Asaf Hajiyev

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The PABSEC’s Participation in the Third Counter-Terrorism Coordination Meeting of Parliamentary Assemblies and Parliamentary Policy Dialogue, Doha (Qatar), 30-31 January 2023

Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, participated in the Third Counter-Terrorism Coordination Meeting of Parliamentary Assemblies and Parliamentary Policy Dialogue, held on 30-31 January 2023, in Doha (Qatar).

The event was jointly organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Shura Council of the State of Qatar.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of the following parliamentary assemblies: Arab Parliament, Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, African Parliamentary Union, Andean Parliament, Asian Parliamentary Assembly, Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS), Latin American and Caribbean Parliament, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA), PABSEC, Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States (PUIC).

The opening speeches were made by Mr. Hassan bin Abdulla Al-Ghanim, Speaker of the Shura Council of the State of Qatar, Mr. Mauro Miedico, Deputy Director of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), and Mr. Reinhold Lopatka, Presidency of the Coordinating Mechanism Parliamentary Assemblies, Vice-President of the OSCE PA (Austria).

During the working sessions, the following topics were discussed: “Regional trends and implemented activities”, “Priorities and future efforts”, “Gender mainstreaming in counter-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism”. Representatives of the parliamentary assemblies discussed the regional trends and a program of measures to counter terrorism and to prevent extremism, and also identified priorities for joint initiatives in these areas.

In his speech, on 30 January, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, emphasized the topicality of the terrorism issue for the countries of the Black Sea region and noted that the presence of 7 conflicts in 13 Member States, negatively affects the development of the economic cooperation.

On 31 January 2023, the Parliamentary Policy Dialogue focused on Border Security and Cross Border Cooperation, in the Context of Counter-Terrorism. The following topics were discussed: “The threats to border security, emanating from terrorist organizations/groups and challenges in legal regulation decreasing the efficiency of border security”, “International framework and relevant regional practices on border security and cross-border cooperation”, “Border security strategies”. The participants noted the important role of legislators in countering the threat of terrorism and the need to join efforts and develop common approaches, to assess terrorist threats.

In his speech, on 31 January, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, noted the need to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of the adopted resolutions. He emphasized the importance of drawing a clear line in understanding terrorism and human rights and stressed that it is unacceptable to grant political asylum to terrorist organizations, making reference to the protection of human rights.

On the sidelines of these events, the PABSEC Secretary General met with Mr. Mauro Miedico, UNOCT Deputy Director and discussed organisation of a joint event in the second half of 2023. The PABSEC Secretary General also exchanged information and views with Mr. Pedro Roque, PAM President, who invited him to the PAM Plenary Session, in March, in Morocco. The PABSEC Secretary General met with the IPA CIS Secretary General, Mr.Dmitry Kobitsky and discussed aspects of the cooperation between the two assemblies. Mr. Kobitsky invited Mr. Hajiyev to the IPA CIS Plenary Session, in April 2023.