Parliamentary Assembly

Draft resolution

1The Parliamentary Assembly pays tribute to all innocent victims who were killed or wounded and traumatised during terrorist attacks in several Council of Europe member States and worldwide.

2In their counter-terrorism strategies, governments and parliaments must ensure that the victims of terrorist attacks, with their specific physical, material, emotional and psychological needs, are afforded adequate protection and support, and that their dignity and human rights are fully upheld.

3The Assembly notes that a number of existing legal instruments have not been fully implemented and put in practice and stresses the need for a more consistent and systematic approach to protecting and supporting victims of terrorism throughout Council of Europe member States. It therefore calls on its member and observer States and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Assembly:

3.1with regard to the recognition of “victims of terrorism”, to:

3.1.1officially recognise “victims of terrorism” in a universally agreed legal framework as a special category of victims, thus acknowledging their suffering on behalf of the State the act was directed against, identify their needs as distinct to those of victims of ‘ordinary’ crime, and facilitate access to support services, in particular for cross-border victims;

3.1.2consider carrying out a census of all persons affected by an attack, regardless of their nationality and residence status, and inform them of their right of access to justice, the conditions of compensation and the existence of support services and organisations;

3.1.3recognise the humanitarian, legal and strategic importance of providing prompt and effective support to victims at every stage of the recovery process to empower victims as survivors and minimise the harm at both the individual and societal level;

3.2with regard to supporting victims of terrorism at the national level, to:

3.2.1provide victims of terrorism with adequate urgent and long-term medical, psychological, material, legal and social assistance;

3.2.2guarantee the right of the victims of terrorism to fair restitution, reparation or compensation, without any income requirement and irrespective of their residency or nationality status, in the State where the attack takes place, and apply it to members of their immediate family or beneficiaries of the direct victim;

3.2.3ensure that a dedicated public body is responsible for catering to the needs of victims of terrorism through a comprehensive, compassionate and victim-centred approach;

3.2.4develop multilingual information services and material outlining national victim support services;

3.2.5ensure that public bodies and agencies, non-specific to victims of terrorism but with which victims of terrorism may interact, are adequately and continually trained and properly funded;

3.2.6ensure co-ordination among relevant public bodies to minimise administrative burdens for victims, ensure consistency in the provision of services and maximise transparency;

3.2.7pay attention to the specific needs of vulnerable groups of victims, such as cross-border victims, members of minorities, women, young people and children;

3.2.8provide, where possible, opportunities for victims of terrorism to participate in criminal justice proceedings affecting them;

3.2.9ensure that every effort is made to adequately protect victims from further victimisation, by the original perpetrators or those aligned with their cause, and from secondary victimisation, as a result of their interactions with the authorities;

3.2.10uphold the dignity and privacy of the victims by making them aware of their rights towards the media and their right to control their privacy and their image, and by encouraging the press to uphold certain ethical standards and avoid degrading or sensationalist reporting, while respecting freedom of the press;

3.2.11raise public awareness of the risks that social media can represent when they convey information or images of a private and potentially shocking nature of the victims or of the terrorist attacks;

3.2.12consider the creation of humanitarian funds arising from dedicated appeals for donations or, at the very least, supervise their conditions and ensure their control, to ensure that funds raised by the public are used effectively and efficiently;

3.2.13counteract terror narratives and various forms of incitement, in line with Assembly Resolution 2221 (2018), through school programmes and awareness raising campaigns, underlying the supreme values of human dignity, peace, non-violence, tolerance and human rights and involve the victims of terrorist acts;

3.2.14take appropriate measures to attain social recognition and remembrance of the victims, through initiatives such as museums, memorials and medals;

3.3with regard to supporting victims of terrorism in co-operation with civil society, to:

3.3.1co-operate closely with civil society organisations, such as victims’ organisations, preferably through a clear formal agreement, on policy-making initiatives, awareness and fundraising campaigns, as well as research, education and training programmes;

3.3.2assist civil society and, in particular, non-governmental organisations involved in providing support to the victims of terrorism within the criminal justice system to improve the delivery of justice-related services to support victims and their families and beneficiaries;

3.3.3review the basis and implementation of grants awarded to non-governmental organisations, consult them on their needs, and monitor and evaluate the support services provided on a continual basis to ensure an efficient and effective distribution of resources;

3.4with regard to supporting victims of terrorism at the international level, to:

3.4.1implement 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”;

3.4.2implement the Revised Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers on the protection of victims of terrorist acts of 19 May 2017, on a proactive basis;

3.4.3strengthen international co-operation not only to fight more effectively against terrorist organisations but also to better share information between national compensation services and avoid situations of double compensation or non-compensation and co-ordinate assistance;

3.4.4share good practice, experiences and expertise also through international organisations to allow the international community to learn from the unique experience of certain States and thus support the training of professionals of victim support;

3.4.5prioritise the improvement of support for cross-border victims of terrorism in future reforms.

4The Assembly invites the European Union to:

4.1ensure that the European Union Centre of Expertise for Victims of Terrorism also embraces a pan-European dimension and co-ordinates its activities with the Council of Europe, also with a view to promoting the full implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS no. 196) and the 2015 Additional Protocol to the Convention (CETS No 217) and the Revised Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers on the protection of victims of terrorist acts of 19 May 2017;

4.2examine, in consultation with the Council of Europe, the possibility of adopting a European charter of the rights of the victims of terrorism to facilitate recognition, communication and co-ordination in the wider Europe and thereby highlight the importance of rights and recognition of the status of victims of terrorism.

5Finally, the Assembly believes that the survivors of terrorist attacks, along with former terrorists and foreign fighters, should be actively involved in all efforts to prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism in all Council of Europe member States, and resolves to closely follow this matter in its future work.

Draft recommendation

1The Parliamentary Assembly refers to Resolution ... (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 to the victims of terrorism.

2The Assembly also welcomes the 2017 Revised Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers on the protection of victims of terrorist acts as well as the Council of Europe Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2018-2022), which includes recognition of the fact that efforts to increase security and effectively combat terrorist organisations should be accompanied by better co-ordinated assistance to victims.

3The 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 in other European countries and outside of Europe.

4Therefore, the Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers to:

4.1recommend member States to:

4.1.1implement the Revised Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers on the protection of victims of terrorist acts of 19 May 2017, on a proactive basis;

4.1.2promote 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”;

4.1.3strengthen international co-operation with a view to better sharing information between national compensation services and avoid a situation of double compensation and co-ordinate assistance;

4.1.4share 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;

4.1.5prioritise the improvement of support for cross-border victims of terrorism in future reforms;

4.2speed 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;

4.3examine, in consultation with the European Union, the possibility of adopting a European charter of the rights of the victims of terrorism to facilitate recognition, communication and co-ordination in the wider Europe.

5The Assembly wishes to continue being fully informed about work on action against terrorism and the protection of victims done by the Committee of Ministers and by relevant committees and working parties.