OSCE uses comprehensive approach in fighting terrorism, Secretary General tells UN committee

UNITED NATIONS, 24 February 2011 – The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to preventing and combating terrorism by focusing on all aspects of security and involving an array of partners, OSCE Secretary General, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, told the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee today.

"We promote co-operation based on shared commitments and a comprehensive approach, which regards the protection of human rights an integral element of security," he said.

Brichambaut said the OSCE involved not just governments in its counter-terrorism work, but also civil society and businesses.

"The OSCE approach is not only comprehensive in substance, but also inclusive in terms of the stakeholders we involve: our primary focus is of course our work with the governments of participating and Partner States, but we also endeavour to involve civil society and the private sector," he said.

The OSCE contributes to the fight against terrorism by establishing common approaches among the 56 participating States and serving as a platform for capacity-building through disseminating information, sharing good practices and lessons learned and discussing policy options, he added. The Organization also Implements region-specific initiatives that complement global counter-terrorism activities.

Through workshops and training courses, the OSCE helps its participating States become parties to the universal legal instruments related to the struggle aganst terrorism and provides support to states in drafting legislation to implement the instruments. Since 2001, when the OSCE adopted the Bucharest Plan of Action for its anti-terrorism work, the ratification rate of the initial 12 universal legal instruments related to terrorism grew from 65 percent to 96 percent in the OSCE area, Brichambaut said.

"Success in combating terrorism requires a global and integrated response. The more closely we work together, the better our chances to identify terrorist trends and devise effective countermeasures. Our resources are limited, and therefore we need to maximize our capacity to work together," he said.