OSCE-wide Expert Seminar on Promoting Resilience of “Soft” Targets against Terrorist Attacks through Public-Private Partnerships

In recent years, terrorist attacks in the OSCE area and beyond have shown a tendency to aim at so-called “soft” targets. Terrorists exploit the open nature and public character of these locations to maximize civilian casualties, chaos, publicity and economic impact. The need to balance security concerns with maintaining the accessibility of these locations makes effectively protecting “soft” targets even more challenging.

In 2017, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2396, which emphasizes the need for member states to develop suitable contingency and emergency response plans for terrorist attacks, including those aimed at “soft” targets. It urges states to “establish or strengthen  national, regional and international partnerships with stakeholders, both public and private, as appropriate, to share information and experience in order to prevent, protect, mitigate, investigate, respond to and recover from damage from terrorist attacks against ‘soft’ targets.”

The different kinds of “soft” targets and their specificities, the involvement of the private sector and local actors, the need to ensure a human-rights compliant response as well as the changing nature of the threat require careful consideration. In order to further reflect on this topic, the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department is organizing an OSCE-wide expert seminar on the protection of “soft” targets against terrorist attacks. This platform will offer invited experts an opportunity to share knowledge and experience, in particular on the establishment of public-private partnerships.

The one-and-a-half day seminar will focus on why protecting “soft” targets against terrorist attacks is so critical by drawing on lessons learned and good practices from around the OSCE area and the challenges connected to safeguarding these locations, such as places of worship and sports events. The involvement of local actors and the private sector will also be addressed, as well as the role of public awareness and community engagement. The seminar will aim at raising awareness about the threat and to determine ways in which the OSCE can support its participating States in increasing “soft” target resilience.