Susanna Donatella Campione addresses the UNOCT conference in Doha, 26 June 2024DOHA, 26 June 2024 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Members Susanna Donatella Campione (Italy) and David Stögmüller (Austria) are in Doha this week for the Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians, organized by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).

Taking place from 26 to 27 June, the conference is exploring the role of women parliamentarians in the development, implementation, and oversight of counter-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism legislation, policies, and strategies. As Chair of the Presidency of the Counter-Terrorism Coordination Mechanism for Parliamentary Assemblies, the OSCE PA is actively contributing to discussions on the role of parliamentarians in counter-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism, including its gendered aspects.

Campione, who serves as a member of the Justice Committee of the Italian Senate and the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into Femicide in Italy, spoke today at the conference’s second session, addressing the key aspects for parliamentarians to consider in their legislative role as related to counter-terrorism and stressing the need for particular attention to gender discrimination and violence against women.

Noting that a growing number of women have been joining terrorist organizations, Campione drew connections between women’s human rights, gender-based inequality and discrimination, and women’s susceptibility to radicalization. “Sometimes joining a terrorist organization offers women an escape from repression, discrimination and violence,” she noted.

To counter this trend, she stressed the importance of strengthening co-operation and measures for the protection of women in armed conflicts and to ensure the effective prosecution of the people responsible for crimes against women. She pointed out that she has authored a supplementary item that deals with this subject to be considered next week at the OSCE PA’s Annual Session in Bucharest.

Stögmüller, who chairs the OSCE PA Network of Young Parliamentarians, focused his remarks on the work of the OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism (CCT), which, he said, with its very high participation of women parliamentarians, has consistently prioritized the unique impact of terrorism and violent extremism on women and children in its policy debates.

For example, Stögmüller referenced the 2019 Resolution on Foreign Terrorist Fighters as a significant policy document promoting the successful prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration of FTFs and their families, including women and children, in the OSCE area.

Stögmüller pointed out that another key focus of the CCT is supporting victims of terrorism, with an emphasis on promoting gender-sensitive and victim-centered support for all victims, including those affected by sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by terrorist groups.

Following their participation in the Doha conference, Campione and Stögmüller will travel to Bucharest to take part in the OSCE PA’s 31st Annual Session, taking place from 29 June to 3 July under the theme, “The Role of the OSCE in the Current Security Architecture: A Parliamentary Perspective.”