Secretariat - Action against Terrorism Unit

As a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, the OSCE recognizes the leading role of the United Nations in the international effort to eradicate terrorism, and that the relevant UN conventions and protocols and UN Security Council resolutions constitute the primary international legal framework for the fight against terrorism. The OSCE also supports the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and is committed to its full implementation.

The OSCE’s contribution to international efforts against terrorism was given particular impetus with the adoption of the Bucharest Plan of Action for Combating Terrorism in December 2001 and the OSCE Charter on Preventing and Combating Terrorism in December 2002. The Action against Terrorism Unit (ATU) was established in 2002 and is now part of the OSCE Secretariat's Transnational Threats Department (TNTD).

Over the past ten years, the OSCE participating States have adopted a number of additional decisions specifying various commitments and mandates related to the fight against terrorism for the OSCE executive structures, in particular the Secretariat.

At the Dublin Ministerial Council in December 2012, the OSCE participating States adopted the OSCE Consolidated Framework for the Fight against Terrorism. The Framework highlights operational principles and identifies the strategic focus of the OSCE’s counter-terrorism role to guide future activities. It aims at enhancing the profile and added value of the OSCE’s contribution to the global efforts against terrorism and at facilitating communication and strengthening co-operation with key partners and organizations.

The Framework reaffirms the mandate of the Secretariat to ensure the facilitation and cross-dimensional and cross-institutional co-ordination of all OSCE counter-terrorism activities. The TNTD/ATU is notably tasked to continue to act as the focal point and as an information resource and implementation partner on OSCE counter-terrorism activities.

The documents on the right side of this page outline the political framework for OSCE counter-terrorism action. Individual decisions pertaining to specific areas of work can be found in the “Main documents” section and under the thematic “Our work” sections.