2023 Annual Report on the Implementation of the 1994 Declaration on Measures
to Eliminate International Terrorism
Legal and Political Framework
1. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as a
regional arrangement1 under Chapter VIII of the United Nations (UN) Charter, has a
strong mandate to contribute to the global fight against terrorism. Relevant UN Security
Council resolutions (UNSCR) and the Universal Anti-Terrorism Instruments (UATI),
constitute a solid and comprehensive legal basis for combating terrorism on a global
scale and provide a clear roadmap for the steps that need to be taken to do so. The role
of the OSCE is to assist its participating States and Partners for Co-operation, at their
request and in close co-ordination with the UN and other relevant international
organizations, in fulfilling their international obligations and OSCE commitments in the
field of combating terrorism. The OSCE Consolidated Framework for the Fight against
Terrorism, adopted in 2012, reiterates the OSCE’s comprehensive approach and
identifies strategic focus areas for the Organization’s counter-terrorism efforts. It also
confirms the role of the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE Secretariat’s
Transnational Threats Department (TNTD/ATU) as the focal point, information resource
and implementation partner for OSCE counter-terrorism activities.
2. While the annual Chairpersonship-in-Office Counter-Terrorism
Conference did not take place in 2023, TNTD continued contributing to policy-level
discussions as exhibited under the thematic paragraphs below, e.g. during the 2023 UN
Counter-Terrorism Week in New York. Moreover, the OSCE and UNOCT signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (2023-2027) and a Biennial Action Plan (2024-2025) on
18 September 2023. These documents provide a framework for the co-operation
between the UN and the OSCE, promoting the implementation of the UN Global
Counter-Terrorism Strategy and enhancing the co-ordination of related technical
assistance to UN Member States and OSCE participating States.
1 The Organization comprises 57 participating States that span the globe, encompassing three continents -
North America, Europe and Asia - and more than a billion people.
1 3. TNTD also contributed to the assessment visit of the UN Security Council
Counter-Terrorism Committee to Spain in April 2023. During this assessment, TNTD
contributed its expertise on a number of topics, including on preventing and countering
violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT), with a particular
focus on rehabilitation and reintegration and a gender-sensitive victim-centred
approach, as well as on addressing emerging technologies and radicalization to violence
in the online space. Participating in these assessment visits also enabled TNTD to follow
up with Spain’s Guardia Civil on identifying synergies and good practices that may
benefit other OSCE participating States.
Programmatic Activities
4. TNTD assists participating States in addressing the multifaceted and
evolving terrorist threat in line with the areas identified in the OSCE Consolidated
Framework for the Fight against Terrorism and all relevant Ministerial Council and
Permanent Council Decisions and Declarations.
One of the strategic focus areas of the OSCE is promoting the international legal
framework against terrorism among participating States and Partners for Co-
operation and facilitating co-operation in related criminal matters. In co-operation with
the Organization’s field operations and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR), TNTD promoted and supported the adaptation of national
legislation in accordance with international humanitarian law, international human
rights law and international refugee law, as well as Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
recommendations on countering the financing of terrorism specifically.
In June 2023, TNTD followed up on its prior efforts regarding the issue of Foreign
Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) and affiliated women and children, co-organizing a policy event
on “Resolving the Detainee Dilemma” jointly with the International Centre for the Study
of Radicalisation at King’s College London (ICSR) and the Middle East Institute (MEI). This
2 event addressed challenges presented by over 10,000 male ISIS detainees and 56,000
associated women and children held in camps in northeast Syria2. The event aimed at:
establishing an overview of the situation of ISIS detainees and FTFs held in
northeast Syria, discuss the risks associated with a decision to repatriate or not,
and explore ways to improve conditions on the ground;
discussing challenges related to the repatriation, prosecution, rehabilitation and
reintegration of former FTFs and their family members; and
extending the current discussion focusing on repatriating women and children to
men and older boys held in detention camps or rehabilitation and reintegration
facilities.
The outcomes of this and earlier regional and OSCE-wide policy dialogues on FTFs, such
as a high-level conference co-organized in 2020 with UNOCT and Switzerland3, were
included in a new extrabudgetary project aimed at supporting participating States and
Partners for Co-operation in the prosecution and rehabilitation and reintegration of
individuals that returned or were repatriated from the conflict zones in the Middle East.
