Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland.
“Terror is about the primacy of an idea. It is about one way of seeing the world. One way of being. And victory is suffocating every other view.
[…] We are locked in a battle of ideas […] not a battle with Islam […] but a battle with dogma, ideology, and propaganda,” said Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe in his remarks to the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on 19 June 2015.
One month after the Council of Europe adopted a protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, the Chair of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee convened an open briefing of the Committee to provide Member States the opportunity to benefit from the experiences of the Council of Europe and its Member States to meet the requirements set out in resolution 2178 (2014). The latter spells out the importance for States to bring foreign terrorist fighters to justice, detailing the various crimes that must be established in order to effectively prosecute these individuals, including the criminalization of travelling, or planning to travel for the purposes of fighting abroad.
“[Resolution 2178] sent a powerful message: The world was going to act. It also, however, exposed a major problem: We didn’t have the right laws. From the point of view of international law, the foreign terrorist fighter [phenomenon] was a black hole,” continued Secretary-General Jagland. “[So] we sat ourselves a challenge: Could we, in Europe, pioneer the legislative reforms needed to turn the political hopes contained in resolution 2178 into a reality on the ground? I am pleased to tell you that we have […] an Additional Protocol to our Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism.”
The open briefing was well attended.
“Terrorism is often associated with weak rule of law and lack of respect for human rights. Therefore, building effective, accountable, and inclusive governance and institutions is an important element of preventive action. […] The Secretary-General intends to present a Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism to the General Assembly later this year. I hope this will stimulate discussion and deliberations on this crucial challenge in today’s troubled world,” said Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The interactive session drew a lot of attention from the wider membership of the United Nations. Many Member States’ representatives commented on the significance of the Council of Europe’s protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, its implementation and impact, as well as on capacity-building needs.
Remarks by the Secretary-General of Council of Europe
Remarks by the Deputy Secretary-General of United Nations
Opening remarks by the Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee
Remarks by the Executive Director of CTED
Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism