Statement by GCO Director in response to the new terrorist list
It comes as a disappointing surprise that the blockading countries are still pursuing this story as part of their smear campaign against Qatar.
Qatar is the only GCC country to act on the agreement signed in May by the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council to confront Islamic extremism. Two weeks ago, Qatar signed an MOU with the United States that had been agreed at the start of the year aimed at combating terrorism and building on the close cooperation and partnership between the two countries. Last week, Qatar finalised plans that had been in place since February to strengthen its anti-terror laws.
Qatar constantly reviews its anti-terror laws to ensure that we remain on the front foot in the fight against extremism and terror financing. This approach has received praise from Qatar’s international partners, including UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
While Qatar has been making great strides to reinforce its commitment to countering terrorism, the blockading countries have done nothing. Instead they have focused their efforts on a propaganda campaign to strip Qatar of its sovereignty. In June, they published a sham list of individuals and organisations with supposed linked to terrorism and Qatar. This list was widely rejected by the international community, including the United Nations.
This latest list provides further evidence that the blockading countries are not committed to the fight against terrorism. As we have previously stated, all individuals with links to terrorism in Qatar have been prosecuted. We encourage the blockading countries to spend less time on drafting these fabricated lists and more time on implementing measures to counter the threat of extremism in their own countries.