Mike Smith
Mike Smith was until July 2013, Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, a position he held for more than 5 years. Prior to that he was Australia’s Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism. From 2002 to 2006, Mike Smith was Australia’s Permanent Representative to the UN and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Amongst other responsibilities over this period, in 2004 he was elected Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, one of the most demanding chairing positions in the multilateral system. For most of the period 1998 to 2002, Mike Smith was Chief of Staff to the Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer. Earlier he served as Australia’s Ambassador to Algeria and Tunisia, (1989 – 1991) and to Egypt, Sudan and Algeria (1995 – 1998).
Over the past few weeks, there have been multiple news items centring on the problem of what to do with terrorist fighters that have been captured by a variety of actors in Syria and Iraq in the battle to destroy Islamic State (IS). Numbers are fluid but we do know that tens of thousands of […]
Walking free from prison following a period of detention is surely a satisfying experience, but also one replete with anxiety. Dealing with community ostracism, readjusting to family life, avoiding old associations, and simply finding paid work are difficulties faced by most former inmates. For those convicted of violent extremist activity, the hurdles can be even […]
This report provides an overview of fusion centres in six European countries, taking a closer look at their roles in the wider security and counter-terrorism landscape and what challenges they face. This publication was produced by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague (ICCT), with support of the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and […]