The Council of Europe Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CDCT) held its 13th meeting in Strasbourg on 13 – 14 November 2024 during which it concluded and initiated several important initiatives. Notably, the CDCT adopted the Explanatory Memorandum to the draft Protocol amending the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No. 196), thereby formally closing the expert negotiations on the new pan-European definition of terrorism which took place the last two years. The draft Amending Protocol is now expected to be examined and adopted by the Committee of Ministers formally creating conditions for its opening for signatures in 2025.
In the same vein, the CDCT also approved the Draft Guidelines on strategies for the prosecution of violent extremism conducive to terrorism that should serve practitioners in member States handling violent extremism cases. The draft Guidelines draw upon the wealth of experience of Council of Europe member and observer States in handling this phenomenon. The draft Guidelines will equally be examined by the Committee of Ministers beginning of 2025.
In parallel, the CDCT launched the work on the draft Guidelines on disengagement and reintegration programs for women with links to terrorism by agreeing on the proposed outline of the future text, as well as that on the draft Recommendation on prosecuting terrorist offences and serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the context of an armed conflict.
Next Plenary meeting of the CDCT is expected to take place in May 2025.
