VIENNA, 8 November 2012 – Ways to improving capacities of criminal justice institutions to  prevent and combat terrorism and radicalization that leads to terrorism will be discussed at an OSCE-organized conference to be held in Vienna on 12-13 November 2012.

The goal of the conference is to increase capacity of OSCE states, Partners and the international community as a whole to uphold the rule of law and safeguard human rights in the fight against terrorism. Counter-terrorism experts from national institutions, international organizations, law-enforcement and judiciary, as well as academic community, will focus on the role of criminal justice institutions in countering and preventing terrorism and radicalization.The Chair of the OSCE Permanent Council Eoin O’Leary representing the Irish Chairmanship of the OSCE, the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, Executive Director of the UNODC Yury Fedotov, as well as the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Janez Lenarčič will open the conference. Anne Witkowsky, Acting Principal Deputy Coordinator of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State, will deliver a keynote speech during the opening session.

Journalists are invited to cover the opening session of the conference to take place in the Neuer Saal of the Hofburg Congress Centre in Vienna on Monday, 12 November 2012, from 9:00 to 10:00.

Advance media registration is mandatory. To register, please send an e-mail to press@osce.org.

More information about the conference can be found at http://www.osce.org/atu/94183