Stop radicalization and violent extremism to prevent terrorism, OSCE Secretary General says at security conference

Recent terrorist attacks in the OSCE region show that terrorism and conditions that contribute to the spread of terrorism are likely to remain a key challenge for participating States, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said at an international security conference in Budapest on 29 May 2013.

“The terrorist threat is neither temporary nor on the wane. What has changed is the international response to it,” he said. “Today we recognize that one of the most strategic ways forward to prevent terrorism is to halt the downward radicalization spiral that leads to violent extremism and terrorism.”

Speaking at a conference on Preventing Terrorism through Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism in Europe, the Secretary General emphasized that any steps taken to counter violent radicalization also need to respect human rights and the rule of law, and involve civil society partners who are credible in the eyes of those who are being targeted.

At the margins of the Budapest conference, which was organized by Hungary’s Foreign Ministry, the UN Office for Drugs and Crime, and the International Centre for Democratic Transition in Hungary, Secretary General Zannier also met Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi to discuss current security issues and future work of the OSCE.