(Wam) / 9 May 2013
The Federal National Council’s Committee for Foreign Affairs said it had
discussed a number of articles of the federal draft law regarding the
establishment of the International Centre of Excellence for Countering Violent
Extremism (Hedaya).
The Head of the committee, Rashid Al
Sharaiqi, said the bill had been referred to the House by the government for
deliberation. In its explanatory note, the government said it had set up Hedaya
to honour a pledge it made during the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF) held
in New York two years ago. The Federal Cabinet has endorsed the draft law
setting up Hedaya, which aims to create common ground for dialogue, exchange of
views and cooperation among nations and national and international specialised
centres to combat international terrorism.
The 15-article bill defines the
mission, message and terms of references of the centre as well as other
administrative and financial matters.
Article 2 says the centre will enjoy
legal status and financial and administrative independence to perform its duties
and achieve its goals.
According to Articles 10 to 13, the
Abu Dhabi-based centre falls under the jurisdiction of UAE law and is not
allowed to perform any acts that breach the laws of the UAE, contradict its
interests or interfere in its internal affairs.
“Towards delivering its mandate,
Article 4 states that Hedaya will establish a database for sharing information
with GCTF member states, build capacities, offer programmes to counter violent
terrorism, conduct and assess relevant studies and research, organise workshops,
training courses and lectures, coordinate and cooperate with the media and forge
collaborative partnerships with both the public and private sectors,” Al
Sharaiqi added.
The centre will be proactively
engaged in three programme areas: research, dialogue and cooperation, and
training.