EU Statement: Arria meeting on Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Transnational Activities of Terrorist Groups

Mr. Chair

I thank Kenya and the United Arab Emirates for convening this ARRIA-meeting and for the possibility to bring in the European Union’s perspective on counter terrorism.

The terrorist threat continues to evolve in different parts of the world and particularly the development in Africa is a cause for concern. Terrorist groups benefit from the fragile political and socioeconomic landscape, first aggravated by the consequences of the pandemic and now aggravated by the consequences of the Russian illegal war of aggression in Ukraine.

The European Union’s Strategic Compass identifies terrorism as a continued threat to stability in many countries and we have agreed to strengthen our response, especially in Africa. We are ready to step up our cooperation not only at political level but also at operational level with financial and technical support. The European Union is also taking over the role as co-chair of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) in September. One of our priorities as co-chair will be to focus on Africa and how the GCTF policies and practices can benefit the continent.

Violent extremist ideologies see no borders. Transnational activities of terrorist groups are multidimensional and to prevent and counter those, a broad array of actions are required. The European Union is committed to multilateral cooperation and I will give you some examples on how we do that:

First, to prevent and counter undetected crossing of borders by foreign terrorists the European Union is working closely with the UN in the UN-EU CT Travel project. While respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, the information exchange of suspected terrorists and their passenger data enhances states’ detection capacity.

Second, to prevent and counter misuse of Internet for terrorist propaganda the European Union has adopted a regulation to address terrorist content online, while preserving the freedom of expression. The European Union is also a firm supporter of the Christchurch Call. We call on the tech industry to do more, for example regarding the algorithmic amplification. 

Third, to prevent and counter terrorism funding, the European Union provides support to address partner countries’ deficiencies notably identified by us and the FATF. The European Union also encourages the Fintech industry to more actively cooperate with law enforcement and judicial investigation services. Having said that, it is imperative to ensure that legitimate humanitarian actors or human rights defenders are not targeted.

Forth, in February this year, UNOCT, Interpol and the European Union launched the CT Tech Initiative with the objective to support Member States in developing effective counter terrorism responses. Not only towards the challenges that new technology in the hands of terrorists bring, like drones, but also the opportunities that new technology offer law enforcement.

Fifth, transnational activities of terrorist groups must be held accountable by legal authorities compliant with international law and the rule of law. The European Union actively supports the digitization of battlefield evidence in Iraq that bring terrorists to justice.

Finally, the European Union is committed to the New Peace Agenda, which will require strengthening cooperation to prevent and counter terrorism in full compliance with international law, including human rights law.

In Our Common Agenda living conditions are addressed that strengthens the resilience in societies, not to become breeding ground for radicalization. The European Union firmly believes in a holistic approach. We cannot support security structures while ignoring economic and social development, or the rule of law. To quote Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “when we protect human rights, we are tackling the root causes of terrorism”.

Thank you.