Inauguration of meeting of international experts on terrorism within framework of United Nations Counter-terrorism Committee Meeting

Jean-Paul Laborde, Executive Director of the Counter-terrorism Committee, also spoke at the event. Its conclusions will be brought before the High-Level Meeting that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Manuel García-Margallo, and the Minister for Home Affairs, Jorge Fernández Díaz, will chair on Tuesday at Pardo Palace.

In their speeches, the two State secretaries made it clear that the measures adopted by Spain to combat the Jihadi threat are in line with the recommendations of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178 on the fight against terrorism and violent radicalisation.

Specifically, the State Secretary for Security announced that, following the aforesaid resolution, the Counter-terrorism and Organised Crime Intelligence Centre (Spanish acronym: CITCO) has been set up, the Strategic National Plan to Combat Violent Radicalisation has been approved and the Programme to Prevent Radicalisation in Penitentiary Centres has been drawn up. "We have gone from closely monitoring 87 people in July 2104 to having 186 prisoners divided into three groups according to their potential degree of radicalisation", he said.

He also highlighted the signing of the State Pact to Fight International Terrorism, "which has led to a reform of the Criminal Code - the classification of new conduct comprising offences of terrorism - as established by Resolution 2178".

In terms of foreign terrorist fighters, the State Secretary for Security asserted that "we are concerned by their travel through our air space, we are alarmed by their use of routes operated by mafias that specialise in human trafficking and we are worried by the reverberations from the recent call made by DAESH to opt for travel by road". That is why he expressed the need to improve international coordination and exchange information "in order to make our borders more secure to comply with the mandate under Resolution 2178 on preventing the movement of terrorists". He also highlighted the importance of "effective international legal cooperation that allows these criminals to be tried and to explore virtual solutions. We are facing a terrorist threat that has shown it dominates the Internet, which has been the source of radicalisation of 80% of those arrested in Spain".

Government Priority

In turn, State Secretary Ignacio Ybáñez recalled in his speech that the fight against terrorism is one of Spain's priorities in its role as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and underlined that Spain's extensive experience in this fight goes to show that terrorism can be defeated, as Spain has defeated ETA, with full respect for human rights and the rule of law, with support from society and international collaboration.

The threats today from DAESH, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab require concerted action from the international community. Spain is an active member of the coalition against DAESH, which is helping Iraq, at a military level, and through task forces to combat financing, the recruitment of foreign terrorists, strategic communications and stabilisation.

The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs also stressed the importance of taking on board a global and comprehensive approach that includes, apart from the aspect of information, the fight against the funding of these groups, the perspective of the counter-narrative and humanitarian considerations.

Together with the government's fight against this phenomenon and that of the State law enforcement agencies, he also stressed the role that should be given to the victims of terrorism on moral grounds but also as an element to combat terrorism and radicalisation.

Finally, he also underlined the importance of preventive measures in this mission, mentioning the drive to set up the initiative of the Alliance of Civilisations together with Turkey, the Special Envoy to the UNSG, and the support for KAICIID together with Saudi Arabia, Austria and the Holy See. He also took the opportunity to refer to the conference organised last week in Barcelona on the area of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, together with the Union for the Mediterranean, the KAICIID, the Alliance of Civilisations, the Anna Lindh Foundation and the European Union.