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CoE Congress urges cities to take stronger preventative measures against radicalisation

Xinhua, October 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

The 29th Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CoE), meeting in a plenary session in Strasbourg, overwhelmingly adopted a resolution on Tuesday urging cities and regions to take more preventative action to combat radicalisation.

The resolution, "Guidelines for local and regional authorities on preventing radicalisation and hate at the grassroots level," proposes prevention as a primary element of a multi-strategy approach to stemming the growth of radical movements in Europe, especially among youth.

"Tackling radicalisation requires carefully thought-out preventive measures. In the long run, prevention is more rational and cost-effective than combatting symptoms or full-blown crises," declared Congress members in the resolution, which was adopted with 107 votes in favor, 1 against and 3 abstentions.

The resolution comes as the follow-up to another resolution adopted in March 2015 by the Congress that called for the development of guidelines in the fight against radicalisation in the wake of terrorist attacks in early in 2015 in Paris and Copenhagen.

In the current text, the CoE Congress identified cities and regions as the front line in the fight against radicalisation, with their competences and mandates being most relevant in the realm of prevention.

"Local and regional authorities are crucial players in the fight against radicalization, with the expertise we need," Igor Crnadak, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Chairman of the CoE's Committee of Ministers, told the Congress in an address earlier on Tuesday.

The non-binding resolution encourages cities to partner with civil society in order to raise awareness, to develop multi-agency approaches across different levels of government, and to support exit programs for individuals wishing to leave extremist groups. The Congress also stressed the role of education in making youth resilient against extremist discourse.

The immediate response to violent extremist acts, however, was declared by the Congress to be best handled at the national level, though as only a partial response to the problem.

"When combatting violent extremism, suppressive responses are not sufficient," declared Guilherme Pinto, President of the European Forum for Urban Security, while addressing the Congress prior to the debate which led to the adoption of the resolution.

The CoE will organize a conference of ministers of education in April next year in Brussels to reinforce the role of education in combatting radicalization.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is a political assembly gathering 648 members who hold elected office and represent over 200,000 authorities in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. The October plenary session of the 29th Congress opened on Tuesday and will conclude on Oct. 22. Endit