Moreover, in co-operation with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement
Training (CEPOL), TNTD provided training and facilitated information-sharing on the use
of tools for co-operation in criminal matters, relevant to countering terrorism in general,
and handling of former FTFs in the MENA region in particular. OSCE field operations in
South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia have also addressed FTF-related aspects
through their respective lines of effort.
TNTD also co-organized with the Council of Europe (CoE) and UNCTED a side event
during the 2023 UN Counter-Terrorism Week on “Good practices for managing violent
extremist prisoners: preventing radicalisation to violence while promoting
disengagement and rehabilitation”. The OSCE contributed input on age- and gender-
sensitive approaches to the rehabilitation and reintegration of former violent extremists
and those associated with violent extremism.
2 The population of Al-Hol and Al-Roj, the two largest camps, consists to 60% of children, mostly under the
age of twelve. 3 Conference Report: https://www.osce.org/secretariat/483539.
3 5. In the closely related field of P/CVERLT, TNTD and the OSCE Secretariat’s
Programme for Gender Issues organized the first in-person meeting for two networks
for women P/CVERLT professionals across various sectors in South-Eastern Europe and
Central Asia. This facilitated trust-building, the sharing of experience and good
practices, and generated new ideas. Building on the Policy Brief on the Linkages between
Violent Misogyny and VERLT4 that was published in 2022. TNTD also co-organized a side
event on “Bridging the gap: connecting research, policy and practice on masculinities to
more effectively prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to
terrorism”, together with Canada, Mexico, UNCTED and UNOCT during the 2023 UN
Counter-Terrorism Week in New York.
Violent extremist and terrorist groups exploit the internet in order to spread violent
content, gain support and recruit members. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a proliferation
of hostile sexist and xenophobic conspiracy theories, highlighting the significant need to
bolster critical thinking and analysis, as well as media and information literacy skills.
Therefore, in May 2023, TNTD launched a five-year initiative called “Project INFORMED:
Information and Media Literacy in Preventing Violent Extremism: Human Rights and
Gender-Sensitive Approaches to Addressing the Digital Information Disorder”. The
project highlights the importance that the OSCE places on addressing radicalization to
violence in the online space, as well as the use of emerging technologies by violent
extremist groups and terrorists. It includes support to multi-stakeholder audiences in
building critical thinking skills and identifying violent extremist and polarizing content,
as well as in finding locally relevant and safe avenues for addressing these in the
national context. This project builds on long-standing efforts to support civil society in
P/CVERLT, including under the Leaders against Intolerance and Violent Extremism (LIVE)
project, which concluded in 2022. Thus, Project INFORMED has a significant component
focusing on youth engagement and empowerment, and also addresses gender-specific
challenges related to violent extremism and the digital information disorder. The
project responds to emerging trends in the technological development and the use of
social network tools, as well as the rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence
4 OSCE Policy Brief – Linkages between Violent Misogyny and Violent Extremism | OSCE.
4 seen throughout 2023, addressing these new challenges in a way that is respectful of
human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression. In addition
to raising awareness of the need for critical thinking and analysis as well as meaningful
engagement in the digital space, the project also seeks to support participating States in
identifying opportunities for collaborating with non-government stakeholders, including
the private sector and civil society, to create resilience to VERLT online.
Finally, TNTD spoke on “Good International and Regional Practices on P/CVE” during the
Fourth Counter-Terrorism Coordination Meeting of Parliamentary Assemblies, co-
organized by the UNOCT, the Shura Council of Qatar and the OSCE, in Vienna on 4 and 5
October 2023.
6. Linked to these efforts under P/CVERLT, a strong importance is attached
to countering the use of the internet for terrorist purposes, considering the abuse
of the internet for recruitment and training, collection and transfer of funds, the
planning and execution of terrorist acts or the incitement to such violence. OSCE
participating States have committed themselves to exchange information about this
threat as well as to enhance international co-operation and public-private partnerships.
This includes the development of practical measures to counter the use of the internet
for terrorist purposes for inciting VERLT or recruiting FTFs. To assist policymakers, law
enforcement and governmental officials, as well as academia and NGO practitioners, to
effectively respond to online violent extremism and terrorism and to strengthen the
efficiency of their efforts, TNTD facilitated the delivery of three related national tabletop
exercises in Kazakhstan, Serbia and Turkmenistan.
Moreover, to enhance national capacities across the OSCE area in requesting electronic
evidence from service providers that are based in foreign jurisdictions when
investigating online criminality matters, including terrorism-related cases in line with
human rights parameters, TNTD developed and launched in 2023 a new extrabudgetary
project titled “E-VIDENCE – Requesting Electronic Evidence across Borders”. It builds on
previous activities pursued jointly by TNTD/ATU and the Department’s Strategic Police
Matters Unit (TNTD/SPMU) and aims at supporting participating States and Partners for
Co-operation in addressing the complex challenges of cross-border electronic evidence
5 requests, for which a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach is needed. The project
integrates human rights parameters throughout each of its stages, ensuring that the
capacities developed are applied in a way that promotes the protection of and respect
for human rights. The project will focus on augmenting the technical capacities of
national law enforcement agencies and judiciaries regarding cross-border electronic
evidence requests, including through train-the-trainer courses utilizing materials
developed jointly with UNODC and INTERPOL.
7. As exhibited by the efforts above, OSCE participating States are also
committed to drawing on the support of the private sector, the media and civil society
as a whole. The OSCE involves these stakeholders as much as possible in its counter-
terrorism activities and promotes dialogue and co-operation in addressing relevant
issues, in particular through public-private partnerships (PPPs), which are
mainstreamed in TNTD programmes. Apart from the work on countering the use of the
internet for terrorist purposes, this also includes efforts on countering the financing of
terrorism, as well as on vulnerable targets protection.
8. In the area of countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), TNTD/ATU,
with the support of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana,
and the OSCE Mission to Skopje, organized eight specialized courses for beneficiary
entities on topics related to conducting financial analysis and investigations, using
targeted financial sanctions pertaining to existing CFT sanction regimes and on
preventing the abuse of non-profit organizations for the financing of terrorism. The
courses, some of which were organized in partnership with the UNODC, were
implemented as part of a progressively advanced training programme, which aims at
enhancing capacities of competent agencies to conduct financial investigations in
counter-terrorism efforts and at strengthening local CFT frameworks. These efforts have
led to sustainable results across the OSCE area, including improved inter-agency co-
operation, along with increased knowledge and skills of participants on intelligence
handling, network analysis and analytical methods related to the financing of terrorism,
allocation of more resources to CFT within national financial intelligence units and
inclusion of CFT material in the training programmes of involved agencies.
6 Furthermore, TNTD also contributed to working group and plenary meetings of the
Financial Action Task Force (FATF), based on its experience with the implementation of
the training modules mentioned above.
9. Yet another part of the OSCE’s strong commitment to PPPs in a counter-
terrorism context derives from its mandate to enhance the security of critical
infrastructure and soft targets (collectively termed “vulnerable targets”) in OSCE
participating States, initially expressed in OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on Public-
Private Partnerships in Countering Terrorism (MC.DEC/5/07). The OSCE Consolidated
Framework for the Fight against Terrorism further built the mandate of critical
infrastructure protection, as did UNSCR 2341 (2017) on Protection of Critical
Infrastructure against Terrorist Acts and UNSCR 2396 (2017) on Threats to International
Peace and Security Caused by Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters, as well as the 2015
UN Security Council Madrid Guiding Principles on Foreign Terrorist Fighters and their
2018 Addendum. On this topic, TNTD manages a dedicated portfolio of activities that
seek to strengthen national approaches across the OSCE area in the protection of
vulnerable targets from terrorist threats and other hazards through the provision of
specialized guidance, technical assistance and opportunities for regional co-operation.
Specifically, TNTD developed a multi-year initiative called “Project PROTECT on the
Protection of Vulnerable Targets from Terrorist Attacks”. This project was designed in
response to growing threats to critical infrastructure and public places across the OSCE
area, including houses of worship, transport networks and touristic sites. In December
2023, Project PROTECT was launched in Uzbekistan through a national awareness-
raising workshop, with additional activities planned in the coming years, and included
the participation of UNOCT as a close partner of TNTD.
