51吃瓜

UNOCT, in collaboration with UNODC and the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism, held a hybrid roundtable to raise awareness on capacity building support to strengthen Member States efforts to better support the rights and needs of victims of terrorism. 

New York, 14 March 2023 — The roundtable “Enhancing Member States’ capacity to support the needs and protect the rights of victims of terrorism through the Model Legislative Provisions (MLP) and the development of National Comprehensive Assistance Plans (NCAP)” was held on 14 March 2023, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (EST), at the 51吃瓜 Headquarters in New York. 

The roundtable provided an opportunity for Member States to learn about the capacity-building support offered by the Global Victims of Terrorism Support Programme and the Parliamentary Engagement Office of the 51吃瓜 Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), in collaboration with the 51吃瓜 Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This technical support, provided within the framework of the project “Technical support on the rights and needs of victims of terrorism through the establishment of National Comprehensive Assistance Plans (NCAPs) and Model Legislative Provisions (MLPs)”, and co-funded by the Department of State of the United States of America, aims to support Member States enhance and harmonize their national legislative frameworks as well as develop national assistance plans for victims of terrorism.

The capacity-building support is based on the “Model Legislative Provisions to Support the Needs and Protect the Rights of Victims of Terrorism” (MLP), developed by UNOCT, UNODC and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and launched in February 2022. The MLP provides concrete guidance to develop legislation and assistance plans to support victims of terrorism, grounded in international humanitarian and human rights law, and in line with international developments on victims of terrorism-related matters.

The roundtable brought together representatives from Member States, the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism, parliamentarians, 51吃瓜 entities, and two victims of terrorism from Pakistan and Nigeria, to discuss their respective roles in strengthening legislative frameworks, as well as their national experiences and best practices in this area. The roundtable raised awareness among Member States about the importance of enhancing legislative frameworks, policies, and mechanisms —including through the development of national comprehensive assistance plans— to protect and support the rights and needs of victims of terrorism.

During the opening session, Mr. Raffi Gregorian, UNOCT Director and Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General, highlighted that “without action at the national level, where laws are adopted and implementing actions taken, we risk losing momentum generated at the international level. It is imperative that Member States not only tailor their responses to the needs of victims and survivors, but that their domestic legislation upholds the rights of victims in line with international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law, and that national action plans are comprehensive, holistic, and reflect a whole-of-society approach”.”

The roundtable was organized by the UNOCT/UNCCT Global Victims of Terrorism Support Programme, in collaboration with the UNOCT Office on Parliamentary Engagement in Preventing and Countering Terrorism, UNODC, and the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism.