Parliamentarians Initiative
Parliamentarians play an essential role in developing domestic counter-terrorism legislation. Their participation in the field of counter-terrorism also increases the effectiveness of such policies, which benefit from enhanced accountability mechanisms, good governance, civic participation, resources, and adherence to international good practices as well as promoting resilience in society. Counter-terrorism policies are, therefore, an opportunity for strengthening rule of law and human rights. To address these challenges, in 2015, the IIJ launched the Parliamentarians Initiative, bringing together more than 250 parliamentarians from 31 countries and 11 regional inter-parliamentary fora from the Middle East, and North, East and West Africa.
During the first phase of the initiative, the IIJ led the development of the GCTF’s Valletta Recommendations Relating to Contributions by Parliamentarians in Developing an Effective Response to Terrorism under the auspices of the GCTF Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group and the leadership of the Governments of Switzerland and the United States. In successive phases of this important initiative, the IIJ partnered with parliamentarians and judicial practitioners, to produce two Practitioner Guides: the first, The Role of Parliamentarians in Developing an Effective Response to Terrorism to support and facilitate implementation of the Valletta Recommendations; and the second, The Role of Parliamentarians in Nexus with Criminal Justice Practitioners in Countering Terrorism: A Handbook for Parliamentarians and Criminal Justice Practitioners.
With support from the
Handbook: The Role of Parliamentarians in Nexus with Criminal Justice Practitioners
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:
- Key counter-terrorism policies which require, and benefit from, strong engagement by parliamentarians.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
