Transnational Threats Department Action against Terrorism Unit
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe What is the ATU The Action against Terrorism Unit (ATU) is part of the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department and is located in Vienna, Austria. Its objective is to strengthen the capacity of OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism. With an extensive network of partners and together with OSCE field operations, the ATU facilitates the development and implementation of strategies and programmes on preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism across the OSCE area.
Key action areas Prevent Counter
The ATU helps communities to changing narratives by Through specialized training norms in violent extremist understand the role of promoting messages of programmes, the ATU assists recruitment and investigations the internet and artificial mutual understanding, participating States and of online terrorist crimes in intelligence misuse in tolerance and diversity. It is Partners for Co-operation line with human rights. These perpetuating violent extremism also guided by the OSCE’s in drafting and reviewing training programmes raise and radicalization that lead overarching commitment to strategies and action plans awareness about the new to terrorism and how critical human rights and gender on preventing and countering challenges and trends and are thinking and information awareness as core principles violent extremism and tailored to the context-specific analysis skills help prevent and promotes incorporation terrorism. Furthermore, ATU responses needed for each radicalization to violence. This of good practices into national equips law enforcement participating State, enabling preventive approach is centred policies and local programmes with relevant practical a swift, rights-respecting on multi-stakeholder activites, in OSCE participating States knowledge and skills on how response to emerging threats. equipping practitioners with and Partners for Co-operation. to counter terrorism in a practical knowledge and skills human rights-compliant and to protect themselves and gender-sensitive way. This others, and bringing together encompasses capacity- people who are committed building on the role of gender How the ATU works The ATU fosters a unified and collaborative approach to building effective measures for preventing and countering terrorism in full compliance with human rights. It connects stakeholders and partners from governments and civil society across national and community levels through inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogues. This approach serves as a catalyst for developing and sharing expertise and policy guidance. By operating across professional sectors through its extensive network of experts and the OSCE field operations, the ATU helps build trust and develop sustainable responses to threats posed by terrorism.
Combat the financing Protect Stop terrorist Promote the of terrorism vulnerable targets exploitation of rule of law the internet The ATU is at the forefront Terrorists pose a persistent The ATU is committed to of proactive efforts to cut threat to public spaces, houses Helping officials learn how to ensuring that counter-terrorism terrorists off from raising, of worship, transportation stop terrorists from exploiting efforts are consistent with moving, storing and using networks, energy infrastructure the internet while also international legal standards. funds. Using a comprehensive and other vulnerable targets. protecting human rights is one Its initiatives focus on the and strategic approach, The ATU is helping participating of the ATU’s priorities. The investigation, prosecution, the ATU builds knowledge States strike a balance between ATU promotes international rehabilitation and reintegration and skills for carrying out effective, risk-based security co-operation through of violent extremists and effective multi-agency frameworks of these spaces, expert-led training courses terrorist offenders. These financial investigations. It also while also safeguarding human and table-top exercises to activities also address works closely with diverse rights. The Unit delivers tailored help participating States the rights and needs of stakeholders to develop capacity-building initiatives and and Partners for Co- returnees from conflict zones financial disruption strategies fosters dialogue across local, operation develop actionable who may not be criminally as part of a comprehensive national and regional levels. approaches and long-term liable, support sustainable counter-terrorism approach. Its work ranges from raising strategies and policies. reintegration programmes awareness on practical security Together, these create that contribute to prevention, measures and facilitating effective avenues for stopping and address the needs of public-private partnerships terrorist threats online before the communities involved. to building community they become a reality. resilience and encouraging cross-border collaboration. Standards and commitments The ATU contributes to a wide-reaching set of standards and commitments designed to consolidate efforts and maximize impact in the fight against terrorism. • OSCE Consolidated Combating Corruption, tion of UN Security Council • UN Global Counter- Framework for the Fight Money-Laundering and the Resolutions 2170 (2014) and Terrorism Strategy against Terrorism Financing of Terrorism 2178 (2014) (MC.DOC/5/14) • UN Sustainable • OSCE Ministerial Council (MC.DOC/2/12) • OSCE Ministerial Council Development Goals Decision on Countering the • OSCE Ministerial Council Declaration on Preventing Use of the Internet for Terror- Declaration on the OSCE and Countering Violent Ex- ist Purposes (MC.DEC/7/06) Role in Countering the tremism and Radicalization • OSCE Ministerial Council Phenomenon of Foreign that Lead to Terrorism Declaration on Strengthening Terrorist Fighters in the (MC.DOC/4/15) Good Governance and Context of the Implementa-
Selected reading Understanding the role of INFORMED: information and E-learning courses gender in preventing and media literacy in preventing Guidebooks countering violent extremism violent extremism – human Fundamentals of preventing Understanding referral and radicalization that lead rights-based and gender- violent extremism and mechanisms in preventing and to terrorism - good practices sensitive approaches radicalization that lead to countering violent extremism for law enforcement | OSCE to addressing the digital terrorism and radicalization that lead information disorder | OSCE to terrorism: guidebook Policy Briefs Preventing and countering for South-Eastern Europe | OSCE Policy Brief – Linkages E-VIDENCE: requesting the use of the internet for OSCE between violent misogyny electronic evidence across terrorist purposes and violent extremism | OSCE borders for investigating A whole-of-society approach online criminal matters, to preventing and countering Stories including terrorism violent extremism and Voices of LIVE: how civil radicalization that lead to society leaders approach Training Programme on terrorism: a guidebook for the prevention of violent Countering the Financing Central Asia | OSCE extremism | OSCE of Terrorism
The role of civil society in Project work Human rights-compliant preventing and countering PROTECT: project on the prosecution, rehabilitation and violent extremism and protection of vulnerable reintegration (PRR) of returning radicalization that lead to targets from terrorist foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) terrorism: a guidebook for attacks | OSCE and associated women and South-Eastern Europe | OSCE children in the OSCE area
Follow OSCE OSCE Secretariat Transnational Threats Department Action against Terrorism Unit Wallnerstrasse 6 1010 Vienna, Austria
atu@osce.org Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe www.osce.org/secretariat/terrorism