On Wednesday 24 April, the European Union and the United Nations signed a framework for strengthening their partnership in the fight against terrorism during their second high-level dialogue on this subject.
The framework establishes five areas of cooperation: (1) One aim is to keep abreast of developments in trends and challenges associated with the threat of terrorism and to jointly advance policy thinking with a view to providing rapid and effective responses.
(2) The EU and the UN also wish to contribute to the “balanced” implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, in particular on respect for and protection of human rights and the promotion of the rule of law and (3) to collaborate, “to the extent possible”, in identifying technical assistance needs and mobilising resources to ensure aid for the coordinated and effective strengthening of capacities to combat terrorism and to prevent and combat violent extremism.
(4) Both sides also want to strengthen the global consensus against terrorism and violent extremism, promote the full implementation of international instruments concerning human rights and fundamental freedoms and commitments against terrorism and (5) to foster global, interregional and regional cooperation against this scourge.
The EU and the UN are emphasising several priorities for the 2018-2020 timeframe, until the UN strategy is revised. These priorities include cooperation on capacity building in the fight against terrorism and the prevention and countering of violent extremism (PCVE) in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as the development of national and regional PCVE action plans promoting youth engagement and gender perspectives.
Particular emphasis is also being placed on foreign terrorist combatants with the establishment of advanced passenger information/passenger name record systems and guidelines on the rehabilitation and reintegration of terrorist offenders. Assistance to victims of terrorism will also be addressed. Strengthening cooperation and coordination in preventing and combating violent extremism, as it fosters terrorism, is another priority.
The two parties also “intend to closely coordinate their efforts to promote the implementation” of the United Nations General Assembly resolution on the sixth biennial review of the strategy and to consult each other in preparation for the seventh biennial review “in order to facilitate the adoption of a new resolution by consensus”.
According to the framework, both sides intend to organise annual EU-UN political dialogues on counter-terrorism.
See the framework: https://bit.ly/2Zy2VE9. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)