‘Kuwait committed to combat illicit trafficking of firearms’
Kuwait applies anti-money-laundering strategy: judge
VIENNA, Oct 18, (KUNA): Assistant Undersecretary of Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior for Criminal Security Affairs Major General Khaled Al-Duyayn said Wednesday that his country continues to contribute to the international campaign against organized crimes, including the illicit trafficking and misuse of firearms.
Kuwait is working with the State Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to ensure effective implementation of the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition (Firearms Protocol), he said.
Maj-Gen Al-Duyayn made the comments in a speech to the ninth conference of the state parties to the Convention.
The State of Kuwait has successful experiences in addressing the phenomenon of illicit possession of firearms and munitions particularly in the wake of the Gulf War of 1991 that led to the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion.
During that time many people took hold illicitly of unexplored ordnance, including weapons, explosives, and munitions, he pointed out.
Tackle
To tackle this phenomenon, Kuwait adopted a legislation to ban illicit possession of firearms and organize trading therein.
The law specifies the cases and conditions where importation, manufacturing, possession and use of, and trading in, firearms are legal; it also specifies the penalties for violators, MajGen Al-Duyayn explained.
After joining the Firearms Protocol and other international security treaties, the State of Kuwait adopted a range of measures to maximize the role of security services in combating such transnational organized crimes, he said.
In 2015, Kuwait launched a center to combat these crimes and track down the culprits.
The legislative authority has also passed a law to toughen the punishment for illicit trafficking and misuse of firearms, particularly in cases related to terrorist activity, he added.
Meanwhile, Kuwait’s approval of the regional conventions to combat information technology crimes aims to strengthen and promote cooperation in this field, Attorney General Bader Al-Massad said on Wednesday.
The conventions include criminalizing attacking the safety of information technology and misusing IT methods, Al-Massad said during his speech delivered at the 9th Session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).
They also cover all acts relating to transnational organized crimes that include money laundering, drugs, human trafficking, illegal arms trade and others, he added.
He noted Kuwait has issued a law against IT crimes that covers many provisions such as criminalizing illegal access of IT systems, cancelling their data and imposing tough punishment for the destruction or dissemination of personal data.
He pointed out that the websites
of terrorist organizations have been criminalized, affirming that Kuwait urges the international community to cooperate at both the international and regional levels to combat money laundering, and the exploitation of IT technologies and the Internet in inciting and supporting criminal acts.
Kuwait supports international directives on combating all illegal electronic usage, and calls for formulating
a supplement of the convention tasked with fighting cybercrimes, he concluded.
In the meantime, the State of Kuwait is currently enforcing a national all-out strategy to fight money-laundering and terror finance, a Kuwaiti judge said on Thursday.
The strategy in question aims at the promotion of international cooperation efficiency, Secretary of
Kuwait’s Court of Appeal Justice Nasr Al-Haid said at the ninth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Kuwait appreciates the effective sharing of knowledge, expertise and practices among the states with a view to propping up international coordination in this regard, he added.