The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean participated in the meeting of the “Steering Committee within the framework of the EU-UNODC Initiative on Strengthening the Legal Regime against Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) in the Middle East, North Africa and South-Eastern Europe” held in Vienna on 18 April 2018. PAM was represented by Amb. Jean-Paul Laborde, PAM Senior Advisor on counter-terrorism.
The meeting of experts focused on the evolving trends and threats of the foreign terrorist fighter phenomenon, the role of parliaments and regional parliamentary forums in countering terrorism, and international cooperation to counter the threat of FTFs.
Throughout the discussion, Amb. Laborde spoke of the PAM common understanding of the phenomenon as well as the studies of the ST-Cyr Military Academy’s Centre of Expertise on counter terrorism capacities, with both organizations converging to the same conclusions concerning the FTFs traveling to countries still situated in conflicts areas. He further insisted on the importance of following up with the project on those FTFs which represent a real danger for the international community, including for the PAM geographical area, which constitute not only returning countries but moreover states which could be targeted for future terrorist attacks from well trained and extremely dangerous FTFs who have joined Daesch in Afghanistan, Libya or in the Sahel and Sub-Saharian region.
Amb. Laborde highlighted the importance of reviewing legislation of the countries of the region to allow solid and sustainable international cooperation in criminal matters and underlined again the lack of consistency between the legislation of those states. An action on that issue must constitute the first basis of a real, concrete and rule of law oriented States cooperation; hence he proposed a Strategic Alliance between the UNODC-EU project and PAM to support the countries members of, or observers to PAM, to review their legislation which should be aligned on the international instruments against terrorism that many of them have already signed and ratified. He suggested for a review of the legal framework of PAM countries regarding the implementation of resolution 2178 on the definition of the FTFs as well as its subsequent resolutions.
Amb. Laborde concluded by making a proposal, on behalf of PAM Secretary General, for the Assembly to participate in the evolution of the project and to further strengthen cooperation between UNODC and PAM to counter the evolution of the FTF phenomenon. This is considered necessary in order to provide PAM’s MPs with latest and most accurate information on developments and policies in Counter Terrorism strategies at the legislative level.