27 June - 1 July 2005

Lessons learned from recent terrorist attacks Official texts 9/12/2004 - NATO HQ NATO-Russia Action plan on terrorism Background NATO-Russia Council NATO-Russia relations Key links George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies Some 150 participants gathered in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 27 June to 1 July, for a NATO-Russia Council (NRC) conference on "Lessons learned from recent terrorist attacks: Building national capabilities and institutions". The event was organised in the framework of the NRC Action Plan on Terrorism, which was developed in the wake of the terrorist attack on the school in Beslan, Russia, last September, and approved by NRC Foreign Ministers in December 2004. Experts from Russia, Spain, Turkey and the United States gave detailed accounts of the terrorist atrocities that have been perpetrated on their territories in recent years. They focused both on the challenges encountered by their national authorities while managing the consequences of the terrorist acts, and on how the lessons learned from that experience have since been integrated into policies and practice. All stressed the need to continue to share experience and work together to further solidify common defences against terrorism. Expert working groups then discussed in detail national policies and priorities in nine different areas: site security, medical response, civil enforcement and investigations, military roles and tasks, airspace control and monitoring, interagency and vertical coordination, building responsive legislation and institutions, the nature of terrorist organisations and operations, and hostage negotiation and rescue. The conference was jointly organised by the NATO International Secretariat, the US Mission to NATO, the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies and the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Under the NRC Action Plan on Terrorism, a wide range of activities are being taken forward in the areas of prevention, combating terrorist activities and consequence management. A Mid-Year Implementation Report of the Action Plan, reviewed by NRC ambassadors on 29 June, points to significant progress in cooperation in airspace management and against the threat posed by Afghan narcotics, as well as in relevant aspects of cooperation on defence reform, civil emergency planning and science.