Senator Emma Fattorini (Italy), Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and President of the PAM 3rd Standing Committee on Dialogue among Civilisations and Human Rights, addressed the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Joint Seminar of the Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group, hosted in Rome on 27-29 October 2016, by the two Chambers of the Italian Parliament.
In her intervention, Sen. Fattorini underscored the need for a number of strategies to fight the threat of online radicalisation promoted by Daesh (ISIS), through a series of legislative and juridical measures applicable at both the national and regional level. “In this area, institutions like PAM and the NATO PA can and must provide a tangible contribution to the collective effort, which must also include key measures to secure civil liberties, social dignity and a socio-economic environment which favours the well being of all citizens”, Sen. Fattorini said.
As highlighted by the UN Security Council to PAM, the efficient use of parliamentary diplomacy is crucial, and parliamentarians con contribute through the introduction and modification of national and international legislation to strengthen the impact of the fight against terrorism. To this end, PAM and the NATO PA should further consolidate their cooperation.
Sen. Fattorini recalled that PAM has already, at the request of the UN, organised a series of seminars aimed at facilitating the work of parliamentarians in the implementation of the main Resolutions adopted by the Security Council, together with the UNODC, UNCTED and the UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC). The next conference will be held at the Italian Senate in Rome, on 23-24 March 2017, in order to give the opportunity to the UNSC CTC to evaluate how national parliaments have implemented the UN Resolutions. On this occasion, PAM will be counting on the NATO PA and the PA CIS since the Security Council has asked for the assistance of PAM to extend this exercise also to the regions of Central Asia.
On 15 December 2016, PAM will also be organising a high-level parliamentary debate, hosted by the Italian Senate in Rome, dedicated to Inter-religious dialogue to counter violent extremism. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, the Minister for Religious Affairs of Morocco and the Rector of the School for Imams of Rabat, are expected to participate. The positive experiences in Morocco will provide an insight on the policies and activities of that country, which are now being used in several programmes of international bilateral cooperation.
In her closing remarks, Sen. Fattorini, in view of the long-standing cooperation between the two institutions, invited the NATO PA to consider the possibility to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with PAM and nominate a focal point to coordinate future initiatives on issues of common interest.
The NATO PA event, dedicated to the Mediterranean, considered a range of topics including: the situation in Libya and North Africa; the management of migration flows and the control of borders; the political ramifications of the migration crisis in Europe and the United States; the strategic importance of the Western Balkans as an interface between the MENA region and Europe; the current situation in Syria and Iraq; and radicalisation and terrorism in Europe.