The Role of Parliamentarians in Nexus with Criminal Justice Practitioners in Countering Terrorism: A Handbook for Parliamentarians and Criminal Justice Practitioners supports stakeholders in four key areas:
1. Key counter-terrorism policies which require, and benefit from, strong engagement by parliamentarians.
2. The role of parliamentarians in implementing international counter-terrorism good practices at the national level, which has direct bearing on the success and efficacy of international judicial cooperation.
3. The role of parliamentarians in providing oversight of security and intelligence services in counter-terrorism, including the work of parliamentary committees in preventing human rights violations in the context of intelligence activities.
4. The role of parliamentarians in responding to current counter-terrorism issues, such as engagement with civil society organisations, developing counter-narratives, and addressing the threats of returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Homegrown Terrorism.
The Handbook will serve as a useful reference for new members of parliaments to help normalise expectations and build consensus around the fundamental role parliamentarians play in building and overseeing counter-terrorism frameworks. It is intended to present means and ways parliamentarians can engage with counter-terrorism policies as part of their mandate and in their legislative and oversight roles, as well as their responsibilities to represent the interests and rights of their constituents. The Handbook will also serve as a useful tool for parliamentary staff, civil society organisations (CSOs), the media, judicial systems, other criminal justice practitioners and actors involved in the counter-terrorism field seeking to understand how to engage with parliamentarians on this topic in order to support their efforts in the formation and implementation of counter-terrorism strategies.
The Handbook refers to good practices and lessons learned about contributions of parliaments and parliamentarians to advancing counter-terrorism policies and provides recommendations to Parliamentarians for best fulfilling their role and meeting their responsibilities to deliver strengthened counter-terrorism policies and practices based on the rule of law.
The Handbook is available in Arabic, English and French.