2022 UN Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism
The United Nations Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism, convened under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, was held on 8 and 9 September 2022 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. It was organized by UNOCT/UNCCT's Victims of Terrorism Unit.
The Global Congress was also livestreamed to ensure virtual participation and allow for a diverse audience of stakeholders.
Background & Overview
The Global Congress provided a platform for victims of terrorism to directly share experiences, challenges, stories of their resilience, and contributions to wider society in a socially connected environment and to advocate for the strengthening and upholding of their rights and effective fulfilment of their needs. The Congress allowed the audience to learn about good practices undertaken by Member States and civil society organizations, while ensuring that victims’ voices were heard and that their experiences help shape the way forward in their own countries and across borders.
Programme
The opening of the Global Congress featured high-level participation, including by United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov, the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism, the Republic of Iraq and the Kingdom of Spain, and other senior United Nations and international community representatives.
Subsequent plenaries and parallel sessions featured speakers representing Member States, victims, victims’ associations, United Nations entities, civil society organizations, experts, academics, and the private sector. Due diligence was taken to ensure appropriate geographic, gender, and age representation.
The programme of the Global Congress consisted of six overarching themes reflecting the rights and needs ascribed to victims of terrorism. The themes emerged as the outcome of extensive consultations with victims, in particular, within the framework of the “Model Legislative Provisions to Uphold the Needs and Protect the Rights of Victims of Terrorism”[1], and were informed by lessons learnt through capacity development activities with victims, engagement with Member States, outcomes of handbooks and other toolkits, the General Assembly resolution on the “Enhancement of International Cooperation to Assist Victims of Terrorism” (A/RES/73/305), and the Secretary-General’s report on “Progress made by the United Nations system in supporting Member States in assisting victims of terrorism” (A/74/790). These themes are: recognition and remembrance measures; new and emerging threats linked to terrorism; protecting the rights of victims of terrorism; rehabilitation, assistance and support; addressing the rights and needs of victims of terrorism with specific needs; and access to justice for victims of terrorism.
DAY ONE
High-Level Opening
Session 1: Recognition and Remembrance Measures
The recognition of victims of terrorism as a unique body of individuals is the first step toward basic reparations, and for many, the first step towards healing and post-traumatic growth. Measures of recognition and remembrance symbolize a sense of public support from the State and society as a whole acknowledge the individual suffering of victims, and enable the provision of future rehabilitative and reparative services. This session explored how recognition can be given: from formal processes such as reparation and legal recognition to public commemorations and remembrance activities; and discussed the problems of lack of recognition that some victims face. It also highlighted best practices of Member States, civil society organizations, and others in supporting recognition and remembrance efforts around the world.
15:00 - 16:05 - Session 1: Plenary - Recognition and Remembrance Measures
Session 2: New and emerging threats linked to terrorism
The rights and needs of victims of terrorism and the challenges to protecting and supporting them are greatly affected by the broader context in which Member States, international organizations, and civil society organizations operate in. This horizon-scanning overview provided a situational analysis of that broader context of counter-terrorism efforts, important trends in the field, and the effects that these developments have on victims of terrorism. Subsequent parallel breakout sessions included focus on the ongoing challenges of conflict-related sexual violence and femicide as well as specific challenges that victims face in the aftermath of terrorism and violent extremism on the basis of xenophobia, racism and other forms of intolerance, or in the name of religion or belief.
Closing Session
DAY TWO
Session 3: Protecting the rights of victims of terrorism
Victims of terrorism and their families have rights related to remedy and reparation that are articulated in international human rights and humanitarian law, regional standards, and domestic legislation. As such, the General Assembly has emphasized Member States’ commitments to those rights, particularly in resolution 73/305. This session gave an overview on the status of the protection and promotion of the rights of victims of terrorism, progress made in recent years by Member States and the international community, and existing challenges.
10:00 - 10:50 - Session 3: Plenary - Protecting the rights of victims of terrorism
Session 4: Parallel Breakout Sessions - Protecting the rights of victims of terrorism
Victims of terrorism and their families have rights related to remedy and reparation that are articulated in international human rights and humanitarian law, regional standards, and domestic legislation. As such, the General Assembly has emphasized Member States’ commitments to those rights, particularly in resolution 73/305. This session gave an overview on the status of the protection and promotion of the rights of victims of terrorism, progress made in recent years by Member States and the international community, and existing challenges.
Session 5: Rehabilitation, assistance and support
Assistance and support refer to the provision of material, medical, psychological, and social assistance and rehabilitation, as well as related services, to victims of terrorism. The Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy details the need to provide capacity-building support to Member States to assist them in protecting and promoting the rights of victims of terrorism. This has been repeatedly reaffirmed in resolutions and reports, most recently in General Assembly resolution 73/305 on the “Enhancement of International Cooperation to Assist Victims of Terrorism” (A/RES/73/305). These sessions explored the multi- and inter-disciplinary measures required to secure a holistic treatment for victims from the immediate aftermath of an attack to the longer term. These sessions also discussed best practices in the development of national comprehensive assistance plans as called for in General Assembly resolution 73/305.
12:00 - 13:00 - Session 5: Plenary - Rehabilitation, Assistance and Support
12:00 - 13:00 - "Memories" film premiere and interactive discussion
Session 6: Addressing the rights and needs of victims of terrorism with specific needs
The importance of giving special attention and providing services and support to individuals and communities who have specific needs because of the nature of harm inflicted upon them is repeatedly affirmed by the international community. For victims of terrorism, it is essential that States ensure that victims who are particularly vulnerable, either through their personal characteristics or through the circumstances of the terrorist attack, can benefit from equitable measures tailored to their specific needs. Each of these groups requires tailored strategies for rehabilitation and protection, based on their wide range of legal, social, and psychological needs. Two parallel sessions explored some of the specific needs and types of assistance available to children and youth, and placed the spotlight on the needs of cross-border victims.
15:00 - 16:15 - Session 6: Parallel Breakout Session 6 A - Children and Youth victims of terrorism
15:00 - 16:15 - Session 6: Parallel Breakout Session 6 B - Cross-border victims of terrorism
Session 7: Access to justice for victims of terrorism
Access to justice concerns the specific rights of victims in criminal litigation, including appropriate assistance and support before, during, and after criminal proceedings, including the awareness of due process and charges; the right to be treated with fairness and respect for their dignity and privacy; and safety from intimidation and retaliation, in particular when serving as witnesses. Two parallel sessions highlighted the importance of a victim-centric approach to access to justice and the right to reparation (including compensation and restitution).
16:20 - 17:35 - Session 7: Parallel Breakout Session B - Reparation (compensation and restitution)
Closing Session
Memories Campaign
The Global Congress continued to showcase UNOCT’s United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) “Memories” campaign (virtual exhibition), which was launched during the “Victims and Survivors of Terrorism” session of the United Nations High-Level Conference on Human Rights, Civil Society and Counter-Terrorism, in Málaga, Spain, in May 2022. The campaign tells the stories of a series of objects possessed by the victims featured in the “Memories” film and photographic exhibition, and shares the memories and emotions that such objects represent to their owners. It is a simple but powerful way for audiences to relate to the victims, feel their loss, and to better understand the importance of remembering and paying tribute to victims of terrorism worldwide.
