Enhanced co-operation needed to better prevent and respond to terrorist kidnapping and hostage-taking, say participants of regional workshop in Malta

VALLETTA, 16 September 2014 – States need to strengthen mechanisms and channels for effective and timely exchange of information in order to better prevent and thwart terrorist kidnappings and hostage-taking , said speakers at the start of a two-day Mediterranean regional workshop, organized by the OSCE and  the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in Valletta today.

The workshop brings together around 70 participants, mostly senior counter-terrorism practitioners in the areas of law enforcement, the judiciary and prosecution, officials from foreign ministries and crisis management units to exchange experiences and good practices.

The workshop comes as growing evidence suggests that terrorist organizations are increasingly involved in kidnapping for ransom and political concessions particularly in the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel and the Mediterranean region. The ransom profits allow terrorist and criminal organizations to grow, recruit or buy weapons, thereby also impacting the security of these regions.

Jonathan Galea, Director-General (Global Issues, International Development and Economic Affairs) at Malta’s Foreign Ministry, said that both the OSCE and UNODC have been instrumental in the fight against terrorism in recent years.

“This was made possible thanks to the many initiatives by the OSCE to provide expertise, and networking among States in order to facilitate the fight against terrorism,” he said. “Likewise, UNODC has been very active in providing assistance to States through technical assistance based on rule of law to prevent terrorism.”

During the workshop participants will explore the international frameworks and recommendations related to kidnapping and hostage-taking. They will also examine national, regional and international co-operation in tracking the flows of money that finance terrorists as well responses and prevention.

Alexey Lyzhenkov, Director of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, said that the OSCE provides a platform for dialogue and with its expertise conducts projects to build national capacities to counter terrorism.

“The OSCE will continue striving to co-operate more closely with its Mediterranean Partners, supporting law enforcement and judicial networks and facilitating platforms for enhancing information exchange, particularly in fighting terrorism,” he said.

Trevor Michael Rajah, Chief of the Terrorism Prevention Branch of UNODC, said co-operation among States is essential.

“It is important to understand the complexity of the challenge we face, the resulting needs of States and to identify good resources and modalities for information sharing. To this end, we’re working to provide capacity-building technical assistance in response to specific requests from Member States of the region.”

Ambassador Stephan Husy, Swiss Counterterrorism Co-Ordinator representing the OSCE Swiss Chairmanship, said it is important to deprive terrorists of the resources they use to commit further crimes.

“Kidnapping for ransom has become an important source of revenue for terrorist organizations and networks – a trend which must be countered rigorously,” he said. “First of all, a unified no-ransom front is required: terrorists must not benefit from criminal acts. At the same time, all efforts have to be undertaken to prevent terrorist kidnappings and hostage-takings. And in case they happen, governments have to co-operate closely and to undertake all efforts to achieve the safe and unharmed release of the victims.”

He noted that the workshop builds on the OSCE Counterterrorism Conference in Interlaken, Switzerland in April 2014, and that the aim is to achieve concrete results at December’s OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel.

The workshop is organized under the auspices of the Government of Malta and with the support of Liechtenstein, Spain and Switzerland.