Johnson, Lynch host the Five Country Ministerial and the Quintet of Attorneys General

Meetings of the Five Country Ministerial and the Quintet of Attorneys General meetings were jointly held on Feb. 16-17 by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Director of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to discuss the latest issue surrounding international security.

Lynch and Johnson’s counterparts from the Canadian, New Zealand, Australian and U.K. governments were all in attendance, including Australian Attorney-General George Brandis; Australian Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton; Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale; Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould; Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum; New Zealand Attorney General Christopher Finlayson; United Kingdom Home Secretary Theresa May; and United Kingdom Attorney General Jeremy Wright.

A range of topics were discussed on the first day, including information sharing for counterterrorism purposes while respecting privacy, how to counter violent extremism, cybercrime and encryption, and foreign investment in critical infrastructure.

“[The attorneys general and ministers] agreed on the importance of expanding efforts to counter the threat of Daesh, al-Qaeda and their affiliates particularly by strengthening border and aviation security,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “They also agreed that violent extremism poses a critical threat for all five countries and decided to coordinate activity to counter violent extremism, including by engaging with communities and with social media and other high-tech industries.

They further agreed to share best practices and evaluation of the impact of this work. They also agreed that while government engagement is important, government itself cannot and should not be the only actor to counter violent extremism, and needs to partner with communities to reach isolated and vulnerable individuals and address the drivers of extremism in our societies. While recognizing the value of strong encryption and the need to protect civil liberties and privacy rights, attorneys general and ministers shared concerns about the challenges encryption presents to law enforcement agencies seeking to fight terrorism and serious and organized crime.”

The Attorneys General of the Quintet held a separate meeting on the second day to discuss both cybercrime and criminal justice reform, as well as the need to ensure that the rule of law and individual liberties are upheld in the face of security threats.

“[The attorneys general] shared their countries’ experiences concerning reforms to national security laws and reaffirmed the critical importance of meeting security imperatives while protecting civil liberties,” the Department of Homeland Security said. “The attorneys general agreed to continue to discuss the application of the international law requirements for self-defense, including imminence.

“On the same day, immigration and national security ministers met separately and recognized the benefits of legitimate travelers and migrants and discussed ways to address challenges posed by mass migration and refugee flows, information sharing to facilitate travel and to enhance each country’s ability to identify and prevent the travel of criminals and terrorists across borders, and ways to enhance visa processes for certain travelers. The ministers also recognized the value of trusted traveler programs.”