Public Diplomacy Symposium:Meeting Emerging Security Challenges Vienna International Cenre (VIC)14 June, 2006 Peacebuilding: The way ahead: rule of law and counter-terrorism activities in post-conflict areas Dr. Lt.Gen. (ret) László BOTZ
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The topics we discuss during our symposium today have became very important these days because peace support - and within this efforts against terrorism, organized crime, corruption, illegal migration – can be considered as a helping hand to create a safe environment, to defend the values of liberty, democracy and rule of law. I would like to inform you about our approach and practice of that delicate question.
The activity of international terrorism has become global, but it is not a new phenomenon. There are quite a few countries – Germany, Spain, UK and Italy – where many lives have been lost because of terrorist activities during the second half of the last century. After September 11, we must evaluate our security in a very new way, because of new forms of international terrorism and because of the proliferation and use of weapons of mass destructions we have the task of finding new methods of response and how to manage it. We had to recognize that no country can do these efforts alone and that international cooperation is the key in handling the situation.
The International Community has recognized that it is not enough to use military force against these new challenges, after enforcing peace, creating a safe environment it is outmost important to help the given country to recover from war-thorn situation. The EU’s resolution of June 2001 in Göteborg, that in post conflict areas it is necessary to concentrate on assuring the public order, rule of law, protection of population and assist the normal activity of the government.
Hungary is participating the EU’s missions with police forces and providing training in and out of Hungary.I. On the basis of our Government’s resolution of September 2002 we are taking part in EU Police Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina to mentor and monitor the structure developing and law enforcement activity of the Bosnian police and border guard. In BiH there is a rather high level of corruption to handle, still exists the phenomenon of organized crime, that of the illegal migration and smuggling. The Bosnian local police and law enforcement agencies needed the international assistance to gain the necessary skills and professionalism to become effective enough and to regain the trust of the population. In such kind of missions it seems to be much more important to assist the local authorities instead of doing the job alone.II. In EUFOR ALTHEA mission Hungary is represented - from March 2005 - by an investigating team and – from August 2005 – by a police platoon, within the Integrated Police Unit, which has the task to assist the local law-enforcement elements to control certain situations, to chase war criminals, to monitor the security environment of the country.III. Hungary has had a representation in FYROM on the basis of Ohrid Agreement 2001. The President and the Prime Minister of Macedonia requested EU to conduct a police mission to assist the local authorities in handling the internal security situation. The mission was terminated in December 2005, today there are some EU personnel – in the framework of an advisory mission – to assist Macedonia’s integration to international institutions. The EUPOL PROXIMA mission has had similar tasks as that of EUPM, to establish rule of law, assistance in fighting organized crime, to help in restructuring the police and border guard forces;IV. On bilateral basis Hungary has taken part in police training missions of Iraqi police forces in Jordan and police leader’s training in Afghanistan. We offered our training abilities and facilities in Hungary to host Iraqi penitentiary officers for training in the very near future.
However at present the level of terrorist threat to the Hungarian Republic is considered low, our Government has instructed the Minister of the Interior to set up an inter-ministerial committee and also to prepare the National Action Plan Against Terrorism in order to attain full implementation of the tasks set by the EU Declaration on Combating Terrorism. The national system of coordination in terrorism matters has become a three-level structure: at the political level strategic decisions are made by the Cabinet on National Security, composed by the Minister of Defense, Minister of Interior, Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister leading the Prime Minister’s Office. At the intermediate – administrative – level an Inter-ministerial Anti-terror Task Force was formed, chaired by the Ministry of the Interior with the tasks to monitor the anti-terror policy of EU and to coordinate the legislative and institutional alignment with those policies. At the operative level the Anti-terror Coordination Committee was set up in 2003 to ensure that the work of law-enforcement services and national security services is coordinated.
As far as the EU recommendations are concerned
In 2004 within the Hungarian National Police the National Bureau of Investigation was established on the base of Organized Crime Directorate. NBI’s target sectors are the organized crime, counter-terrorism and extremism, economic and financial crime.
Department of Counter-terrorism and Extremism has duties as
We consider the information sharing as the most important element of internal and international cooperation. To facilitate information sharing in 2003 the Counter-terrorism Coordination Committee (CTCC) was formed with the representatives of Counter-terrorism and Extremism Department, the National Security Office, the National Security Service (technical), Information Office (civil intelligence), Military Intelligence Office, Military Security Office (military counter-intelligence), Border Guards, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, Organized Crime Coordination Center. This forum provides opportunity to review and discuss issues and proposals on their respective activities.
The Hungarian National Police joined the Police Working Group on Terrorism (PWGT) in April 2002, which body consists of senior representatives of European police services and its main objective is to enhance and promote the exchange information and criminal intelligence as well as operational cooperation, in order to prevent terrorist activities.
Contact with EUROPOL and INTERPOL is kept via liaison office and officer delegated by the International Law Enforcement Cooperation Center of the Hungarian National Police.
Many thanks for your kind attention!