“Terrorism is cruelty in its purest form. Innocent
people are the target and the sites of attack are difficult to predict. The aim
is to instill fear in the population, and to destabilize our societies at the
expense of peace and security,” said Ann Linde, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and
Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. “That is why the OSCE participating
States need to unite and never give up in their ambitions to prevent and combat
terrorism, as well as to stand up for human rights, democracy and the rule of
law.”
This year’s annual OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism
Conference, organized by Sweden’s 2021 OSCE Chairpersonship with the support of
the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department,
has had more than 500 registered participants from across the OSCE area.
Over the two-day Conference, high-level
representatives and experts from governments, state agencies, the United
Nations (UN) and other international organizations, as well as representatives
from the public and private sector, civil society, and academia will engage in
dialogue and mutual learning. Together they will share good practices and
lessons learned and explore ways to reinforce a comprehensive approach to
preventing and countering terrorism and VERLT.
“Terrorism remains one of the most significant threats
to security, social and economic development, and the enjoyment of human
rights,” said Helga Maria Schmid, OSCE Secretary General, emphasizing the
OSCE’s commitment to providing a “substantive and comprehensive contribution”
to countering terrorism. “But we can only succeed in concert with others,” she
added. “That’s why we have once again brought a plurality of voices to this
meeting to exchange ideas and to strengthen our ability to act together, in
line with international human rights obligations.”
Turning to the changing landscape of terrorism,
Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of
Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), said terrorist threats are evolving, citing the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of far-right violent extremism, and
the increased abuse of the internet for terrorist purposes. Underscoring the UN
Secretary-General’s call for a sustained, reinvigorated and networked
multilateral response to prevent and counter terrorism, Voronkov in this
context stressed the importance of the strong OSCE-UNOCT partnership, as well
as the efforts of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Coordination Compact. He also
recognized how a number of OSCE participating States have repatriated nationals
from Syria and Iraq who have been affected by terrorism, and reiterated the UN
Secretary-General’s call to follow their example.
Andrey Novikov, Head of the Commonwealth of
Independent States Anti-Terrorism Center, said the risk of terrorist threats
remains high in Central Asia and called for continued cooperation in the region
and across the OSCE area.
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