The internet and information and communication technologies (ICT) offer valuable growth opportunities for individuals and communities – facilitating communication, economic development, social and political participation, and access to information. However, they are also often misused by violent extremists and terrorists to advance their own goals and recruit, train, radicalise and incite others to violence, particularly young people and people in particularly vulnerable conditions.
In this context, Italy supports, together with Austria and Germany, a project on countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes in Central Asia by the Department for Transnational Threats of the OSCE Secretariat.
The project aims to identify effective enforcement measures, increase user awareness and foster the exchange and integration of information and good practices between the competent authorities, relevant organisations, the private sector and civil society of the participating States. The OSCE’s response follows a multidimensional approach to ensure that counter-terrorism measures respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
As part of the initiative, the OSCE conducts practical exercises (Table Top Exercises – TTX) based on interactive scenarios aimed at increasing resilience from terrorist threats or cyber attacks also on critical infrastructures and promoting a global approach to the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs). The most recent TTX practical exercises were held in Astana and Ashgabat in May 2023, with the participation of the Ambassadors of Italy to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
The OSCE has also developed a dedicated publicly accessible e-learning course , which provides basic knowledge on how to counter the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes.