Fight against terrorism

Terrorism repudiates three fundamental values defended by the Council of Europe: human rights, the rule of law and pluralist democracy. The Organisation has been working in this field since the 1970s, but its efforts were stepped up in 2001 following the unprecedented terrorist attacks in the United States.

As a regional organisation, the Council of Europe is committed to facilitating the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1373(2001), by providing a forum for discussing and adopting regional standards and best practice. It also provides assistance to its member States in improving their counter-terrorism capabilities.

To increase the effectiveness of existing international texts on the fight against terrorism, the Council of Europe has adopted a new Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism which entered into force June 1st 2007. It aims to strengthen the efforts of member states to prevent terrorism and contains a provision on the protection and compensation of victims of terrorism.

The Council of Europe's activities in the field of the fight against terrorism are based on three cornerstones:

• strengthening legal action against terrorism;
• safeguarding fundamental values;
• addressing the causes of terrorism.

• Primary Source

NATO: Countering terrorism http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_77646.htm

OSCE: Activities: Combating terrorism http://www.osce.org/what/terrorism

European Commission: DG Justice and Home Affairs: Terrorism http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/terrorism/fsj_terrorism_intro_en.htm

Council of the European Union: Policies: Fight against terrorism http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/fight-against-terrorism/

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