On 8-9 October 2015 in Bucharest, the UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) organized a joint regional workshop on the challenges posed by a preventative criminal justice response to terrorism and foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs). The workshop was organized in the framework of the UNODC/TPB five-year initiative on criminal justice response to foreign terrorist fighters in the Middle East, North Africa and Balkan countries, aiming at supporting the beneficiary States to meet the requirements set by resolutions 2170 (2014) and 2178 (2014) respectively adopted on 15 August and 24 September 2014 by the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
The regional workshop brought together parliamentarians from the Mediterranean area, and particularly from the MENA region, the Balkans and Southern Europe, to discuss and identify national and regional strategies and approaches for effective preventive criminal justice responses to offences related to FTF (such as incitement, training and recruitment for terrorist purposes) in line with international standards and the rule of law.
The Parliament of Romania, as an Associate Member of the PAM, hosted this important event. More than 80 participants were in attendance. Among those, 32 were senior Members of Parliaments from Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. International experts from a number of relevant international and regional organizations also participated in the workshop.
Mr. Yury Fedotov, Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna and UNODC Executive Director, opened the event together with Mr. Jean-Paul Laborde, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and H.E. Ambassador Sergio Piazzi, Secretary General of the PAM.
In the course of the workshop various elements related to the topic of the FTF phenomenon were discussed, including applicable international law, the prominent role of parliamentarians in countering terrorism, the challenges related to the new financial channels of terrorist groups, as well as strengthening the regional and international cooperation. The meeting provided a forum for exchanging information and good practices among parliamentarians on the role they play and could play in developing and enacting legislation. Incorporation of the provisions of the universal legal instruments against terrorism into national law should be an integrated part of any national plan addressing, inter alia, factors conducive to terrorism.
Throughout the conference, parliamentarians were proactive and engaged in lively discussions on their involvement in counter-terrorism work. More specifically, the meeting offered the opportunity to the participating parliamentarians to increase their awareness towards a road map for the ratification and domestication of the universal legal framework against terrorism, in particular in relation to the FTF threat and the need to ensure full implementation of mandatory Security Council resolutions. Furthermore, the workshop made policy makers aware of strengths and weaknesses of existing national legislation, especially with regard to specific FTF offences. Finally, the meeting established an informal platform and a forum for discussion among parliamentarians from different countries and regions facilitating their direct and personal contacts, enhancing their mutual understanding and promoting the establishment of alternative channels of communications for bilateral relations between the countries.