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Recommendation 2164 (2019)
Protecting and supporting the victims of terrorism
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers
to Resolution 2303 (2019) on
protecting and supporting victims of terrorism and welcomes the
action taken by some Council of Europe member States to accompany
their counter-terrorism strategies with concrete measures to ensure
appropriate protection and assistance for the victims of terrorism.
2. The Assembly also welcomes the 2017 Revised Guidelines of
the Committee of Ministers on the protection of victims of terrorist
acts and the Council of Europe Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2018-2022),
which recognise the fact that efforts to increase security and effectively
combat terrorist organisations should be accompanied by better co-ordinated
assistance to victims.
3. The Assembly considers that a more sustained commitment on
the part of member States is needed to ensure an adequate protection
of victims of terrorist acts in all Council of Europe member States.
It wishes to stress that victims’ assistance must be given an international
dimension due to the increased likelihood of citizens of member
States becoming victims of a terrorist attack in other European
countries and outside of Europe.
4. Therefore, the Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers
to:
4.1. recommend member States
to:
4.1.1. implement the Revised Guidelines of the Committee
of Ministers on the protection of victims of terrorist acts of 19
May 2017, on a proactive basis;
4.1.2. promote the full implementation of Article 13 of the Council
of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No.
196) on “Protection, compensation and support for victims
of terrorism”;
4.1.3. strengthen international co-operation with a view to better
sharing of information between national compensation services, avoid
situations of double compensation and co-ordinate assistance;
4.1.4. share good practices, experience and expertise, also through
the Council of Europe and the European Union, to allow the international
community to learn from the unique experience of certain States;
4.1.5. prioritise the improvement of support for cross-border
victims of terrorism in future reforms;
4.2. speed up its work to establish a network of single contact
points for the exchange of procedural information regarding the
legal standing of victims of terrorism in the jurisdictions of the
member States, as well as other relevant States, also outside Europe;
4.3. examine, in consultation with the European Union, the
possibility of adopting a European charter on the rights of the
victims of terrorism to facilitate recognition, communication and
co-ordination in greater Europe.
5. The Assembly wishes to continue to be fully informed about
work on action against terrorism and the protection of victims conducted
by the Committee of Ministers and by relevant committees and working
parties.