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OSCE Counter-Terrorism Network (CTN) Newsletter No. 121 (March - April 2018)

11.05.2018

United in Countering Violent Extremism

OSCEOCUS

Human rights-compliant measures to addressing challenge of returning foreign terrorist fighters explored at OSCE Counter-Terrorism Conference in Rome

Enhanced information-sharing and border security and human rights-compliant rehabilitation and reintegration programmes are among the key measures states need to take in order to address the challenge of returning foreign terrorist fighters, said speakers at the opening of the 2018 OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference in Rome. More than 350 high-level participants including government experts and representatives of international and sub-regional organizations, academia and civil society from across the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation gathered in Rome on 10-11 May 2018 for the two-day conference organized by the Italian OSCE Chairmanship with the support of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in close co-operation with other OSCE executive structures. More information

Need for strong co-operation and respect for human rights in countering terrorism highlighted at high-level international conference in Tajikistan

Consolidating efforts at the regional and international levels to counter violent extremism and radicalization was the focus of a two-day high-level conference, held on 3-4 May 2018 in Dushanbe. The conference, entitled “Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism”, was organized by the Government of Tajikistan in co-operation with the OSCE, the United Nations, and the European Union. Foreign ministers of Central Asian participating States and Afghanistan, as well as high-level officials from other countries, representatives of regional and international organizations, civil society, research institutions and diplomatic missions accredited to Tajikistan took part in the conference. The event concluded with a declaration adopted by states participating in the conference. More information (Photo credit Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan)

OSCE NOTEWORTHY

Preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism focus of OSCE-supported inter-regional conference in Seoul

More than 150 experts from across the OSCE area and the Asian region gathered in Seoul on 19 and 20 April for an inter-regional conference on preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT), organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea in close co-operation with the OSCE Transnational Threats Department. The inter-regional conference aimed to strengthen dialogue and co-operation between the OSCE and the Asian region and provided an excellent opportunity to discuss a broad range of issues from national, regional and international perspectives on preventing and countering violent extremism. More information (Photo credit Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea)

Consolidated Reference for OSCE Anti-Terrorism Efforts

The Consolidated Reference aims to inform all personnel of the OSCE Secretariat as well as other executive structures and relevant interested organizations, about international and OSCE commitments, projects and programmes related to the prevention and combating of terrorism.

Overview of OSCE Counter-Terrorism Related Commitments

Overview prepared by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department/Action against Terrorism Unit, in co-ordination with other relevant OSCE executive structures.

OSCE NEWS

PREVENTING AND COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM AND RADICALIZATION THAT LEAD TO TERRORISM

OSCE presents wining theatrical performances on countering violent extremism in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Four student teams from Universities of Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology were on stage on 13 March 2018 in Sarajevo to perform the winning plays of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s drama contest on countering violent extremism. More information

OSCE concludes second tabletop exercise on countering violent extremism in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with the Partnership for Peace Consortium’s Counterterrorism Working Group, concluded a two-day tabletop exercise in Bihac on 16 March 2018, focusing on practical views and ideas in addressing the challenges of violent extremism. The exercise gathered more than 70 participants – representatives from all levels of government, judiciary, law enforcement agencies, civil society, media, education and health sectors, religious institutions and local communities – who had an opportunity, through the simulation of scenarios, to address the issue of the foreign terrorist fighters' return and reintegration and local level response. More information

OSCE Mission to Serbia supports further education of Serbian local police in preventing violent extremism

A series of four pilot training courses on preventing and identifying violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism took place from March to April 2018 in Novi Sad, Niš, Novi Pazar and Belgrade. The training course for police commanders from local Uniformed Police and local Police Sections for Countering Terrorism and Extremism from across Serbia, was organized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia in partnership with the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia. Around 70 participants learned about the effectiness of community policing in improving prevention and early identification, thereby enhancing safety in local communities. More information

OSCE organizes first national seminar in Turkmenistan on a comprehensive approach to countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, in co-operation with the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department, organized a two-day seminar entitled “Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism: a Comprehensive Approach”, which concluded in Ashgabat on 4 April 2018. The seminar, the first of its kind in Turkmenistan, served as a platform for policy discussion on preventing and countering VERLT in Turkmenistan. It also aimed to promote a better understanding of the current global and regional trends in VERLT. A particular emphasis was put on regional challenges related to terrorist radicalization. More information

Conference on P/CVERLT in Prisons and Probation in Albania

P/CVERLT in Albanian prisons and probation services was at the focus of a conference attended by more than 70 participants on 5 April 2018 organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania, in co-operation with the Albanian Ministry of Justice and the Coordination Centre on Countering Violent Extremism. A report on the current situation of violent extremism and radicalization in prisons and probation services as well as the first Basic Training Modules for prison and probation staff on how to deal with this phenomenon were presented at the conference.

Roundtable discussion on P/CVERLT in Skopje

The OSCE Mission to Skopje together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Office of the National Coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism and Counter-Terrorism organized on 24 April 2018 a roundtable discussion on P/CVERLT for trainers in Skopje with the objective to strengthen the capacity of first line police officers in countering violent extremism and raise awareness of utilizing community policing techniques as a means to counter the challenges of violent extremism.

