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Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 14771 | 05 December 2018
Counter-narratives to terrorism
1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully
examined Recommendation
2131 (2018) – “Counter-narratives to terrorism”, which
it has communicated to the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CDCT) for information
and any comments.
2. Combating terrorism has been one of the Organisation’s priorities
for many years, as reflected in the many legal instruments it has
adopted, the main ones of which are the 1977 Convention on the Suppression of
Terrorism (ETS No. 90), the 2005 Convention on the Prevention of
Terrorism (ETS No. 196) and its 2015 Additional Protocol (ETS No.
217). The Council of Europe’s activities in this area focus not
only on strengthening the applicable legal framework and international
co-operation but also on devising prevention tools fighting the
root causes of terrorism.
3. At its 125th session, in May 2015,
in response to a resurgence of terrorist attacks in Europe, the Committee
of Ministers adopted an Action Plan on the fight against violent
extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism. A large number
of activities have been carried out in this context. With regard
to hate speech, and incitement to violence in particular, a mention
should be made of the No Hate Speech Movement, which has put the
emphasis on human rights education, participation of young people
and media training. As part of this campaign, two handbooks have
been drawn up and widely disseminated: “Bookmarks – A manual for combating
hate speech online through human rights education” and “WE CAN!
Taking Action against Hate Speech through Counter and Alternative
Narratives”. Details of all the measures taken in the context of
the Action Plan can be found in the final report which the Secretary
General presented to the Committee of Ministers on 2 May 2018 (SG/Inf(2018)7).
It can also be reported that the links between terrorism and the internet
are one of the subjects investigated by the CDCT in accordance with
its terms of reference for 2018-2019.
4. The Committee of Ministers is fully aware that hate speech,
and incitement to violence in particular, undermine democratic security,
cohesion and pluralism in society. Nonetheless, the question of
counter-narratives to terrorist ideology and propaganda is still
a very delicate one requiring a balanced, cautious and all-embracing
approach on the part of member states. Research on counter-narratives
also shows that there is a need for more in-depth analysis about
the effectiveness of this kind of preventive measure. There is also a
need for an ongoing mapping and analyse about the content of violent
extremist and terrorist propaganda and what role propaganda plays
in radicalisation, including lone-actors. In this connection, the
Committee of Ministers would reiterate that all measures taken to
prevent or punish terrorist offences must respect the rule of law,
human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression,
otherwise these counter-narratives will not be credible or efficient.
5. The Committee of Ministers shares the Parliamentary Assembly’s
concerns about radicalisation. It agrees that it is very important
to improve factual knowledge and understanding of the processes
of radicalisation and the various political, social and psychological
factors which trigger them, along with the “internal and external”
factors which can be part of what makes people with vulnerable characters
turn to terrorism, and identify means of countering these processes
and triggers effectively. The Committee of Ministers welcomes the
Assembly’s proposals in paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 and notes that it
will be possible to incorporate these measures into the Council
of Europe Strategy against Terrorism (2018-2022), particularly in the
context of activities 1.1 (“Preventing and countering terrorist
public provocation, propaganda, radicalisation, recruitment and
training”) and 1.2 (“Preventing and countering terrorist public
provocation, propaganda, radicalisation, recruitment and training
on the internet”).
6. As to the proposals in paragraphs 2.3 and 2.4 of the Recommendation,
the Committee of Ministers considers that they warrant more in-depth
discussion before any measure is decided on, but wishes to emphasise
from the outset that terrorism should not be associated with any
particular religion, or ethnic or cultural group. Consequently,
the Committee of Ministers invites the CDCT to look into the possibility
of presenting it with potential action to be taken on these two
proposals when considering the next programme of activities for
2020-2021.