At UN, Inner City Press Asks of Boko Haram's Victims' Marginalization, UNCTC's Non-Saudi Funding

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 10 -- When the Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Center Jehangir Khan took questions on February 10, Inner City Press asked him about the comparative marginalization of the victims of Boko Haram, and supported a request for information on the Center's non-Saudi funders. Video here.

  Khan, who is also the Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, said he agreed about Boko Haram; he said the issue would be addressed in the February 11 Conference on the Human Rights of Victims of Terrorism. We'll see.

Back on October 21, 2015, after a UN Security Council closed-door meeting about the victims of terrorism, Inner City Press asked two minister from Spain and victims' representatives from Spain and of Yazidis about media coverage of terrorism, specifically about threats to censor such coverage for example in Turkey.

  Pari Ibrahim of the Free Yezidi Foundation said that in fact media coverage was helpful in letting people know about the outrage or genocide that began on August 3, 2014.

   ETA victim Mari Mar Blanco praised the conviction under Spanish law of a person who tweets apologies for terrorism. But how is that defined?

    Spain's Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz said the country's laws, directed at ETA, needed to be updated for Jihadists.

  Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo said ISIS is challenging the Sykes Picot Line, is holding territory and using the West's tools to recruit. At least three of the four, maybe more, seems directed at getting Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to censor social media posts deemed helpful to ISIS. But how will that be defined? Are for some states, is that really the motive?  We'll have more on this.

   Pari Ibrahim of the Free Yezidi Foundation (pictured above) also spoke of a filing with the International Criminal Court, to go after ISIS members who are nationals of states who have joined the ICC. Spain's Margallo spoke of a second International Criminal Court, just for terrorists. But wouldn't that also require that states join, or a referral from the Security Council? We aim to have more on this too.