Secretariat - Action against Terrorism Unit

Terrorist attacks in London, Madrid and Moscow have illustrated the fragility of urban transport systems. International co-operation is essential to keep public transport networks and the passengers they carry safe from terrorist attacks.

With this in mind, on 4 and 5 May 2006 the OSCE Action against Terrorism Unit (ATU), in co-operation with the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), organized an OSCE-wide expert workshop in Vienna on urban transport security.

The workshop brought together nearly 200 officials from more than 50 OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation. International experts and representatives from 11 international and regional organizations (including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Council of Europe, Europol, the League of Arab States, the OECD, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, and the International Union of Railways) also participated in the workshop.

It served as a broad platform for government officials, security experts and transport operators to interact and address the vulnerabilities of public transport systems. It allowed them to share experiences and best practices, as well as information about current and upcoming measures and methods, to prevent and mitigate terrorist attacks on urban transport systems.

The event helped to promote dialogue, co-operation and collaboration between government agencies, security experts and transport operators on issues of prevention, preparedness and consequence management. One of the key ideas that resonated throughout the workshop was that effective solutions to counter the threat of terrorism demand an integrated approach involving close public and private sector co-operation.

The workshop also made a valuable contribution to the 2006 Economic Forum, organized by the OSCE Co-ordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities, the theme of which was "Transportation in the OSCE area: Secure transportation networks and transport development to enhance regional economic co-operation and stability".

For more information please contact the ATU directly.