28th Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Urgent debate: Response to radicalisation in Europe’s cities and regions: Fighting terrorism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and hate speech - Rapporteur :Leen VERBEEK, Netherlands (R, SOC)

Presentation by Gunn Marit Helgesen, Norway (R, EPP/CCE), Congress member

25 March 2015

Check on delivery

Ladies and gentlemen,

My name is Gunn Marit Helgesen, and I am the President of KS, the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities. I am also the Head of the Norwegian delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and one of the vice-presidents of the Congress.

Let me start with the reason for our urgent debate in today’s Session, which is our common combat against radicalism, violent extremism and terrorism.

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen and Tunis have shown that this threat is ever-presentand needs to be tackled by more co-operation and concerted action at all levels of government. This is essential for the conception, preparation and implementation of measures to prevent radicalisation and fight terrorism.

I believe that radicalisation in Europe has its own causes and needs its own strategies.

Radicalisation is partly connected to certain shortcomings of democracy.

Some of our citizens have lost faith in the value of civil freedoms, in democracy and human rights.

Exclusion causes frustration and eventually leads to aggression, sometimes also to radicalism, extremism and sometimes even terrorism.

Combating terrorism is not only a national task,  it also involves action at local and regional level and it has to be supported and facilitated through international co-operation between governments and institutions.

For the Congress, the prevention of radicalisation is a priority. Local authorities are  closest to the citizens and they have to act accordingly.

The Congress has been working over the last two decades on the development of inclusive and resilient communities that can serve as a protective shield to prevent radicalisation at grassroots’ level.

In this context, we have recommendations on tackling terrorism, on promoting the integration and participation of people of immigrant origin and on intercultural and interfaith dialogue. We also have resolutions on urban crime prevention, the fight against racism and on education for democratic citizenship.

These texts help local and regional authorities to better address the complex subject of radicalisation.

As early as 2007 the Congress published its Twelve Principles of Interfaith Dialogue at Local Level.

The recent attacks in European cities have shown that a lot more has to be done, in particular in urban areas.

By its “Strategy to combat radicalisation at grassroots’ level” adopted on 2 February 2015 – immediately after the Paris attacks  -the Congress’ Bureau responded to the invitation of Council of Europe Secretary General Jagland to contribute to the package of measures in this field.

A series of activities has been proposed, to be carried out at local and regional level in the short, medium and long term.

This action rests on three pillars:

•             awareness raising,

•             synergies with other Council of Europe bodies

•             and partnerships with other European and international institutions.

During the work on these principles, some proposals have been formulated in a Resolution and a Recommendation for adoption during this  Congress Session.

In order to complement these recommendations, several debates and presentations during this plenary Session are looking at local responses to current human rights challenges - including a debate on “local and regional authorities facing migration flows” and an urgent debate on “responses to radicalisation in Europe’s cities and regions: fighting terrorism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and hate speech.” 

In addition, the Chamber of Local Authorities organised an urgent debate this morning on the way in which towns and cities can manage the immediate effects of terrorist attacks.

The Congress’ Session offers an excellent opportunity for exchange of experiences and good practices on successful local strategies..

The Congress has a set of tools to address these issues at grassroots’ level and it disposes of a vast network of local and regional implementation partners. 

Allow me now to introduce – in abbreviated form – the most important and practical components of the Congress’ strategy:

•             Similar to other sectors of the Council of Europe, the Congress will compile and up-date all relevant texts, legal instruments and guidance materials.

•             It will establish guidelines for local and regional authorities on preventing radicalisation and will create a pedagogical tool-kit, to help them organise intercultural and interfaith activities in their communities.

•             Training modules on human rights issues, tailor-made for the needs of local and regional elected representatives, will be designed. In this context, we will contribute in the long term, to the Human Rights at Local Level Forum which will be organised for the first time on 28-29 May in Graz, Austria.

In Norway - as in many other European countries - we have several municipalities and universities working together on human rights issues on local and regional levels. The Graz Human Rights Forum will shed more light on these initiatives and enable them to serve as a model for other European states.

•             Furthermore, a specific strategy concerning youth will be developed and concrete ways will be explored to involve young people systematically in the work of cities and regions to fight discrimination, exclusion and to promote dialogue, tolerance and freedom of expression.

•             In addition, the Congress will motivate Europe’s 200,000 local and regional authorities to foster intercultural and interfaith dialogue, for example through the framework of the European Local Democracy Week, which is an annual event, run by different member states of the Council of Europe and co-ordinated by the Congress.

Congress’ guidelines and support materials, Human Rights training sessions and activities will be instrumental in conceiving the new transversal Action Plan on “Building Inclusive Societies” of the Council of Europe.

In this context, the Congress avails itself also of its longstanding partnerships with grassroots’ youth organisations, in line with the priorities of the present Council of Europe Action Plan proposing the extension of the “No Hate Speech Campaign” for three more years.

In order to launch and to efficiently implement these proposals, we also need to talk about the financial side of our initiatives and programmes.

In its Recommendation to the governments of the Council of Europe member states, the Congress invites governments to allocate appropriate resources for the implementation, at local and regional level, of the Council of Europe Action Plan on combatting extremism and radicalisation. I think this is essential.

The Congress, in order to demonstrate its determination to actively contribute to the combat against terrorism at grassroots’ level, will draw up a roadmap for the implementation of its 2015-16 strategy, ensuring the allocation of sufficient financial and human resources.

Our strategy will be accompanied by the necessary evaluation tools including a pilot phase and assessment at the end of this year and an evaluation of the strategy’s implementation in 2016.

We are also prepared to mobilise extra-budgetary means in collaboration with possible partners to ensure complementarity at the European level.

 

I thank you for your attention!