UNIPATH STAFF
New measures designed to increase regional security by countering terrorism and tackling cross-border organized crime in Gulf countries will unify military and police commands across most Gulf Cooperation Council countries. During the annual GCC meeting in Kuwait in December 2013, leaders decided to create a joint security command.
“One of our strategic goals is to secure the GCC against all threats, specifically acts such as terrorism and external aggression,” GCC Secretary-General Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani said in a Gulf Daily News article.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signed off on the plan. Omani officials said their security forces will not take part; however, the country has the option to participate later.
Part of the plan allows for fugitives wanted for crimes in one Gulf Cooperation Council state to be tried in another GCC state. Components of the unified military and police command resemble those of Europol, the European Union’s criminal intelligence-focused law enforcement agency.
Under the new guidelines, a criminal in one Gulf country can be arrested and prosecuted in another. However, the country where the crime occurred could ask that the suspect be returned or dispatch its own police to help with the investigation.
The new rules are part of a unified GCC Security Convention.
Jailed GCC citizens are offered the option to serve a sentence in their homeland. Gulf countries can also request information on citizens living in neighboring GCC states.
“No one will be forced to serve their sentences in the prison of any country they don’t want to be in, and the convention will give prisoners the choice between serving their term in the country where the crime has been committed or moved to a prison in their homeland,” an Interior Ministry official told Bahrain’s Shura Council members.
Bahrain’s Dr. Sheikh Khaled bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, chairman of the Shura Council’s Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee, said the new plan will make Gulf countries safer.
“Criminals thinking they can go unpunished will be pursued under this convention in all member states. They will be taken for trial in the country they get caught in or could be brought home for trial, depending on where the crime is committed,” he said.
The convention will improve information sharing between Gulf police forces and joint training exercises at specialized centers. “There will be exchange between member states in bylaws and disciplinary codes, besides education and training programs. Specialized training centers for security personnel will also be formed to provide training and education on the most advanced technologies used to combat crime,” Sheikh Khaled said.
Officials believe that closer cooperation will improve border security through information sharing on high-profile criminals and deportees.
“Any attack on one is an attack on all, and any tension should be resolved through political dialogue and cooperation between GCC leaders and allies. We have already established a GCC Emergency Risk Management Center in Kuwait to help advice leaders on regional or anticipated threats,” Al Zayani said.
The center coordinates GCC disaster aid and conducts training programs.