Press Release No. 05/185

Press Release: IMF Promotes Anti-Terrorism Financing Legislation in the Eastern Horn of Africa

August 4, 2005

The International Monetary Fund, in collaboration with the Joint African Institute, conducted a five-day Legislative Drafting Workshop on Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT). The workshop was held from July 25-29 in Tunis, Tunisia, and addressed the following countries: Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Sudan and Tunisia. Training was provided by experts from the IMF's Legal Department, the World Bank, and the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime.

The purpose of the workshop was to promote the adoption of harmonized terrorism financing legislation in the sub-region and to assist these countries in the drafting of their own laws. The workshop provided its 30 participants with the general background of the international standards of CFT and the current international legal requirements relating to the various components of a comprehensive CFT framework in accordance with the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Finance and other pertinent UN instruments, such as the criminalization of the financing of terrorism, preventive measures in the financial sector and alternative remittance systems.

The participants were government officials with responsibility for CFT policies at their respective Central Banks and Ministries of Justice and included prosecutors, legislative specialists, and financial regulators.

The IMF's Legal Department has placed technical assistance on CFT legislation drafting as one of its highest priorities of its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism program. The Joint African Institute was established by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank in 1999 to deliver training for African government officials on monetary, financial, economic and development issues.