Representatives of IPA CIS Called for Elimination of Politicization in Countering Terrorism

On 9 May, in Istanbul, the IPA CIS delegation continued its work within the framework of the events organized by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and took part in the Third Parliamentary Political Dialogue on the protection of religious sites, symbols and objects.

The participants exchanged experiences on the existing legislative practices for the protection of so-called vulnerable targets, as well as considered relevant recommendations and the experience of various States and international organizations in this area.

On the sidelines of the event, Head of the IPA CIS delegation, First Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Defense and Security Vladimir Chizhov had bilateral meetings with President of the Coordination Mechanism for Parliamentary Assemblies, Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Reinhold Lopatka and Chief of the UNOCT Programme Office on Parliamentary Engagement David Alamos.

Vladimir Chizhov made a report on the state of affairs regarding the impact of terrorist activities on vulnerable targets. He noted the important unifying role of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council and reminded the audience that the OSCE PA Counter-Terrorism Committee was established in 2017, the potential of which is being used insufficiently. The IPA CIS representative called on the audience to intensify work within the framework of this mechanism, as well as to exclude hate speech and politicization in countering terrorism.