Dr. Adejoké Babington-Ashaye, a Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center
Doha, Qatar: Qatar is undeniably leading the charge in resolving some of the most persistent global conflicts, and through its strategic diplomatic efforts and dedication to multilateralism, it consistently provides a vibrant platform for international actors to unite and confront the emerging challenges facing the world, a legal and criminal justice expert has said.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the Global Security Forum 2025, Dr. Adejoké Babington-Ashaye, a Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center, noted that, as the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani indicated in his opening remarks at the forum, the international community is undergoing profound change, and this requires a fundamental reevaluation of how the world understands security and stability.
“In this regard, Qatar is playing a pivotal and laudable role by actively creating space for dialogue, mediation, and problem-solving,” she said.
She commended Qatar and The Soufan Center for convening the timely and interdisciplinary forum, which has provided an invaluable opportunity to engage with the complex challenges of global security from diverse perspectives, and the format has truly encouraged meaningful exchange and learning across sectors and regions.
According to her, one of the most significant challenges in aligning international legal frameworks with national judicial systems is the continued use of overly broad and expansive definitions of terrorism in national laws.
“These definitions often diverge from international standards established under the international counterterrorism conventions and Security Council resolutions. The concern here is twofold. First, not every threat to national security qualifies as terrorism, and when we blur that line, we risk criminalising a wide range of conduct that may not meet the threshold of what the international community recognises as terrorism. “This can lead to serious human rights implications, including the infringement of individual rights and due process, as well as violations of international obligations,” she said.
She added that these broad definitions can have very real and damaging consequences for states themselves.
“When terrorism laws are too expansive, national justice systems that may already be overstretched are forced to investigate and prosecute a wide array of cases under terrorism provisions,” Dr. Babington-Ashaye said, adding that this dilutes the focus on genuine terrorist threats, weakens the overall effectiveness of counterterrorism efforts, and creates systemic inefficiencies within the legal and judicial systems.
Dr. Babington-Ashaye, whose work experience includes The World Bank, The International Court of Justice, and The International Criminal Court, noted that one guiding principle that has shaped her approach to capacity-building training is the concept of cognitive justice—the recognition of the diversity of knowledge and the equality of all knowers.
“This principle reminds me that even when I am in the position of providing technical assistance, I am not the sole knowledge-holder. I don’t come in with a rigid, top-down or one-size-fits-all approach but rather as a collaborator who is also learning. This is because national stakeholders are not passive recipients. They are equal partners and experts in their own right,” she said.