TRAVEL DOCUMENT AND BORDER SECURITY

OSCE Mobile Training Team trains border and security officers from Tajikistan on identifying foreign terrorist fighters

On 13-15 March 2018, the OSCE’s Mobile Training Team delivered in Dushanbe an interactive training course on identifying foreign terrorist fighters to 20 female and male border and security officers from Tajikistan. The deployment of the Mobile Training Team, the fourth of its kind, was organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department. During the three-day training course, participants learned how to identify potential foreign terrorist fighters at border crossing points in compliance with international human rights standards.More information

OSCE holds workshop on establishing an Advance Passenger Information system in Georgia

A workshop on how to establish an Advance Passenger Information (API) system in Georgia aimed at detecting and preventing movements of foreign terrorist fighters, was organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in Tbilisi from 17 to 19 April 2018. The event brought together 45 representatives from all national agencies involved in passenger processing, including the police, customs, State Security Service, Office of the Personal Data Protection Inspector, and civil aviation authority. The workshop was held scarcely a week after the adoption, by the Georgian Government of Decree no. 174, which sets out the necessary legal provisions authorizing national authorities to collect, store and process passenger data while fully respecting citizens’ right to privacy. More information

COUNTERING FINANCING OF TERRORISM

OSCE and UNODC train the trainers in countering terrorist financing in Tajikistan

Strengthening the capacity of government officials from Tajikistan to counter terrorist financing was the aim of a two-day train-the-trainers course organized on 29 and 30 March 2018 in Vienna by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)'s Global Programme against Money Laundering. More information

OSCE supported participation of non-profit organizations from Central Asia and Eastern Europe in Vienna discussion on preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing

The OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the OSCE field operations, facilitated the participation of representatives of non-profit organizations from Central Asia and Eastern Europe in a direct dialogue on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluation process and risk assessments for more effectively preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, held on 23 - 24 April 2018 in Vienna. More information

OSCE seminar in Turkmenistan promotes best practices in combating money laundering, terrorism financing and corruption

Indicators of money laundering, terrorism financing and corruption and best practices for interagency co-operation were discussed at an OSCE-organized seminar that concluded on 25 April 2018 in Ashgabat. The two-day event brought together some 35 officials representing the State Service of Turkmenistan on Countering Economic Crimes, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, financial institutions, law enforcement bodies and real estate and audit companies. More information

COUNTERING THE USE OF THE INTERNET FOR TERRORIST PURPOSES

OSCE organizes seminar on countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes in Turkmenistan

A two-day seminar on countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, was held on 5 and 6 April 2018 in Ashgabat. Some 40 participants, including representatives of the parliament of Turkmenistan and the national Ombudsman office as well as prosecutors, judges, investigators and law-enforcement officers, considered issues related to the international legal and human rights frameworks on countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes. More information

OTHER RELEVANT OSCE ACTIVITIES

OSCE-supported workshop on development of Draft National Strategy and Action Plan for prevention and combating of terrorism, money laundering and terrorist financing held in Montenegro

In partnership with the National Security Council of the Government of Montenegro, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized on 11 - 12 April 2018 in Kolasin, Montenegro, a workshop dedicated to the preparation of the Draft National Strategy for the prevention and combating of terrorism, money laundering and terrorist financing 2019-2022 and Action Plan 2019-2020. More information

UNESCO

Preliminary consultation on inter-institutional co-operation on the prevention of violent extremism through education

On 18-19 April 2018, UNESCO organised a Preliminary Consultation on inter-institutional cooperation on the Prevention of Violent Extremism through Education (PVE-E) that brought together representatives from over 22 actors and institutions engaged in PVE-E – including UNDP, UNODC, the World Bank-CMI, ISESCO and OIF, as well as governmental and inter-governmental institutions, non-governmental organisations and foundations. Three goals led discussions – first, to explore the range of efforts, approaches and practices being undertaken in PVE-E; second, to share experience and lessons learned; and, lastly, to explore options for greater networking and co-operation in PVE-E in support to the needs of Member States in regions across the world. More information

COUNCIL OF EUROPE NEWS

Recommendation on terrorists acting alone adopted

On 4 April 2018, the Committee of Ministers adopted “Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on terrorists acting alone”. The recommendation reviews measures for preventing radicalisation, better identifying individuals who could potentially act alone and stepping up cooperation in the criminal law field. More information

24/7 Network on Foreign Terrorist Fighters

On 20 April 2018, the Contact Points to the Council of Europe 24/7 Network on Foreign Terrorist Fighters held their 3rd meeting in Paris. Since the second meeting of the Contact Points, held in March 2017, the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism entered into force and the number of the designated contact points raised to 46, including the European Union. The main aims of the meeting were to review the effectiveness and efficiency of the Network and to evaluate its capacity to contribute to addressing the issue of returning foreign terrorist fighters.

UPCOMING

First Council of Europe Counter-Terrorism Committee Plenary Meeting

On 16 - 18 May 2018, the Council of Europe Counter-Terrorism Committee (CDCT) will hold its first Plenary Meeting in Strasbourg. The CDCT replaces the CODEXTER as the Steering Committee in charge of counter-terrorism issues. Among the issues to be examined at the Plenary Meeting is the feasibility of having a pan-European legal definition of terrorism for the purposes of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No. 196) and its Additional Protocol (CETS No. 217). The CDCT is also expected to adopt the Council of Europe Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2018 – 2022). More information

OSCE Counter-Terrorism Network (CTN) Newsletter No. 121 (March - April 2018)

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