As a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, the OSCE recognizes that UN Security Council resolutions constitute the legal framework for the fight against terrorism and has pledged itself to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1373. These commitments constitute the legal and political framework for the ATU's activities.

To complement these documents, the OSCE participating States have developed OSCE counter-terrorism mandates, including the Bucharest Plan of Action, the Organization's blueprint for a comprehensive effort in the fight against terrorism.

This document was quickly followed by the adoption of the Bishkek Programme of Action, agreed at an international conference organized by the OSCE and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on 13 and 14 December 2001 in Kyrgyzstan. The conference and the Programme considerably strengthened comprehensive security and counter-terrorism efforts, notably in Central Asia.

At the Porto Ministerial Council in 2002, the OSCE reinforced its anti-terrorism regime by adopting the OSCE Charter on Preventing and Combating Terrorism and a decision on Implementing the OSCE Commitments and Activities on Combating Terrorism. This latter document strengthened the OSCE's counter-terrorism activities as it recognized the danger posed by weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists. It also identified four strategic areas for preventing and combating terrorism: policing, border security, anti-trafficking and suppressing terrorist financing.

Decisions taken at subsequent Ministerial Council meetings have continuously strengthened and further broadened the OSCE anti-terrorism mandate.

The documents on the right side of the screen outline the political framework for OSCE counter-terrorism action. All the individual decisions pertaining to specific tasks can be found in the main documents section.