Parliamentarians seek to improve criminal justice response to terrorism

The growing threat to peace and security from terrorism and extremist ideology is prompting many countries in the Islamic world to revise their legal and criminal justice approaches to the ongoing problem.

Parliamentarians from the Middle East and North Africa who met earlier this month in the Egyptian city of Aswan put forth a set of recommendations that aim to set up solid legislative foundations to stem the tide of terrorism and radicalisation.

The conference, organised from January 31st to February 2nd by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in partnership with the Egyptian parliament, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, discussed the challenges posed by extremism leading to terrorism and preventative criminal justice responses.

"It is not possible to eliminate terrorism through unilateral efforts without co-operation with other states," said conference participant Sami Gheit, a researcher with Al-Sharq Centre for Regional and Strategic Studies.

The conference presented "an important opportunity to arrive at a common international vision on the issuance of legislation and recommendations to clamp down on extremist ideology, stem its spread and dry up its sources permanently", Gheit told Al-Mashareq.

Conference sessions addressed the causes behind the spread of terrorism and extremist ideology, the methods used by terrorist groups to proliferate and recruit new members, and perspectives on developing effective national policy on preventing and countering extremism.

Recommendations

Participants presented 12 recommendations that took into account the social, political and cultural factors that encourage the spread of extremism.

These are "the same factors that terrorist groups exploit in their recruitment operations around the world", said Egyptian journalist Alsayyed Abdel Fattah Ali, a specialist in extremist groups who attended the conference.

The recommendations focused on the development of national and regional legal frameworks to counter radicalisation, extremism and incitement, with emphasis on the rule of law as the overriding principle.

They included the need for parliaments "to develop a national legislative foundation for action plans designed to counter extremism on the basis of respect for human rights and the rule of law", Ali told Al-Mashareq.

Recommendations called for achieving sustainable development, eradicating poverty, ensuring education access for all and gender equality, and creating decent jobs for all, he said.

They also called for addressing the challenges facing national prisons when dealing with extremist prisoners.

Parliaments were called upon to continue supporting the criminal justice system’s preventative approach to curbing terrorism, and activating bilateral initiatives between them to enhance dialogue and the exchange of expertise.

International approach

"This conference confirms the international community’s determination to confront extremist ideology and its roots ... through international co-operation," said Al-Azhar University professor and political researcher Abdul Nabi Bakkar.

Parliaments are of great importance because on one hand they represent their own people and on the other they are a main source of legislation, he told Al-Mashareq.

"All countries of the world need to keep up with the latest extremism and terrorism trends and work on formulating new and advanced legislation to put an end to them," Bakkar said.

The issued recommendations do not concern parliaments alone but pertain to all state agencies, he said.

Confronting terrorism requires that all security, military, political and economic agencies join forces in order to develop solid counter-terrorism plans for each country, which will then be shared with other countries, expanded upon and refined, in order to besiege terrorism and get to its real roots, he said.