Emni

The Joint Security Committee (Arabic: لجنة الأمن المشتركة lajnat al-amn al-mushtarakah), colloquially known by the acronym Emni (امني; lit. "secure, covert"), is a state committee attached to the Council of Ministers of the Arab Union. It is the premier security agency of the government of the Arab Union, overseeing all national security, domestic and foreign intelligence, and counterintelligence activities in the country, and also functions as a law enforcement agency of federal jurisdiction. The agency is governed by military laws and regulations and uses the same ranking system as the Arab Army, but has jurisdiction over internal security and federal law enforcement operations in addition to its domestic and foreign intelligence role. The federated republics of the Arab Union each have a National Police responsible for regular civilian law enforcement at the republican (state) and local level, attached to the respective republican Ministry of Interior, while most federal law enforcement is handled by the Arab Union Sheriff Service under the Attorney-General; however, the Joint Security Committee does have the authority to direct or take over any and all federal law enforcement matters.

The Emni was formed in 1975 by merging several separate agencies into a single streamlined apparatus. As a state committee, it acts on an inter-agency level, and thus retains a degree of jurisdiction over government ministries and subordinate agencies as far as national security is concerned, including oversight of federal policing, corrections, and customs and border security activities, regularly taking the lead in law enforcement operations with a national scope nominally under republican Ministry of Interior jurisdiction. Its foreign intelligence operations involve setting up clandestine espionage residencies abroad, and recruiting sources working in sensitive positions in target countries' governments or military. Agents are also placed in Arab Union embassies and consulates, where they work under official cover and are protected from arrest by diplomatic immunity. Operatives typically engage in gathering political, economic, and military-strategic information as well as planting disinformation. The agency is also responsible for combatting internal subversion within the country as well as the international Ba'athist movement, maintaining complex public surveillance operations including a vast network of confidential informants at home and abroad. It is active against the Zionist Resistance Front and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The incumbent Chairman of the Joint Security Committee is Ilyas Mosa, in office since 2010.

Name
Upon its establishment, the Joint Security Committee was named as such and referred to exclusively by this name, with staff for the first few years simply referring to it as "the committee" (اللجنة al-lajnah) when not using the official full name; this usage was mostly unambiguous given the context of the agency's work, with other state committees responsible for matters quite separate from intelligence and state security, and thus remains a common colloquialism amongst committee staff.

Directorates

 * "A" Directorate: The premier foreign intelligence service, responsible for HUMINT operations involving foreign intelligence-gathering and planting strategic disinformation; maintains foreign safe houses and espionage residencies in target countries;
 * "B" Directorate: Upholds political security, combats internal subversion, and monitors political activity across society including within the government and armed forces; also responsible for domestic intelligence operations;
 * "J" Directorate: Responsible for border patrol and security of border crossings and international airports;
 * "M" Directorate: The premier anti-drug trafficking agency, responsible for combating trafficking and related organised crime both within the Arab Union and abroad:
 * "T" (Criminal Intelligence) Directorate: One of two national agencies handling law enforcement matters under federal jurisdiction (the other being the larger Arab Union Sheriff Service); "T" Directorate has multiple specialised departments each with unique responsibilities, including investigating and combatting serious crimes like serial or spree murder, child kidnapping and human trafficking, infiltration of organised criminal networks, professional forensic pathology and behaviour analysis, and leading other major investigations and operations under federal jurisdiction;
 * "Th" Directorate: Oversees the department staffed by Emni personnel responsible for security which is attached to each federal government ministry, agency, or state enterprise (called an "A" Department); also assigns security details to senior federal government personnel;
 * "H" Directorate: Responsible for public surveillance and maintaining the database used by the National Police and other Ministry of Interior agencies;
 * "Kh" Directorate: Handles secure government communications, cryptology, and cyber-security;
 * "D" Directorate: Responsible for detaining and transporting prisoners of war and terrorists, typically excommunicado;
 * "Dh" (Anti-Corruption) Directorate: Investigates allegations of professional misconduct, corruption or criminality of government and military personnel;
 * "R" Directorate: Responsible for domestic counterintelligence operations;
 * "Z" Directorate: Responsible for censorship, propaganda and information warfare;
 * Joint Military Counterintelligence Directorate: Responsible for military counterintelligence operations and supporting the military intelligence directorates under the Ministry of Defence;
 * Special Operations & Counterterrorism Directorate: The paramilitary division of the Joint Security Committee, responsible for counterterrorism and other serious operations;

Other departments

 * Human Resources Department: Recruits, trains and compensates all committee personnel;
 * IT Department: Responsible for supplying and maintaining all technical equipment;
 * Finance Department: Responsible for the budget and funding operations;
 * Legal Department: Handles all legal matters for the committee;
 * Research & Development Department: Responsible for scientific research and the development of technologies relevant to state security and intelligence operations, from pinhole cameras and spyware to drugs and poisons.
 * Transport Department: Responsible for operation and maintenance of all vehicles used by the agency, including sedans, boats, private jets, helicopters, and logistical transport aircraft.
 * Residential Office: Responsible for procuring and maintaining safehouses for the Emni's agents and their handlers in all major cities across the globe, maintaining all other agency facilities including black sites, training academies, storage and logistical facilities, etc., and coordinating the living arrangements for and fulfilling all domestic needs of agency personnel.