OSCE and international partners open regional workshop in South-Eastern Europe on protection of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks

How to strengthen critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks is being  explored at a three-day regional expert workshop for national representatives from eight OSCE participating States in South-Eastern Europe, which opened on 19 November 2019 in Skopje.

The workshop engages more than 40 experts from international and regional organizations, research institutes and the private sector, and focuses on current initiatives and challenges to respective national strategies on protecting critical infrastructure. The event aims to give an overview of the threat landscape for different critical sectors, including so called “soft” targets, highlighting both physical and cyber threats.

It is organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Action against Terrorism Unit, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, and in close partnership with the UN Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UNCTED), INTERPOL, and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).

“Terrorist attacks around the world have shown that critical infrastructure and “soft” targets are more vulnerable than ever, which require states to develop action plans and programs,” said Viktor Dimovski, Director of the National Security Agency of North Macedonia.

The workshop aims at supporting OSCE participating States in implementing UN Security Council resolution 2341 (2017), which calls on Member States to address the danger of terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure and consider measures in developing national strategies and policies, in addition to other relevant resolutions. Throughout the workshop, experts have been using the UN Compendium of Good Practices on the Protection of Critical Infrastructure against Terrorist Attacks as a guidance tool.

“The OSCE has been a key partner in providing technical assistance and advice on the implementation of international anti-terrorism commitments and supporting the development of action plans across the region,” said Ambassador Clemens Koja, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje. “The OSCE will continue to work on preventing and combating terrorism in all its forms,” he added.  

“UNCTED has conducted country assessments around the world, on behalf of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, which enabled us to identify good practices in States’ efforts to protect critical infrastructure and soft targets against terrorist attacks but there’s a further need to exchange experiences and lessons learned between States, including at regional level, which is one of the main objectives of these workshops” said Ms. Anne-Maria Seesmaa, Legal Officer at UNCTED.

Both speakers and participants reiterated the need for multi-agency co-operation on all levels. Fejzo Numanaj, Acting Head of the Action against Terrorism Unit, added “ensuring national resilience has now become an international responsibility and the OSCE is well placed to act as a regional facilitator and force multiplier by offering a platform to exchange good practices and expertise”.

The OSCE plans to conduct additional regional workshops across the OSCE area in 2020 in co-operation with international and regional partners, as part of the Biannual Action Plan recently concluded with the UNOCT.