The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), represented by the Secretary General, Amb. Sergio Piazzi, participated at the Conference on Designing Effective Workshops to Address the Foreign Terrorist Fighter (FTF) Phenomenon within a Rule of Law Framework, organized in Malta on 17-19 February by the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), in collaboration with the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and the United Nations (UN). National experts, international and regional organizations contributed to the discussion by sharing their perspectives and their organizations’ current and future efforts in effectively addressing the FTF phenomenon. These included professionals involved in the judicial process, such as investigators, prosecutors, judges and parliamentarians, as well as counter-terrorism experts, academics and representatives from the UN-CTED, UNODC, OSCE, among others.
The aim of the workshop was to provide participants with increased understanding on how criminal justice sector stakeholders can effectively address the FTF phenomenon while adhering to the rule of law. Discussions provided participants a platform for identifying their needs and requirements and for formulating concrete suggestions on how the IIJ can support their efforts in collaboration with the United Nations, PAM and other international and regional organizations.
PAM Secretary General, Amb. Piazzi, chaired the Session dedicated to the Perspectives of Parliamentarians on FTF Matters, where the role of parliamentarians in developing national legislation to address FTF cases, as well as current work with legislative bodies to develop their expertise in legislative drafting and CT oversight in the FTF context and the role of the country visits by CTED, were discussed. The Session was also addressed by MPs from Morocco and Algeria.
In his intervention, Amb. Piazzi outlined the long standing commitment of PAM towards issues related to the phenomenon of terrorism, with particular focus on the Mediterranean and the spill over to the Western democracies where it is dramatically involving locally bred youths, who join terrorist groups as foreign fighters”, Dr. Piazzi said. He also underlined the crucial role of parliamentarians in the broader national and international legal systems in combating the surge of foreign terrorist fighters and in supporting, within the rule of law framework, all measures necessary to provide peace of mind to the citizens.
The event was part of a series of international efforts to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 2178, adopted on 24 September 2014, which calls on all states to use their legal means to counter the flow of recruits into conflict zones to join radical groups, receive training and to carry out terrorist acts abroad, as well as upon their return to their country of origin.
PAM, in co-operation with the UN Security Council, is actively participating in the implementation of the UNSC Resolution 2178 through a series of focused sub-regional meetings for parliamentarians to address the FTF phenomenon. The first of these meetings, hosted by the Italian Senate, will take place on 26-27 February in Rome, and will be dedicated to the Maghreb region. Others will follow, in cooperation with the UN, EU and the IIJ, in Malta and Romania.
The delegates from Algeria, Morocco and the OSCE were hosted at the PAM Headquarters for a briefing on the activities of the Assembly and future cooperation with their national parliaments and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.