05 October 2001
Fact Sheet: State Department Identifies 28 Foreign Terrorist Groups
(Two groups dropped from list since 1999 report) (1200)
(The State Department October 5 released the following fact sheet on
the 2001 Foreign Terrorist Organization report.)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
October 5, 2001
FACT SHEET
The Secretary of State designates Foreign Terrorist Organizations
(FTO's), in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary
of the Treasury. These designations are undertaken pursuant to the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. FTO designations are valid for
two years, after which they must be redesignated or they automatically
expire. Redesignation after two years is a positive act and represents
a determination by the Secretary of State that the organization has
continued to engage in terrorist activity and still meets the criteria
specified in law.
-- In October 1997, former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright
approved the designation of the first 30 groups as Foreign Terrorist
Organizations.
-- In October 1999, Secretary Albright re-certified 27 of these
groups' designations but allowed three organizations to drop from the
list because their involvement in terrorist activity had ended and
they no longer met the criteria for designation.
-- Secretary Albright designated one new FTO in 1999 (al Qaida) and
another in 2000 (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan).
-- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has designated two new FTO's
(Real IRA and AUC) in 2001.
-- In October 2001, Secretary Powell re-certified the designation of
26 of the 28 FTO's whose designation was due to expire, and combined
two previously designated groups (Kahane Chai and Kach) into one.
Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (as of
October 5, 2001)
1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
2. Abu Sayyaf Group
3. Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
4. Aum Shinrikyo
5. Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
6. Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group)
7. HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)
8. Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)
9. Hizballah (Party of God)
10. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
11. al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad)
12. Kahane Chai (Kach)
13. Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
14. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
15. Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
16. National Liberation Army (ELN)
17. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
18. Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
19. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
20. PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC)
21. al-Qa'ida
22. Real IRA
23. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
24. Revolutionary Nuclei (formerly ELA)
25. Revolutionary Organization 17 November
26. Revolutionary People's Liberation Army/Front (DHKP/C)
27. Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL)
28. United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
Legal Criteria for Designation
1. The organization must be foreign.
2. The organization must engage in terrorist activity as defined in
Section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. (** -
see below)
3. The organization's activities must threaten the security of U.S.
nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign
relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.
Effects of Designation
Legal
1. It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States to provide funds or other material
support to a designated FTO.
2. Representatives and certain members of a designated FTO, if they
are aliens, can be denied visas or excluded from the United States.
3. U.S. financial institutions must block funds of designated FTO's
and their agents and report the blockage to the Office of Foreign
Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Other Effects
1. Deters donations or contributions to named organizations
2. Heightens public awareness and knowledge of terrorist organizations
3. Signals to other governments our concern about named organizations
4. Stigmatizes and isolates designated terrorist organizations
internationally
THE PROCESS
The Secretary of State makes decisions concerning the designation and
redesignation of FTO's following an exhaustive interagency review
process in which all evidence of a group's activity, from both
classified and open sources, is scrutinized. The State Department,
working closely with the Justice and Treasury Departments and the
intelligence community, prepares a detailed "administrative record"
which documents the terrorist activity of the designated FTO. Seven
days before publishing an FTO designation in the Federal Register, the
Department of State provides classified notification to Congress.
Under the statute, designations are subject to judicial review. In the
event of a challenge to a group's FTO designation in federal court,
the U.S. government relies upon the administrative record to defend
the Secretary's decision. These administrative records contain
intelligence information and are therefore classified.
FTO designations expire in two years unless renewed. The law allows
groups to be added at any time following a decision by the Secretary,
in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the
Treasury. The Secretary may also revoke designations after determining
that there are grounds for doing so and notifying Congress.
-- The Immigration and Nationality Act defines terrorist activity to
mean: any activity, which is unlawful under the laws of the place
where it is committed (or which, if committed in the United States,
would be unlawful under the laws of the United States or any State)
and which involves any of the following:
(I) The hijacking or sabotage of any conveyance (including an
aircraft, vessel, or vehicle).
(II) The seizing or detaining, and threatening to kill, injure, or
continue to detain, another individual in order to compel a third
person (including a governmental organization) to do or abstain from
doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of
the individual seized or detained.
(III) A violent attack upon an internationally protected person (as
defined in section 1116(b)(4) of title 18, United States Code) or upon
the liberty of such a person.
(IV) An assassination.
(V) The use of any --
(a) biological agent, chemical agent, or nuclear weapon or device, or
(b) explosive or firearm (other than for mere personal monetary gain),
with intent to endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or
more individuals or to cause substantial damage to property.
(VI) A threat, attempt, or conspiracy to do any of the foregoing.
(iii) The term "engage in terrorist activity" means to commit, in an
individual capacity or as a member of an organization, an act of
terrorist activity or an act which the actor knows, or reasonably
should know, affords material support to any individual, organization,
or government in conducting a terrorist activity at any time,
including any of the following acts:
(I) The preparation or planning of a terrorist activity.
(II) The gathering of information on potential targets for terrorist
activity.
(III) The providing of any type of material support, including a safe
house, transportation, communications, funds, false documentation or
identification, weapons, explosives, or training, to any individual
the actor knows or has reason to believe has committed or plans to
commit a terrorist activity.
(IV) The soliciting of funds or other things of value for terrorist
activity or for any terrorist organization.
(V) The solicitation of any individual for membership in a terrorist
organization, terrorist government, or to engage in a terrorist
activity.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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