Moreover, following TNTD’s participation in UNOCT’s vulnerable targets protection-
related programming in Tajikistan in 2022, UNOCT, TNTD and the OSCE Programme
Office in Dushanbe co-organized the launch event for the UN Roadmap on Countering
Terrorist Threats against Vulnerable Targets for Tajikistan from 4 to 6 July 2023. In
support of this Roadmap, the OSCE facilitated a study tour for officials from Tajikistan to
France to learn about national and local approaches to the protection of soft targets
7 from 20 to 22 November 2023. Such efforts show alignment and close co-operation
between UN and OSCE counterparts in the field of vulnerable targets protection.
10. Throughout 2023, the OSCE Secretariat’s TNTD/Border Security
Management Unit (BSMU) launched various initiatives to strengthen border security
and management in the context of counter-terrorism. This included hosting the
2023 Forum of the OSCE Secretary General and Central Asia Border Commanders,
which aimed to address cross-border challenges in the region and provide a platform
for strategic dialogue and to further strengthen regional co-operation. Efforts were also
made to support Moldova in addressing security challenges, particularly in enhancing
airport security.
Furthermore, in co-operation with Frontex, INTERPOL and UNOCT, the “OSCE-led Mobile
Training Team (MTT) on identifying the cross-border movement of FTFs and other cross-
border crimes in the OSCE area” was expanded, and a modular training programme
developed, comprising five courses covering travel security, behavioural analysis,
interview techniques, crisis management, the prevention of small arms and light
weapons smuggling, and countering trafficking in human beings. The courses were
successfully piloted in Albania and Uzbekistan, and the training catalogue was
translated into Arabic, Montenegrin, Russian and Ukrainian. Subsequently, a 2024
training plan was developed, according to which MTT will be deployed to OSCE
participating States upon their request. Additionally, a national MTT was established in
Uzbekistan, where training courses addressing most of the above-mentioned modules
were conducted, and specialized equipment was provided to customs and border
officers in accordance with the roadmap signed with the Government of Uzbekistan.
Apart from the MTT’s above-mentioned co-operation partners, UNHCR, UNODC and the
United Kingdom Police also contributed to the OSCE-led efforts in Uzbekistan.
To combat the illegal trafficking in cultural property and its linkages to organized crime
and terrorism financing, BSMU established the OSCE-led Heritage Crime Task Force,
comprised of experts from the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Co-operation,
INTERPOL, UNODC, UNOCT and national law enforcement agencies. This task force
offers training to border and law enforcement officers to suppress heritage crime and
8 supports participating States with improving their capacities to conduct investigations
and dismantle trafficking and illicit financing networks across the OSCE area, and in
neighbouring regions including the Middle East and North Africa.
BSMU also organized basic and advanced training courses on the identification of
forged documents for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Further, the annual
meeting of the Eastern European Informal Working Group (EE IWG) was organized
jointly with UNOCT back-to-back with the 7th Passenger Data Exchange Seminar, the
latter being based on OSCE Ministerial Decision on Enhancing the Use of Advance
Passenger Information (API) (MC.DEC/6/16) and UNSCR 2396 (2017) on Threats to
International Peace and Security Caused by Returning FTFs. These 2023 events gathered
members of the EE IWG, representatives of border agencies, state security agencies and
customs services from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova,
Montenegro, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine as well as
Israel, and provided a forum for discussions on API systems development, and further
exchanges on good practices, lessons learned and methodologies in data collection. The
OSCE also signed an Addendum to the 2021 Memorandum of Agreement with UNOCT,
to continue supporting the EE IWG until December 2024. Moreover, TNTD, jointly with
the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized a national round table on the
implementation of the Roadmap for API in Dushanbe, and assisted with the
establishment and donation of equipment for the Passenger Information Unit in Skopje.
BSMU also continued to support the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security
Agenda by strengthening the capacities of the members of the OSCE’s Gender Equality
Platform in Border Security and Management (Platform). The Platform consists of
border and custom representatives of 23 OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-
operation. These efforts included organizing webinars and training courses for the
members of the Platform to discuss the integration of a gender perspective into their
daily operations and policy planning, preventing and addressing sexual harassment in
the work place, as well raising awareness on the importance of integrating human rights
principles and gender- and age- sensitive approach in border controls and similar.
