The conference will focus on the national experiences and international co-operation in countering terrorism, engaging and empowering youth in preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism and rehabilitation, reintegration and the prevention of radicalization that lead to terrorism.
The OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Hamburg on 8-9 December 2016 emphasized that the OSCE participating States should strengthen their efforts to prevent and counter terrorism, with a view to making the OSCE area safer, and two ministerial documents were adopted in this regard. MC.DOC/1/16 condemns the terrorist attacks that occurred across the OSCE area and worldwide, in particular in 2016, and reaffirms the commitment of the OSCE participating States to take the “measures needed to
protect everyone within their jurisdictions against terrorist acts and the need for all actions to be conducted in compliance with the UN Charter, and all other applicable obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”
Violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT) is a threat faced by both OSCE participating States and their Partners for Co-operation and is high on the OSCE agenda. Countering VERLT through a multidimensional approach is one of the eight strategic focus areas for OSCE counter-terrorism activities (PC.DEC/1063).
The conference will be opened by the Chairperson-in-Office and will be organized with the support of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD), and in close cooperation with other OSCE Executive Structures, within their respective mandates. It will be held under the umbrella of the “OSCE United in Countering Violent Extremism” Campaign (#UnitedCVE) to which Austria is extending continued support from the Chairmanship, following Germany in 2016, and Serbia in 2015.
The Conference will be followed on 25 May 2017 by an event to be held at the Hofburg Palace intended for civil society attending the OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference. The event is sponsored by the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship along with other partners, in connection with the OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference.