How can terrorism be controlled

Spain is one of the members that, since the working groups were set up, have more actively participated in the GCTF. Spain has played a particularly noteworthy role in the defence of victims of terrorism at this forum, as evidenced by the organisation of the High-Level Conference on Victims of Terrorism VT , held in Madrid in July This conference led to the adoption of the Madrid Declaration, which represented a major step forward in consolidating global awareness with a specific focus on the issue of victims.

This is a document that contains good practices which seek to guarantee immediate and effective assistance to victims of terrorism from the time of the attack and throughout criminal proceedings, in order for them to cope with the damage suffered in the best possible manner. Subsequently, in October , Madrid hosted a workshop on The Role of Religious Scholars and Other Experts on De-radicalisation in Prisons, which was also organised within the framework of the GCTF, at which Spain had the opportunity to highlight its model of religious assistance in prisons.

This workshop served to homogenise practices and models in different countries in this area, as well as to draw conclusions on their improvement. The conclusions from the workshop were incorporated in a working document to be used by Member States of the forum and other participating countries and experts.

European Union Since terrorism represents a threat to security, liberty and the values of the European Union and to its citizens, the actions of the EU, and hence of Spain, seek to establish a suitable response adapted to countering this phenomenon. Faced with this threat, in the EU approved its Counter-Terrorism Strategy, based on four main pillars: prevent, protect, pursue and respond.

The EU also has a strategy to combat both radicalisation and the recruitment of terrorists, which focuses on the pillar of prevention. Other international organisations In addition to the United Nations and the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, The MAEC actively takes part in the work of other organisations and bodies with a major role in international counter terrorism. This is an inter-governmental committee that is commissioned, among other issues, with questions related to drawing up State profiles in relation to their counter-terrorism capabilities, the exchange of information and best practices, the identification of deficiencies in international law and counter-terrorism actions, as well as the proposal of measures to combat this threat.

The Terrorism Prevention Branch TPB has been set up within the framework of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC , which focuses on the promotion of ratifications by Member States of international instruments on the matter, the training of judges and prosecutors, and boosting legal and judicial cooperation between States among other initiatives.

By means of this MOU, Spain is prepared to offer technical assistance to those projects implemented by the UNODC on the matter of the prevention of international terrorism, the prevention of social and healthcare problems caused by drugs, combating corruption and illegal drug trafficking and various manifestations of cross-border organised crime.

The Financial Action Task Force FATF agreed, in addition to the initial 40 recommendations to combat money laundering, on nine special recommendations to prevent the financing of terrorism. The FATF draws up reports and makes evaluations on compliance with the recommendations in force and establishes a system of sanctions.

It also provides technical assistance for the creation of Financial Intelligence Units to enable these recommendations to be applied in each jurisdiction. Also, travellers from non-EU countries that do not need to have a visa to enter the EU, will be screened through the European Travel Information and Authorisation Etias system, which should be operational from Since , in the wake of the migration crisis, as well as the increase of cross-border terrorist threats, a number of Schengen states introduced temporary controls at their borders.

These controls were prolonged on a number of occasions and in some countries have applied ever since. The Covid pandemic also pushed EU counries to bring back internal border controls in , in an attempt to control the spread of the virus. Parliament has repeatedly criticised the continuation of internal border checks in the Schengen area and wants to allow them only as a measure of last resort. In a resolution on EU coordinated action to combat the pandemic adopted in April , Parliament urged member states to adopt only necessary and proportionate measures when introducing and prolonging internal border controls, stressing the need to get back to a fully functioning Schengen area.

Find out more in our file on Schengen borders. The new standing corps could, at the request of an EU country, carry out border control and migration management as well as fight cross-border crime. It will also contribute to a common, harmonised visa policy and introduce protective measures for vulnerable people arriving in Europe, notably unaccompanied children. The fund will work closely with the new Internal Security Fund ISF , focusing on tackling terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime.

Since , there has been an increase in religiously-inspired terrorism in the EU. By about 5, individuals from the EU were believed to have travelled to conflict areas in Syria and Iraq to join jihadist terrorist groups, but the number has dropped significantly since. In , few of those foreign fighters were reported to have returned, however hundreds of Europeans with links to Islamic state remain in Iraq and Syria.

In order to criminalise acts such as undertaking training or travelling for terrorist purposes, as well as organising or facilitating such travel, Europe put in place EU-wide legislation on terrorism that, together with new controls at the external borders, will help to tackle the foreign fighter phenomenon. Airlines operating flights to and from the EU are obliged to hand national authorities the data of their passengers such as names, travel dates, itinerary and payment method.

This so-called PNR data is used to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences and serious crimes. Negotiations took more than five years and Parliament insisted on safeguards for sensitive data revealing racial origin, religion, political opinion, health or sexual orientation and data protection.

Find out more in our file on PNR. Criminals and terrorists often use multiple false identities to evade border guards and police. This highlights the importance of effective information sharing between the relevant authorities - law enforcement, judicial, intelligence - in the member states.

In new rules to strengthen the Schengen information system SIS were agreed, introducing new types of alerts for cases related to terrorist activities. The database allows police and border guards to enter and consult alerts on wanted or missing persons and lost or stolen property.

To use existing and future databases in a more intelligent and targeted way, the EU information systems that help manage borders, security and migration should enable data exchange.

This new interoperability should become operational after and provide a single interface for searches, as well as a biometric matching service to facilitate identification.

Europol , the EU police agency, supports the exchange of information between national police authorities. In May MEPs agreed to give more powers to Europol to step up the fight against terrorism as well as to set up specialised units such as the European counter terrorism centre , which was launched on 25 January The legislative proposal also enables the agency to directly exchange data with private parties.

An effective measure to stop terrorists is to cut their sources of revenue and disrupt logistics. In order to do this, the European Parliament updated the anti-money laundering directive in , aiming to increase transparency about the people behind companies and address risks linked to virtual currencies and anonymous pre-paid cards.

Money laundering is a criminal offence in all EU countries, but definitions and sanctions vary. The rules to tackle criminal financing aim to close those loopholes. Given the complexity, strong coordination and cooperation within national governments and between states and organizations at the regional and international level is essential to effectively combat terrorism.

Moreover, the ability to successfully address the challenges depends on the capacity of national criminal justice systems to administer fair and effective justice for perpetrators of terrorist crimes, and to undertake effective preventive measures in accordance with the rule of law. UNODC supports national efforts in strengthening and developing legislative frameworks, policies and strategies against terrorism and its financing, in line with international conventions and protocols and human rights principles and rule-of-law based standards.