Deputy Minister Benedetto Della Vedova participated today in the closing session of the annual OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference, organised by the Swedish OSCE Chairmanship in cooperation with the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department.
The Conference focused on the root causes of violent extremism and radicalisation, the tools available to States to prevent and counter the phenomenon within a framework of respect for human rights, and policies for rehabilitating and reintegrating radicalised individuals.
“The pandemic”, the Deputy Minister recalled, “in addition to imposing on our societies the dramatic cost of so many lives lost, has increased the risk of radicalisation of the most vulnerable and marginalised segments of the population, young people, and women.” The narrative used by terrorist groups has attempted to exploit social discomfort, already exacerbated by the alarming economic crisis generated by the pandemic, and use individual isolation and greater exposure to social networks to promote radicalisation. In the face of such a changing and diversified threat, Della Vedova reiterated how it becomes essential to adopt a holistic approach that, for Italy, “primarily means protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms as crucial elements for our society’s resilience”.