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16.02.2006
Ref.108a07
(English only)
Annual High-level meeting between the Council of Europe,
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe,
the United Nations and partner organizations
in the "Tripartite-Plus" format
Joint Communiqué
1. High-level representatives of the Council of Europe, the Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations met on 14
February 2007 in Vienna for their annual consultations in the
"Tripartite-Plus" format.(*)
2. The meeting discussed a number of issues related to the
implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, adopted by
the UN General Assembly on 8 September 2006.
3. Participants confirmed that preventing and combating terrorism
remains among the main priorities of their organizations and reiterated
that there can be no justification of terrorism whatsoever.
4. Participants welcomed the adoption of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy, which outlines a comprehensive global approach towards
countering this phenomenon by addressing not only its manifestations,
but also the conditions conducive to its spread.
5. Participants underlined also the utmost importance of promoting and
protecting human rights for all and the rule of law while combating
terrorism and welcomed the strong focus of the Strategy on this issue.
6. Participants agreed that the Strategy can be efficiently implemented
only through the consistent long-term efforts of society as a whole and
underscored the paramount importance of initiatives and programmes aimed
at promoting tolerance and mutual respect for other cultures, religions
and beliefs.
7. Participants reviewed their existing and emerging programmes and
initiatives and discussed how they could contribute to the
implementation of the Strategy. They agreed that their main efforts,
within their respective mandates, should focus on preventing and
combating terrorism by, inter alia:
* Raising awareness about the multi-faceted terrorist threat and helping
to generate the political will to counter it.
* Strengthening initiatives aimed at the prevention of radicalization,
violent extremism and incitement to terrorism, while at the same time
promoting inter- and intra-religious and cultural dialogue, tolerance
and mutual respect, especially through education and close co-operation
with civil society and the media. Special attention needs to be
addressed to the Internet, both in view of preventing its use for
terrorist purposes and as a means to counter terrorist ideology.
* Strengthening the international legal framework against terrorism,
including through supporting ratification and legislative implementation
of the universal anti-terrorism instruments, as well as those regional
instruments which complement or reinforce them, and through the
conclusion of additional bilateral, regional and multi-lateral
agreements, with the objective of establishing a universal legal regime
against terrorism and ensuring that terrorists are prosecuted
effectively for their crimes on the basis of the principle "prosecute or
extradite".
* Promoting international co-operation and ensuring that any measures
taken to prevent and combat terrorism comply fully with obligations
under international law, in particular human rights law, refugee law and
international humanitarian law.
* Promoting international solidarity in support of victims of terrorism
and their families.
* Identifying and drawing the attention of national authorities and the
international community to areas where deficiencies exist or more
efforts need to be applied, developing their own instruments or
mechanisms, including capacity-building programmes and activities, to
address such gaps, when their mandates allow it.
* Developing effective co-ordination and co-operation among
international organizations and between the international community, the
national authorities and civil society. Encouraging, where appropriate,
the development and dissemination of international guidance and
recommendations representing good practices in combating terrorism.
* Promoting developmental goals, including sustained economic growth,
sustainable development, good governance, human rights for all and the
rule of law, political and social inclusion, as well as empowerment, as
important means of addressing conditions which may be conducive to the
spread of violent extremism and terrorism.
* Improving border control and management and, in particular, travel
documents, customs control and detection capabilities, in order to
prevent the movement of terrorist or the illicit traffic in, inter alia,
small arms and light weapons, including man-portable air defence systems
(MANPADs), and nuclear, chemical, biological or radiological weapons and
materials.
* Preventing the financing of terrorism and money laundering as an
important prerequisite for curbing terrorist activities.
Capacity-building assistance has to be provided to national authorities
in developing relevant legislation and setting up of Finance
Intelligence Units and appropriate procedures, in order to efficiently
implement the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force.
* Promoting public-private partnership in the fight against terrorism in
such areas as, inter alia,transport and critical infrastructure
security, supply chain security, border and customs control, money
laundering and terrorist financing, and preventing the use of the
Internet for terrorist purposes.
9. Participants reviewed the status of mutual co-ordination and
co-operation, and highlighted the progress achieved and existing
challenges. They agreed that further efforts should be devoted to
enhance co-ordination between the United Nations and regional and other
intergovernmental organizations. They also stressed the importance and
usefulness of regional and sub-regional organizations learning from each
other and helping each other develop counter-terrorism programmes and
activities through regular contacts, exchanges and meetings.