9 11. The OSCE ODIHR is active in supporting the implementation of the UN
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy by promoting the protection of human rights
while countering terrorism. In particular, ODIHR provides advice and analysis on key
human rights issues in the counter-terrorism context and promotes dialogue between
state and non-state actors to strengthen human rights-compliant responses to
terrorism.
In this context, ODIHR held a regional workshop in September 2023 for South-Eastern
Europe participating States to promote dialogue and raise awareness among key
stakeholders about the importance of independent detention monitoring for enhancing
the protection of human rights while preventing and countering VERLT in prisons.5 As a
follow-up to a similar regional workshop for Central Asia in 2022, ODIHR increased the
knowledge and skills of detention monitors from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan through its
first tailored training workshop on the protection of human rights while preventing and
countering VERLT in prisons in Bishkek in November 2023.6 These activities were based
on the Guide for Detention Monitors published jointly by ODIHR and Penal Reform
International in 2021.7
ODIHR also supports OSCE participating States in strengthening law enforcement
capacities to protect human rights while preventing and countering terrorism. In 2023,
ODIHR organized training courses for law enforcement authorities in Uzbekistan in co-
operation with the OSCE field operation.8 The training courses in Uzbekistan were held
for local branches of law enforcement agencies in two regions of the country and were
conducted together with national co-trainers who had previously completed an ODIHR
train-the-trainer course.
5 See: https://www.osce.org/odihr/547939. 6 See: https://www.osce.org/odihr/556932.
7 The Guidance tool is now available in five languages at: https://www.osce.org/odihr/492934.
8 See: https://www.osce.org/odihr/541509.
10 Moreover, ODIHR raised awareness in international and OSCE forums of the human
rights risks in border security-related counter-terrorism measures, on the basis of the
ODIHR Policy Brief on Border Management and Human Rights.9
Finally, ODIHR also assists OSCE participating States, upon their request, by reviewing
draft and existing counter-terrorism legislation to assess their compliance with
international human rights standards and OSCE human dimension commitments.10 In
2023, ODIHR published a Note on the European Commission's proposed revised
definition of terrorist offence in the context of the ongoing discussions in the Council of
Europe Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CDCT) on a revision of the existing definition
in Article 1 of the CoE Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism.11
12. The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental
Activities (OCEEA) of the OSCE Secretariat is the focal point for co-ordinating the
Organization’s work to combat money laundering. OCEEA and TNTD work within their
respective mandates to counter the financing of terrorism. In 2023, OCEEA supported
participating States in mitigating money laundering and other financial crimes risks of
virtual assets and cryptocurrencies. OCEEA, together with TNTD, also works on topics
such as youth crime prevention and asset recovery. Moreover, OCEEA promotes
transparency and accountability through open data. The OSCE’s work with participating
States is guided by the 2003 OSCE Strategy Document for the Economic and
Environmental Dimension, the 2012 OSCE Ministerial Council Declaration on
Strengthening Good Governance and Combating Corruption, Money-Laundering and
the Financing of Terrorism (MC.DOC/2/12), the OSCE Ministerial Council Declaration on
Strengthening Good Governance and Promoting Connectivity (MC.DOC/4/16) the MCD
on Preventing and Combatting Corruption through Digitalization and Increased
Transparency (2020) and the Joint Statement on Combating Corruption in South-Eastern
Europe through Asset Recovery and the Use of Digitalization, signed by the foreign
9 See: https://www.osce.org/odihr/499777. 10 For information about how to request legislative assistance from ODIHR see: https://www.osce.org/odihr/407447. All ODIHR opinions and comments on counter-terrorism legislation are available at: https://legislationline.org/legal-reviews. 11 See: https://legislationline.org/sites/default/files/2023-10/2023-09-
28%20FINAL%20ODIHR%20Note%20on%20Pan-European%20definition%20of%20terrorism.pdf.
11 ministers of five South-Eastern Europe participating States in Skopje in 2023. Much of
the OSCE’s work with regard to countering the financing of terrorism is in support of the
FATF recommendations. In the aforementioned MC.DOC/2/12, OSCE participating States
expressed their full support for the FATF recommendations and in February 2013 the
OSCE became an observer to the FATF.
12