The United Arab Emirates approved a list of more than 80 designated terrorist organizations in November 2014 to raise public awareness against them.
The list includes groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Haqqani Network in Pakistan, the al-Nusrah Front in Syria and al-Qaida.
“Our threshold is quite low when you talk about extremism,” UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed announced. “We cannot accept incitement or funding when we look at some of these organizations.”
The list is part of the implementation of Federal Law 7 for the year 2014 regarding combating terrorist crimes. It is part of a broader counterterror initiative by the country that has included UAE-led coalition airstrikes targeting ISIL terrorists.
Emirates University professor Abdulkhaleq Abdullah described the terror designation list as comprehensive. “I think the UAE has gone to a policy of what I would call pre-emptive defense, meaning going to the source before they reach here,” Abdullah said.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash noted on his Twitter account that the law provides organizations “the availability to appeal through evidence and via the courts to have their names eliminated from the list.”
Sources: Emirates News Agency-WAM, Reuters, Fox News, The National
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