10. Participants reviewed and approved the outcome of the Expert-Level
Meeting on the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy, held on 13 February 2007. This meeting reviewed in detail
programmes and activities already undertaken and planned in the areas of
both preventing and combating terrorism and addressing the conditions
conducive to its spread, acknowledging that many of them contribute to
the implementation of the Strategy. Mutual expectations and follow up
measures for the further implementation of the Strategy were also
discussed, as were experiences and lessons learnt, and problems and
limitations the organizations face. The need to strengthen co-ordination
and co-operation between the participating organizations was also
examined with a view to further enhancing mutual interaction.
11. Participants agreed to transmit the findings and practical
recommendations of the meeting to the 8th High-Level Meeting between the
United Nations and Regional Organizations and to the United Nations
Counter-Terrorism Committee.
12. It was agreed that the next Tripartite meting would be hosted by the
Council of Europe in early 2008.
———————-
(*) The meeting was the 15th in a series initiated in July 1993. The
annual discussions – which are chaired and hosted in turn by the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Council
of Europe (CoE) and the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) on behalf
of the United Nations – are intended to share information and improve
practical cooperation by drawing on each other’s expertise and know-how.
Over time, the agenda has widened, from an essentially humanitarian
emphasis, to fields related to human rights, conflict prevention,
conflict management and post-conflict peacebuilding. The number of
participating organizations has also increased, so that consultations
are informally referred to as the "Tripartite-plus" process. The
European Commission (EC), the General Secretariat of the Council of the
European Union (EU), the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who participate
as affiliated members, have been joined for this meeting by the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
A wide range of representatives from the UN system – including
Secretariat departments and offices, and the funds, programmes and
specialized agencies – also participated.
Annex
CHAIRMAN’S SUMMARY TO THE HIGH-LEVEL MEETING
OF THE EXPERT-LEVEL MEETING
ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN GLOBAL COUNTER-TERRORISM STRATEGY
The Expert-level Meeting was dedicated to discussing in detail a number
of practical issues, related to
the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the
concrete ways that
international and regional organizations can contribute to this.
Session I focused on measures to prevent and combat terrorism in the
following areas:
* promoting States becoming party to international legal instruments
against terrorism.
Participants stressed that the Strategy considers this a core area in
the fight against terrorism, as it contributes to the establishment of a
common international legal regime against terrorism. They acknowledged
the high level of ratification achieved in the region where the OSCE and
Council of Europe operate. They stressed the continued need for and the
importance of capacity-building assistance provided by UN bodies in
co-operation with regional organizations for the legislative
implementation of the legal instruments. The added value provided by
regional and sub-regional organizations devising their own legal
instruments to complement or reinforce the existing international
instruments was underlined.
Participants pointed out that some reservations of some states with
regard to some of the international legal instruments against terrorism
are a source of concern as they may detract from the overall
effectiveness of the global legal framework against terrorism.
* protecting human rights while fighting terrorism
The participants strongly underlined that protecting and promoting human
rights is a cornerstone of any counter-terrorism effort if it is to be
credible and that this understanding should continue to be actively
promoted in their work. This could also be achieved through involving
counter-terrorism practitioners in promoting human rights. Participants
underlined the importance of the provision of the Strategy requiring
from states to consider becoming parties without delay to the core
international instruments on human rights law, refugee law and
international humanitarian law, and implementing them, as well as to
consider accepting the competence of international and relevant regional
human rights monitoring bodies. They stressed that especially
anti-terrorism related legislation should be drafted in a way compliant
with international human rights standards and that attempts to misuse
such legislation for political purposes should be countered. Solidarity
with victims of terrorism as an important element of the Strategy was
underlined.
A number of concrete issues that raise serious human rights concerns and
which need to be specifically addressed in the context of
counter-terrorism include practical challenges to the absolute
prohibition on torture, extra-ordinary renditions and the practice of
secret detention. The practical benefits of a human rights-based
approach to international co-operation in combating terrorism were also
highlighted.
