Minsk hosts OSCE anti-terrorism conference

9 октября 2018

The key subjects of the conference held in Minsk are fight against terrorism and cyber security. Such specificity implies a wide range of participants and a wide range of issues discussed by them. And the main thing is how to seize the opportunities of the digital age and avoid its dangers.

Of course, the digital era opens up a huge potential without exception in all areas: from e-commerce to logistics, from designing complex systems to developing ecosystems in media communication. And in the conditions of a new digital reality, it is important to ensure the security of society, business and citizens. UN estimates are disappointing, the annual damage from cybercrime amounts to one and a half trillion dollars. Therefore, the fight against computer intruders is a matter of international scope

Vladimir Makei, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus: "Globalization has reached the point that no single country, even a large one - a major geopolitical player - can stand aside from any attacks or threats in the cyberspace sphere."

As for the war on terrorism, today the front is increasingly shifting to cybersphere. The Internet and social platforms open up new unlimited opportunities for criminal activity. So, according to the National Anti-Terrorism Committee of Russia, there are currently about 5,000 Internet sites in the world actively used by extremists. And the number of portals serving terrorists and their supporters is constantly growing.

Experts agree that the time has come to create a strategic coalition with the participation of governments, civil society, the private sector and multilateral organizations to respond to terrorism.

Andrea Victorin, Head of the European Union Office in Belarus: "The most important thing is to work together. The most important thing here is multilateralism. Believe me, no country will be able to stand alone against such threats. It is necessary to cooperate globally, and regionally, and at the national level. I welcome the initiative of Belarus to hold a similar conference in Minsk, to invite all interested parties, to share their best practices in order to fight together against the main threat of our time - terrorism."

Belarus, by virtue of its transit geographic location, is facing the entire spectrum of threats typical of European states. As Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said at the forum, in the course of several years almost 70 militants and accomplices of terrorist organizations were identified in the passenger and migration flows. In the context of the threat due to the participation of Belarusians in hostilities abroad five criminal cases were initiated.

Today the participants shared their experience and discussed the implementation of the OSCE regulatory framework for combating terrorism in the digital age. The results of the conference will be summed up tomorrow.