U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 - United Arab Emirates

The Emirati Government publicly condemned the terror attacks in Amman, Sharm el-Sheikh, London, and Baghdad. In December, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan strongly denounced terrorists, saying they had no loyalty to their countries of origin. The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs, and Endowment actively drafted guidance for Friday prayer sermons and was thus able to issue timely condemnations of terrorist acts and also emphasize the virtues of moderate Islam. The Ministry required all 1,500 mosques that delivered sermons to record them each Friday to ensure that imams adhered to prescribed guidelines to prevent extremist preaching.

In December, the Supreme Council, the top policy making body in the country, placed all security agencies under a newly established, though not fully defined and implemented, National Security Council. The Supreme Council's decision follows the government's adoption in August 2004 of a counterterrorism law that defines terrorist crimes and punishments and criminalizes the funding of terrorist organizations. The UAE undertook several border security measures to deter terrorists from reaching UAE soil.

In March, the Container Security Initiative (CSI) became operational at Port Rashid and Jebel Ali in the Emirate of Dubai. CSI has five U.S. Customs officers co-located with the Dubai Customs Intelligence Unit at Port Rashid. CSI is aimed at screening U.S.-bound shipping containers that pass through Dubai ports and that pose a security threat. On average, CSI reviewed approximately 250 bills of lading each week, resulting in 15-20 non-intrusive inspections of U.S.-bound containers. These examinations were conducted jointly with Dubai Customs officers. In addition, Dubai Customs requested that each and every container that originates in Iran be designated for inspection. Cooperation with Dubai Customs in this area was outstanding, and the Dubai CSI operation is a model representative of the program.

In January, May, and September, the State Department's Antiterrorism Assistance Program hosted UAE law enforcement officers for various training programs in counterterrorism and diplomatic security.

The UAE Central Bank provided training programs to financial institutions on money laundering and terrorist financing. In April, the Central Bank hosted the third international hawala (informal money remittance and exchange businesses) conference. The Central Bank investigated financial transactions and froze accounts in response to UN resolutions and internal investigations, and has registered approximately 160 hawala dealers to date.