00:00Released today, the 2023-2024 Annual Report of the Anti-Terrorism Unit may be described
00:07as a cut and paste of previous reports, except and aside from No. 15, under the heading Ongoing
00:14Projects and Activities.
00:16It reads,
00:17The Returnee Bill 2024 is under the direct remit of the Minister of National Security
00:23and is in the process of being finalized.
00:26Various entities of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago continue to
00:30work collaboratively on this bill, which is currently before the Legislative Review Committee.
00:36The bill being referenced here refers to the return of prisoners of war being detained
00:41in conflict zones.
00:42Quantum Legal's attorneys Kristen J. Williams and Counter-Trafficking Analyst Antia Smith
00:48have been representing the interests of many of those Trinidad and Tobago citizens in Iraq,
00:54Turkey and Syria.
00:56We have an interest in the repatriation of women and children from Syria, Iraq and Turkey.
01:04So we pay a particular attention to the draft of the Returnee's Bill.
01:11What is really very, very clear and particular is that for the past three years, this bill,
01:18the drafting of this bill was purely under the remit of the Attorney General.
01:22Now the bill has been moved to the remit of the Ministry of National Security.
01:28Quantum Legal wrote to the Chief State Solicitor's Department at the end of January of 2025 for
01:34disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
01:38Attorney Smith asked how the anti-terrorism unit was able to compile the annual report
01:44without supporting and critical information and data.
01:48The production of these statutory reports is that they haven't been produced, whether
01:53they've been prepared, they haven't been laid before Parliament, which brings into question
02:00where would the anti-terrorism unit be getting their information from to actually prepare
02:07their reports in quote-unquote a timely manner according to them.
02:11It puts us in a precarious situation because these are the lives of persons, nationals
02:18of Trinidad and Tobago, who are in dire need of our assistance and it seems to be just
02:24a pass on game, a blame game and we haven't seen any results.
02:30The correspondence reads, quote, the Attorney General's Office must consolidate input from
02:35a variety of government agencies, international bodies and intelligence sources to compile
02:40a report that accurately reflects Trinidad and Tobago's position, challenges and progress
02:46in combating terrorism over the past year, end quote.
02:50The government agencies to be consulted, Quantum Legal says, include the Strategic Services
02:56Agency and the Counter-Trafficking Unit, but there has been no SSA report from 2022 to
03:02present and no CTU report from 2023 to present.
03:07The SSA report usually contains a section titled Terror and Radical Threat Environment
03:13where it provides up-to-date and accurate information on emerging terrorism threats
03:18including activities related to recruitment, funding and extremist group movements.
03:24It also considers the issue of foreign terrorist fighters.
03:28As it relates to the Counter-Trafficking Report, Smith says, quote, matters involving the trafficking
03:33of persons can be directly linked to funding terrorist activities as they often intersect
03:39with other forms of transnational crime, including terrorism financing, organized crime and the
03:44exploitation of vulnerable individuals for radicalization and recruitment purposes, end
03:50quote.
03:51Quantum Legal contends that without a detailed view of trafficking patterns, the Anti-Terrorism
03:57Unit's annual report misses critical linkages between criminal activities and terrorism
04:04financing, which could affect the government's ability to address both issues simultaneously.
04:10The attorneys say the omission of the findings of the reports gives rise to missed opportunities
04:16for international collaboration, it diminishes public trust and civil society engagement,
04:22and it risks non-adherence to international standards.
04:26It also lends to inadequate threat assessment and response, not to mention causes of failure
04:32to identify terrorism financing and trafficking links.
04:36The Strategic Services Agency, in response to queries from Quantum, responded in November
04:41of last year, saying it complied with its statutory obligation and submitted the said
04:47report to the Minister of National Security.
04:50This leads the legal team to question if the reports are in fact in the hands of the minister,
04:55why have they not been laid in parliament?
04:58A correspondence from the National Security Ministry said the report would be laid by
05:02January 31, but that deadline has passed and the commitment not honoured.
05:08The team has given the Chief State Solicitor until March 3, 2025, to respond, or further
05:14action will continue.
05:16Ravishi Tamari, Rupanarayan, TV6 News.
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