* facilitating and promoting international co-operation in criminal
matters related to terrorism
Participants underlined this area as another key element for the
implementation of the Strategy with the aim to ensure that terrorist
acts are prosecuted effectively. The ongoing programmes of the three
organizations for enhancing legal co-operation in criminal matters
related to terrorism were noted as an excellent example of global bodies
and regional organizations working together to strengthen national
capacities. It was pointed out that work to enhance understanding among
national judicial authorities of the existing international legal
framework should continue and aim to provide a systemic impact including
through implementing a train-the-trainers approach. The need for an
integrated approach, involving co-operation of both the judicial and law
enforcement authorities was underlined.
* border and customs control
Participants agreed that porous borders constitute a major challenge in
the fight against terrorism. They pointed out that insufficient and
ineffective border controls create opportunities not only for terrorists
to move unimpeded, but also to traffic weapons and dangerous substances,
including nuclear and radiological materials. Support for the Interpol
database of lost and stolen travel documents (ASFSLTD), the IAEA
programmes and the WCO Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate
Global Trade were indicated as important factors in improving border
security. The need for an integrated and comprehensive approach towards
border management was highlighted.
* countering incitement to commit terrorist acts and related offences
Participants agreed that this is an area which needs more effort by both
the international community and national authorities. They noted the
Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism(2005) and
the UNSCR 1624 (2005) as providing a response to this issue in a human
rights compliant manner. The importance of the right of freedom of
expression was emphasised. At the same time it was pointed out that this
is a right of qualified nature, but strong safeguards are needed to
ensure that any limitations to it are strictly in accordance with the
provisions of the relevant human rights instruments. It was noted that
while in most states the necessary legal base is in place to address
direct incitement, this was not the case with regard to indirect
incitement and further work was needed in this area.
* countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes
The use of the Internet for terrorist purposes was also highlighted by
participants as an area where more effort is needed by both the
international community and national authorities. Participants agreed
that ignoring this problem was creating dangerous loopholes in the
global counter-terrorism effort. Reference was made to the Council of
Europe Cybercrime Convention as an important instrument in this area. It
was stressed also that the Internet provides an important medium for
countering terrorism both through technological means and through
countering terrorist ideology and this approach should be encouraged and
promoted.
* developing public-private partnerships in the fight against terrorism
Participants stressed the necessity to further develop co-operation and
interaction with the business community in countering terrorism. A
number of concrete areas where such interaction was ongoing were
highlighted, including travel document security, transport and supply
chain security, aviation security. At the same time there was a clear
need to expand that partnership to other areas, including with regard to
countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes.
Session II focused on the following measures to address the conditions
conducive to the spread of terrorism:
* promoting dialogue, tolerance and understanding among civilizations,
cultures and religions
The central place that this issue takes in the Strategy was underlined,
as it represents a fundamental factor in countering terrorism. A number
of programmes and initiatives of the participating organizations were
reviewed, such as the Council of Europe White Paper on Inter-Cultural
Dialogue, with a focus on the creation of a democratic culture and on
education as a primary tool for embedding the values of tolerance and
understanding in the public conscience. The importance of the Alliance
of Civilizations initiative was stressed as well as the importance of
the work of the OSCE and the Council of Europe with the adjacent areas,
in particular within the Mediterranean basin.
* peaceful resolution of conflicts as a means for strengthening the
global fight against terrorism
Participants agreed that conflict prevention and peaceful resolution of
conflicts are important factors in preventing the emergence of
conditions that are conducive to terrorism. The strong background and
contribution of the participating organizations in this area were
highlighted. The respective mechanisms that exist in each of the
organizations were reviewed and further avenues for work were chartered,
including the development of educational programmes to promote a common
understanding of history
and to overcome feelings of injustice.
Participants pointed out that lack of respect for human rights and the
rule of law can be a significant source of conflict.
* * *
In conclusion the participants underlined that there has been a positive
experience of joint work of the three organizations in many different
areas and formats. In particular the joint country visits to assess the
implementation of UNSCR 1373, lead by UNCTC, with the participation of
the OSCE and the Council of Europe and involving UN entities and
specialized international organizations, have proved a very useful tool
by providing a platform for integrating the expertise and experience of
different players. At the same time they pointed out that there is
always room for improvement and the meeting has played a positive role
in this regard. Participants noted the importance of the UN
Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force in ensuring overall
co-ordination and coherence in the counter-terrorism efforts of the
United Nations system and its potential usefulness in aligning global
and regional counterterrorism programmes and activities.