Violence and Security

Australia Rejects Demands on "Hate Speech" from UN Group

December 15, 2017

Australia's Multicultural Affairs Minister Zed Seselja has dismissed as "bizarre criticism" a report from the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination pushing his government, in light of a claimed rise in hate speech against Muslims and others, to criminalize violations of a law that prohibits offending, insulting, or humiliating anyone on the basis of race.
UN Group Warns of "Global Toxic Discourse" on Migrants

December 15, 2017

At a recent meeting of the UN General Assembly, UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Chairperson Anastasia Crickley pressed for governments to counter the "global toxic discourse" that is "fuelling and fanning the flames of racial discrimination" against minorities and migrants by combating "hate speech" and outlawing groups that promote discrimination.
UN Agent Calls for Measures to Address "Hate Speech"

December 15, 2017

UN Special Rapporteur on minorities issues Fernand de Varennes has called on countries, in light of rising "intolerance and hate speech" around the world, to adopt more "inclusive" policies for minorities in line with international human rights laws on the rights of minority peoples.
Syrian War Shows Chinese Uyghurs Are Embracing Jihad

December 14, 2017

The strong presence of militant Uyghur fighters supporting IS in the war in Syria points to the notable evolution in the identity and demands of China's large Uyghur Muslim population, whose longstanding goals of political autonomy have shifted to the use of Islamist ideology to support calls for violent jihadism against Beijing.
Islamists Stage Deadly Attack on UN Peacekeepers in Central Africa

December 14, 2017

Militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, an African Islamist extremist group known for adherence to a strict interpretation of sharia, staged a lethal assault on a UN peacekeeping base in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 15 peacekeepers in what UN officials described as a war crime and the worst peacekeeper losses in recent history.
US Teen Arrested for Conspiring to Help Islamic State

December 14, 2017

A teen in Houston, Texas, has been arrested by US security authorities as part of an FBI undercover operation leading to charges that the 18-year-old had been distributing information on making explosives, assembling semi-automatic weapons, and using machetes to stage attacks in the US in support of the Islamic State.
New York Bombing Suspect Claims IS Inspiration

December 14, 2017

The suspect detained by New York police in the recent pipe bomb detonation at the city's Port Authority area told investigators that he was inspired by Islamic State (IS) calls for Christmas attacks and that he was seeking revenge for US bombings in IS territories in Iraq and Syria.
Iran Plans Regional Expansion of Support for Shiite Militias

December 14, 2017

Leaders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps plan to expand the geopolitical footprint of the Islamic Republic in the wake of the Islamic State defeat in Syria and Iraq by increasing support to Shiite militias in Afghanistan and Yemen in what they consider frontline inter-Islamist battles to push back the expansion of Sunni jihadists.
Pro-IS Sites Cheer Pipe-Bomb Attack in NY Subway

December 14, 2017

US security experts have confirmed that pro-Islamic State (IS) websites are celebrating the pipe-bomb attack carried out by a Bangladeshi immigrant in the New York subway as retaliation for the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital, and preliminary information from New York police indicates that the perpetrator was an IS sympathizer.
Radical Islamists Target Christians and Non-conforming Muslims in Egypt

December 14, 2017

The recent spate of attacks by radical Islamist groups against Coptic Christians in Egypt has been accompanied by an uptick in attacks against so-called non-conforming Muslims in Egypt, underscoring that Islamist extremists are committed to silencing Muslims who reject violence and sharia states.