In Vienna yesterday, Makis Voridis, Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism, addressed the Security Committee of the OSCE and is holding a series of bilateral meetings to build synergy between the OSCE’s executive and parliamentary structures on preventing and countering terrorism.
At the Security Committee, Voridis presented the OSCE PA’s resolution on counterterrorism adopted last summer at the 27th Annual Session in Berlin. The resolution, he said, emphasizes the need for joint and co-ordinated approaches to counterterrorism efforts including through implementing relevant international commitments, and focuses on the need to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, strengthen border control and enhance information-sharing at all levels.
Concerning the issue of returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), Voridis reported that the Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism recently launched an initiative aimed at strengthening the implementation of commitments on border security and information sharing, especially those on Advance Passenger Information, passenger name record data and biometrics contained in UN Security Council Resolution 2396.
“In essence, we are encouraging all members of the PA to officially inquire – in accordance with national procedures – into the status of implementation of these commitments with their respective governments,” Voridis said.
He noted that in Berlin, the PA stressed the need to promote deradicalization and increase the involvement of civil society, religious leaders, media, youth, victims of terrorism and the private sector in countering extremist narratives. The PA emphasized the centrality of education in promoting tolerance, the urgency of countering the financing of terrorism and disrupting the links between terrorist networks and organized crime, as well as new terrorist threats stemming from cyberspace, Voridis said.
In bilateral meetings, Voridis stressed the importance of co-operation between the OSCE’s executive structures and the Parliamentary Assembly, and has discussed the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism.