Terrorism has no explanation that can be accepted by humanity, terrorism only has consequences. And these are always terrible consequences for those against whom a terrorist act is committed, and very often any consequences, unfortunately, are avoided by those who commit terror.
There is a mechanism in the world that allows terrorists to acquire official recognition as a "terrorist". This is what it is about UP materials
Why is it so important for the whole world, why are the Russians so afraid of it, and why are they given the status of a state sponsor of terrorism?
"COUNTRY SPONSOR OF TERRORISM"
"State sponsor of terrorism" is a status granted exclusively by the United States to certain countries for their support of international terrorism. Such a decision can only be made by the Secretary of State with the approval of the US Senate.
Terrorism in the view of the United States for the "sponsor country" is considered to be the support of terrorist organizations, the commission of terrorist acts by the agents of the relevant state, or the organization and support of cyber-terrorism.
This status entails legal, economic and diplomatic consequences. Purely politically, any country can adopt a declaratory resolution or make a similar decision, and recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. Unfortunately, this will not have any special consequences for the strengthening of international sanctions, but it shows diplomatic support, which is also very important.
STATUS OF "COUNTRY SPONSOR OF TERRORISM"
All restrictions on "sponsors of terrorism" are listed in several major US laws:
The first - Section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended - prohibits US aid to such countries.
The second is Section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, which "prohibits the export, credit, guarantee, other financial assistance, export licensing and general supply of ammunition under this Act";
The third is Section 1754(c) of the Export Control Act of 2018 - licensing and controls.
At the same time, the "set" of applied norms for each case is usually unique. That is, the status of "state-sponsor of terrorism" is a certain constructor consisting of separate norms with references to separate laws, also in addition to those listed above.
WHAT SPECIFIC ACTS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM DOES THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION COMMIT
In fact, there are many such acts. The agent of the state - the Russian army - committed torture and murder of civilians in Buch, killed prisoners in Olenivka, launched and continues to launch rocket attacks on civilian objects, as a result of which hundreds of citizens, including children, have already died, and has been abducting people in Crimea for a long time and Donbass.
Another agent of the Russian state - PMC "Wagner" - committed brutal murders and used chemical weapons against civilians in Syria. There is evidence of torture committed by members of this group in Ukraine as well.
Here you can also add atrocities in the Chechen wars, shootings of civilians in Georgia, and regular cyber attacks supported by the Russian Federation.
WHAT COULD BE THE CONSEQUENCES FOR RUSSIA IF IT IS RECOGNIZED AS A "COUNTRY SPONSOR OF TERRORISM"
Symbolic — recognition as one of the main global players in the atrocities and terror that the Russian Federation carries out against the civilian population.
Diplomatic — involves the reduction of formal ties and joint programs between the United States and Russia, possibly mutual reductions of diplomatic missions.
Sanctions and restrictions on transactions — participation in financial transactions with the government of the Russian Federation will become illegal for US individuals and legal entities. Blocking of all state-owned banks and enterprises of the Russian Federation and persons connected with the state. Strengthening export control for a wider list of goods in trade between countries.
Secondary sanctions — the status itself is the basis for the possible application of secondary sanctions to those entities that are connected, for example, by transactions with a "state sponsor of terrorism" and its institutions.
The US and its allies can impose sanctions, usually financial or trade, on a country that continues to cooperate with a country with the relevant status.
The basis for such a decision will not be the perpetration of any threat to the US or the world order, but the fact that such a country did not respect the sanctions on the country sponsoring terrorism. For example, Indian banks do not go into contact with sanctioned Russian banks for fear of receiving secondary sanctions from the US for this.
Blacklisting of Russia by The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental body that develops and implements anti-money laundering measures and standards at the international level. Unlike the partial disconnection of Russian banks from SWIFT, such a step will affect the banking system of the Russian Federation totally, not selectively.
The inclusion of the Russian Federation in the FATF "black list" means the blocking of correspondent accounts of Russian banks around the world, including in China. That is, any financial transaction transfer technologies cannot be used. And Chinese banks, for example, if they wanted to keep their correspondent accounts in dollars and euros, would have to close correspondent relations with Russian banks.
Judicial, executive, sovereign immunity, or the real possibility of bringing the Russian Federation to justice in the courts of other states — usually, the court of one country cannot make a decision against any other state, this is the basis of the international order. However, the status of a sponsor of terrorism means an exception to the jurisdictional immunity of the state. In practice, this will allow US citizens, military personnel and officials (and only them) to demand and receive compensation in US courts for Russia's actions in Ukraine (and possibly Syria), including through the forcible seizure of Russian state assets.
HOW DOES THIS STATUS AFFECT THE FIRST INDIVIDUALS OF THE "TERRORIST STATE"?
If the status is imposed in a strict form, and all transactions with the state, public persons and enterprises are prohibited, then this will lead to further blocking of the assets of the first parties. Depending on the format of imposition of secondary sanctions, their effect may be extended to third parties who will conduct such financial transactions with the first parties. Diplomatic isolation is also increasing.
HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE NOW ON THE AMERICAN LIST OF STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM
The current list includes North Korea, Syria, Iran and Cuba. Previous lists have included Iraq, Libya, South Yemen and Sudan. Russia's case most closely resembles Iran: a large country whose army commits atrocities and denies it, and whose government supports terrorist organizations.
North Korea, for example, received its status after the downing of a civilian airliner. In 1987, a civilian plane bound for Seoul exploded in mid-air after detonating a bomb planted by two North Korean agents.
CRITERIA OR "MARKERS" FOR RECOGNITION AS A "COUNTRY SPONSOR OF TERRORISM"
As such a list of criteria does not exist. However, evidence is usually required for the following actions of the country:
- Allows the territory to be used as a haven from extradition for terrorist activities.
- Provides weapons, explosive devices or substances for terrorist activities.
- Planning, directing, training, or assisting in terrorist activities.
- Provides financial support to terrorist activities.
- Provides diplomatic assistance and support for diplomats or documents for terrorists.
In general, this is not an exhaustive list, and it can be interpreted quite freely by other actions of the state in its vision of "facilitating international terrorism", based on the interpretation of terrorism - "deliberate, politically motivated violence committed against civilians".
RECOGNITION PROCESS
Formally, this is a simple process. For recognition, the US Secretary of State makes and publishes the relevant decision.
It looks succinct: "According to [list of provisions of laws], I establish that [name of the country] has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism."
Of course, behind this simple decision there is a thorough analysis, report notes, reports and other sources, consultations, which confirm this very "repeated support for acts of international terrorism" and the State Department's readiness for the consequences of assigning the status.
WHAT DOES SUCH RECOGNITION PROVIDE FOR STRENGTHENING SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA
This greatly simplifies the application of secondary sanctions. Designation as a sponsor of terrorism effectively blocks any financial transactions with the country sponsoring terrorism and its institutions in the Western world. At the same time, secondary sanctions are not imposed automatically, but the range of grounds for their individual application is expanding.
This also significantly expands the lists of individual sanctions and makes it difficult for everyone to have any business relations with the Russian Federation, because every case of "business" with such a country can lead to sanctions.
This is a significant argument for the introduction of any new/further international sanctions, because now it is not an equal member of the world community that is being sanctioned, but a "state sponsor of terrorism".
And also, this is a certain "armor" to prevent the lifting of sanctions or their weakening, which may be even more important - who would want to make exceptions not for a "reliable energy partner", but for a terrorist country?
In addition, this is an additional impetus for the implementation and implementation of additional sanctions, for example, the recently agreed price cap must be implemented - for which all brokerage, financial, insurance transactions with oil and oil products should be controlled. The status of a state-sponsor of terrorism increases the possibility of this control, and therefore the practical implementation of price caps or other sanctions.
For Syria and Iran, the US passed individual packages of secondary sanctions against banks and individuals involved in operations with "terrorists" outside the US.
IS US SENATE PASSING ENOUGH TO MAKE THIS FINALLY HAPPEN?
Not yet. The fact is that the resolution already adopted by the Senate only calls on the Secretary of State to make a corresponding decision.
However, Congress can legally establish the appropriate status for Russia, because it was this body that authorized the Secretary of State, and therefore can do everything on its own.
Thus, earlier the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, already appealed to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, and emphasized that Congress would do it otherwise.
True, this will become possible only if Biden signs the adopted law. But in any case, such a decision would mean significant political pressure, and in 2017 it was Congress that ultimately forced the State Department to reinstate North Korea's "state sponsor of terrorism" status.
HOW EXACTLY IS THIS CONNECTED WITH THE TRACK OF COLLECTION OF REPARATIONS FROM RUSSIA?
There are fears that after the appropriate status is assigned, numerous claims for compensation for damages caused by Russia's aggression will immediately appear in the US courts. Moreover, if, for example, Syria is added to the justification of the status, then the consequences of actions in Syria will become a theoretical basis for lawsuits. Such compensations will be made at the expense of the assets of the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, which cannot file such a lawsuit, will not be able to count on the entire amount of seized funds of the Russian Federation in the future.
But there is a solution in this case as well: the frozen funds of the Russian Central Bank should be removed from the sphere of influence of the regime of the country sponsoring terrorism. The methods can be different: both the resolution of the Congress (project), and the decision of the Administration to transfer funds to the account of the Federal Reserve, and possibly some others. The main thing is to "remove" sovereign assets from potential lawsuits that will fall after the cancellation of sovereign immunity. That is, to do this before recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT HESITATE TO RECOGNIZE RUSSIA AS A "STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM"?
The Russian Federation is a large nuclear power and the termination of diplomatic relations with it is a geopolitical shock that can have various, including unpredictable, consequences.
From the statements made by the White House: this can seriously affect the ability to provide assistance in the regions of Ukraine; it may force critical humanitarian exporters to withdraw from facilitating food exports; concerns about possible unintended punishment of allies.
In general, there is an opinion that this will still not force Russia to stop the war, and on the contrary will push it to the abyss, because then the aggressor will have nothing to lose.
