NEW YORK, 3 February 2020 – Today, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, and the Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), Mr. Roberto Montella, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the cooperation between the two organizations in preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism.
The agreement aims at fostering parliamentary engagement in the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. UNOCT and OSCE PA will explore areas of common interest and ensure effective coordination of joint initiatives and activities. The Memorandum of Understanding builds on the existing partnership between the United Nations and the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism of the OSCE.
The document notes the leading role of the United Nations in the global efforts against terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism. It also highlights the special contribution of the OSCE PA to international, regional and national counter-terrorism efforts as a forum for inter-parliamentary dialogue for 57 OSCE participating States.
During the signing event, Mr. Voronkov stressed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy to promote multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation as well as the harmonization of national approaches and policy frameworks. He also emphasized the unique role of the OSCE PA as a parliamentary dimension of the largest regional security organization under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, and looked forward to joint delivery of parliamentary capacity-building, drawing upon OSCE PA’s good practices tailored to the regional context.
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“The Memorandum of Understanding will pave the way for future activities between the OSCE PA and UNOCT in the coming months and years,” said Secretary General Montella. “Solidifying our partnership with UNOCT enables the Assembly to advance its work with terrorism prevention experts whilst adding unique parliamentary insight to global counter-terrorism efforts.”
The increased collaboration with OSCE PA will also contribute to the implementation of the Programme on the Role of Parliaments in Addressing Terrorism and Violent Extremism Leading to Terrorism, which is a joint initiative of UNOCT, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Background Information
UNOCT was established in June 2017 to provide leadership on the implementation of General Assembly counter-terrorism mandates, to enhance coordination and coherence through the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, and to strengthen the delivery of the United Nations counter-terrorism capacity building assistance to Member States, through the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT). To mainstream the responses to terrorism and violent extremism within parliamentary functions, UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) has established partnerships with several parliamentary organizations, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) , the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS).
The OSCE PA Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism (CCT) – established in July 2017 – works to develop forward-looking policy guidance for the consideration of governments as well as to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue on countering terrorism and violent extremism, ultimately promoting the exchange of lessons learned and coordinating parliamentary actions in this field.
OSCE PA International Secretariat