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Resolution 2113 (2016)
After the Brussels attacks, an urgent need to address security failures and step up counter-terrorism co-operation
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is horrified
by the terrorist attacks at Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek metro station
in Brussels on 22 March 2016 in which 32 people were killed and
over 300 were injured, 45 of whom remain in hospital with severe
injuries. These attacks are the latest in a series of serious terrorist
acts, including the ones in Paris, Ankara and Istanbul targeting
Council of Europe member States. The Assembly deplores the loss
of innocent lives and expresses sympathy and solidarity with the
families of victims and all those who suffered in these inhumane
attacks.
2. The Assembly reiterates its strongest condemnation of terrorism
in all forms, and recalls its previous resolutions relating to terrorism,
in particular Resolution
2090 (2016) on combating international terrorism while protecting
Council of Europe standards and values and Resolution 2091 (2016) on foreign
fighters in Syria and Iraq. In this context, it notes that the barbaric
terrorist entity known as “Daesh” has claimed responsibility for the
Brussels bombings.
3. Terrorism feeds off hatred and intolerance and aims to destroy
our political system and the very foundations of democratic societies.
It must be confronted with equal resolve wherever it occurs, whatever reasons
are put forward to justify it, and whoever it is directed at. Likewise,
our solidarity shall be extended to all victims of terrorist acts,
whether they occur in a major European city or elsewhere in Europe
or the world.
4. The Assembly urges State leaders not only to make solemn statements
after terrorist attacks but also to learn lessons and to take resolute
action. The statements are necessary to reaffirm our values but
are not enough to protect them and to guarantee security.
5. All Council of Europe member States must urgently draw conclusions
from the tragic events in Brussels and in other cities of member
States, which were also the result of failures and shortcomings
at national, European Union and international levels. Co-ordination
in the Brussels Capital Region has not proven sufficiently functional
to respond to modern security needs and therefore needs to be profoundly
reformed.
6. The Assembly recalls Resolution
2091 (2016) and expresses its concern about the continuing
supply of foreign fighters from European countries. It notes that
whereas France, Germany and the United Kingdom reportedly supply
the highest numbers, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden have the highest
per capita figures. It also notes with concern that Belgium has
become a hub for jihadist recruiting and that the deteriorating
position of Daesh in the Middle East may lead to a surge in jihadist
recruiting and terrorist activities on the European continent.
7. As a result of a lack of political guidance to ensure the
necessary co-ordination and co-operation among various – and at
times competing – security and law-enforcement agencies, certain
areas in European towns have become “no-go zones” for the police
and breeding grounds for radicalised extremists and terrorists.
8. For too long, officials and politicians in Europe have turned
a blind eye to the lack of integration and the growing radicalisation
among young people, and have ignored or underestimated the scale
of the terrorist threat. We must now urgently make a realistic assessment
of possible security flaws. Our States are duty-bound to protect
the lives of citizens and the fundamental values of democracy. Our
societies must be ready to pay a much higher price for security
with the highest possible respect for individual freedom, privacy
and our democratic values.
9. In the face of ever-growing international terrorist networks,
a co-ordinated pan-European response is needed more than ever. As
terrorism is an international phenomenon, counter-terrorism efforts
must go beyond European boundaries and involve third countries ready
to co-operate, in particular in neighbouring regions.
10. In the light of the above, the Assembly calls on the relevant
authorities of the Council of Europe member and observer States,
as well as those whose parliaments enjoy partnership for democracy
and observer status, and other neighbouring States to ensure:
10.1. at national level:
10.1.1. the
highest possible level of communication, information sharing, mandatory
co-ordination and co-operation between various law-enforcement agencies,
special services and, where applicable, regional and municipal police,
including the sharing of relevant databases;
10.1.2. the implementation of effective measures to prevent and
combat radicalisation; in this respect, the Assembly stresses the
importance of inclusive, civic and secular education and refers
to the specific measures in this area put forward in Resolution 2091 (2016);
it also refers to the Council of Europe Action Plan on the Fight
against Violent Extremism and Radicalisation Leading to Terrorism,
which provides support to member States in the designing of appropriate measures
in the public sector, in particular in schools and prisons, and
on the Internet;
10.1.3. the integration of various “closed” communities into their
local neighbourhood with a view to ensuring that there are no “no-go
zones” or ghettos where common rules are inapplicable;
10.1.4. that appropriate means are granted to law-enforcement
bodies and security and intelligence services to prevent and fight
inflammatory rhetoric and hate speech;
10.1.5. that insignia and symbols of internationally recognised
terrorist organisations are forbidden;
10.1.6. an in-depth study of best practice of countries with extensive
counter-terrorism experience, in particular as regards the safety
of public buildings and transport infrastructure, as well as cyber-security;
10.2. at international level, enhanced, efficient and timely
communication, information sharing, co-ordination and co-operation
among the relevant law-enforcement agencies, special services and international
mechanisms with a view to controlling and, if appropriate, preventing
the travel of individuals suspected of belonging to terrorist networks
or of being involved in terrorist activity;
10.3. at both national and international levels, the widest
possible information and experience sharing on the causes, the contributing
factors, the development, the action by law-enforcement agencies
in dealing with, and the post-crisis management of terrorist attacks
in Europe;
10.4. facilitation of strengthened international co-operation
with an equal level of determination against all terrorist entities
in preventing and suppressing their activities, and pursuing and
prosecuting all terrorist groups and their members.
11. At European Union level, the Assembly underlines the need
for an ambitious European security strategy, including better exchange
of information between intelligence services and closer co-operation
between police and judicial authorities. In this respect, the Assembly:
11.1. welcomes the recent European
Parliament approval of the Passenger Name Record (PNR), which it
called for in Resolution
2031 (2015) on terrorist attacks in Paris: together for
a democratic response, and invites all those involved to study ways
of extending the application of the PNR to countries which are not
European Union members;
11.2. calls for a common European counter-terrorism intelligence
unit.
12. The Assembly recognises that there is currently a lack of
co-operation, co-ordination and sharing of best practice among parliamentarians
in the oversight of defence and security policy and urges parliaments
of member States to consider ways and means of tackling this problem,
including the possibility of re-establishing an interparliamentary
body and/or reactivating the ESDA (European Security and Defence
Assembly, the former Assembly of the Western European Union (WEU)),
to fill the void in this area.
13. In addition, the Assembly refers to the proposals contained
in Resolution 2090 (2016) on
combating international terrorism while protecting Council of Europe
standards and values and Resolution
2091 (2016) on foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, which
remain of utmost relevance, and again calls on the relevant authorities
of the Council of Europe member and observer States, as well as
those whose parliaments enjoy partnership for democracy and observer
status, and other neighbouring States, to implement them as a matter of
priority.