A/HRC/24/47 requested the international community to consider the payment of ransom to terrorist groups a crime.83 On the basis of this decision, Member States, in 2010, mandated a special commission of the African Union to mobilize international support for an end to the payment of ransom.84 It is still relatively too early to assess compliance by African countries with this decision in terms of adopting legislations and policies to that effect. Like the African Union, in March 2010, the League of Arab States adopted resolution 525 on ways of combating international terrorism, in which it resolved to criminalize the payment of ransom to terrorist individuals, groups, enterprises or organizations.85 41. The Council of Europe has no equivalent to the decision adopted by the African Union requesting the criminalization of ransom payment to terrorist hostage-takers. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has, however, made a similar recommendation with regard to the related phenomenon of piracy, in which it called on Member States to establish clear policies and legislation against the payment of ransoms, and to ensure compliance by both private actors and State authorities.86 Moreover, the Members of the European Union are required to share information in cases involving kidnappings by terrorists.87 The problem of terrorist hostage-taking is also covered by various instruments of the Council of Europe relating to terrorism. 88 42. Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union, has a European network of advisory teams that provides strategic and/or tactical advice, coordination and support for kidnapping, hostage-taking and extortion investigations. 89 The network links the advisory teams to Europol, to facilitate immediate international cooperation in response to life-threatening risks, shares good practices and develops standards in this specific field throughout the European Union.90 The documentation available does not specify what the relevant good practices are. 43. Beyond declarations, joint communiqués, press releases relating to terrorism and transnational crime in general, there seems to be no official document addressing the specific phenomenon of terrorist hostage-taking for ransom for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).91 Similarly, the Organization of American States (OAS) has not specifically addressed terrorist hostage-taking for ransom, even if its work on the broader issues of organized crime and terrorism may be relevant in addressing the phenomenon. 92 Relevant case law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights dealing with cases of 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 Decision 256 (XIII), paras. 7 and 8. See African Union Peace and Security Council, Report of the Chairperson of the Commission on Measures to Strengthen Cooperation in the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism (PSC/PR/2(CCXLIX)), paras. 25–26. Available from www.africaunion.org/root/au/Conferences/2010/November/situationroom/Terrorism%20reportPSC%2022%2011%2010.pdf. See S/2010/204, annex, p. 62. Resolution 1722 (2010), para. 17.4. Council recommendation 2007/562/EC of 12 June 2007 concerning sharing of information on terrorist kidnappings. See the website of the Council of Europe on Action against Terrorism: relevant Council of Europe instruments and documents, at www.coe.int/t/dlapil/codexter/relevant_instruments_en.asp. See also Council of Europe, The Fight against Terrorism: Council of Europe Standards (4th edition, Strasburg, 2007); and Rianne Letschert, Ines Staiger and Antony Pemberton (eds.), Assisting victims of terrorism: Towards a European Standard of Justice (Dordrecht, Springer, 2010), pp. 73–141. Europol Review, General report on Europol activities, 2012, p. 24. Available from www.europol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/europolreview2011.pdf. Ibid. See www.asean.org. Bailliet, “Towards holistic transnational protection” (see footnote 72), pp. 599 and 607. 15