In a briefing on the counter-terrorism work of parliamentarians before the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Makis Voridis and Lisa Chambers spoke about the role played by the Assembly in this field and ways to further the engagement of parliamentarians in countering terrorism.
In his video address, Voridis, the Chair of the OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism (CCT), noted that as the parliamentary forum of the world’s largest regional security organization, the OSCE PA brings together 323 parliamentarians to build dialogue and exchange best practices in the interest of security.
“While this co-operative dialogue is certainly important, we can and should do more,” Voridis said. “As the directly elected representatives of our citizens, it is our duty to protect our societies from the threats stemming from terrorism and violent extremism.”
Voridis noted that the greatest asset that parliamentarians hold is the power to ensure public scrutiny of governmental action, including by providing oversight on the development and implementation of counter-terrorism policies and legislation, oversight on the work of the security and intelligence agencies, and oversight on budget proposals and expenditures.
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“By co-ordinating this incredible power across all our parliaments, the OSCE PA is adding real value,” he said. “We believe that the United Nations should leverage the capacity of our Assembly to make a difference in our region, which spans across three continents from Vancouver to Vladivostok, comprising countries with very different institutions, traditions and cultures.”
Chambers, an Irish parliamentarian and member of the OSCE PA’s CCT, informed the 15 Security Council members about the pioneering work of the PA in this field. “Within the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, we act as a bridge between our constituents and the Organization overall. We do this by building political momentum for the Organization’s efforts through our policymaking, oversight and convening powers,” Chambers said.
Speaking at UN Headquarters in New York, she highlighted that the overall strategic goal of the CCT is to bring a distinct parliamentary contribution to countering terrorism and violent extremism in the OSCE area by determining the most pressing needs, sharing lessons learned, providing focused policy guidance, and promoting the swift implementation of existing counter-terrorism frameworks. As an illustrative example, she drew attention to the recently completed OSCE PA initiative on strengthening border control and information sharing in the context of UNSC resolution 2396.
The closed briefing of the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee was entitled “Strengthening the role of parliaments in enhancing Member States’ counter-terrorism efforts” and was intended to facilitate the UN engagement with parliamentary assemblies as well as to identify practical approaches towards ensuring that Member States’ counter-terrorism legislation complies with relevant Security Council resolutions and international standards, codes and best practices.
Participants included UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee Chair Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Permanent Observer of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) Qazi Shaukat Fareed, Permanent Observer of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to the United Nations in New York Patricia A. Torsney, Deputy Executive Director of the Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate Weixiong Chen and the Chief of Special Projects and Innovation Division of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism Mauro Miedico.