State Sponsors of Terrorism

State Sponsors Of Terrorism in 2016

To designate a country as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, the Secretary of State must determine that the government of such country has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. Once a country is designated, it remains a State Sponsor of Terrorism until the designation is rescinded in accordance with statutory criteria. A wide range of sanctions are imposed as a result of a State Sponsor of Terrorism designation, including:

_ A ban on arms-related exports and sales;

_ Controls over exports of dual-use items, requiring 30-day Congressional notification for goods or services that could significantly enhance the terrorist-list country’s military capability or ability to support terrorism;

_ Prohibitions on economic assistance; and

_ Imposition of miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.

State Sponsors Of Terrorism in 2016

State Sponsor of Terrorism designations can be rescinded pursuant to two alternative paths. One path requires that the President submit a report to Congress before the proposed rescission would take effect certifying that:

_ There has been a fundamental change in the leadership and policies of the government of the country concerned,

_ The government is not supporting acts of international terrorism, and

_ The government has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.

State Sponsors Of Terrorism Developments

The other path requires that the President submit a report to Congress, at least 45 days before the proposed rescission would take effect, justifying the rescission and certifying that:

_ The government concerned has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period, and

_ The government concerned has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future

More Details

This report provides a snapshot of events during 2016 relevant to countries designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism; it does not constitute a new announcement regarding such designations. More information on State Sponsor of Terrorism designations may be found at https://www.state.gov/j/ct/c14151.htm.

IRAN

See the entry on terrorism on IRAN in the corresponding legal encyclopedia of this platform. Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior al-Qa’ida (AQ) members it continued to detain and has refused to publicly identify the members in its custody. Since at least 2009, Iran has allowed AQ facilitators to operate a core facilitation pipeline through the country, enabling AQ to move funds and fighters to South Asia and Syria.

SUDAN

See the entry on terrorism on SUDAN in the corresponding legal encyclopedia of this platform.

SYRIA

See the entry on terrorism on SYRIA in the corresponding legal encyclopedia of this platform.

State Sponsors of Terrorism

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on state sponsors of terrorism explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “state sponsors of terrorism” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press