The 3rd Counter-Terrorism Coordination Meeting of Parliamentary Assemblies was held in Doha, Qatar from the 30th to the 31st January 2023. The event was organised jointly by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly. The theme of the meeting was “Parliamentary Policy Dialogue: Border Security and Cross Border Cooperation in the Context of Counter-Terrorism”. The objective of the two-day meeting was to improve the coordination of international parliamentary assemblies to facilitate a joint review of existing counterterrorism trends and efforts.
Over 80 participants from 14 parliamentary assemblies in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East were in attendance. Representing Seychelles was Hon. Rosie Bistoquet, Chairperson of the Regional SADC Parliamentary Forum of Human Social Development and Special Programmes.Hon. Bistoquet was accompanied by the ‘Democracy, Governance and Human Rights’ Programme Manager for SADC PF, Mr. Sheuneni Kurasha. Opening remarks were given by H.E. Mr. Hassan bin Abdulla Al-Ghanim, the Speaker of the Shura Council of the State of Qatar.
During the first substantive discussion, all participants were able to exchange their views on regional security trends, and various key terrorism-related issues. A special focus was given to the Sahel Region- which comprises of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal- as this region acts as a bridge between the OSCE region and the African continent as a whole. Highlighted topics of discussion during the meeting were the importance of gender-mainstreaming in counterterrorism, the prevention of violent extremism, and the importance of implementing human rights.
The second day of the meeting continued with a Parliamentary Policy Dialogue on border security and cross-border cooperation in the context of counterterrorism. Participants had the opportunity to discuss the main challenges to border security as well as the measures that can be taken at the international and regional level in order to address the existing gaps.
Hon. Bistoquet gave a presentation on behalf of Seychelles, which outlined that changes that have been made to address border security while maintaining a thriving tourism-based economy. Hon. Bistoquet gave a call to action, stating that “Seychelles would like to lay stress on the urgency for the United Nations to rethink the world order not just in terms of geo-political balance but in terms of a new ethic. International terrorism cannot be fought by way of offensive weapons, either traditional or sophisticated”. An in-depth explanation of the relatively new biometric passport screening technology, otherwise known as the “Travizory Border Security”, was given during the presentation; this development makes Seychelles the second country in the world, alongside the United Arab Emirates, to leverage walk-through biometrics at its border. The realization of this advanced project is sure to go down as the country’s first major technological accomplishment in the post-COVID 19 era.
At the conclusion of the event, Hon. Bistoquet noted that it was a great opportunity to be exposed to such international policy dialogue which included populations of any given setting, such as the Seychelles. She remarked, “as a Parliamentarian, my role is crucial in preventing and countering terrorism and especially addressing the underlying spread of violent extremism. At the same time, we must ensure a society-inclusive approach to countering terrorism by representing the interests of communities and working with vulnerable groups at risk of radicalization”.
