Protecting critical infrastructure and vulnerable targets against terrorist attacks

Vulnerable targets—an umbrella term for critical infrastructure and ‘soft targets’—are regularly subject to cyber and physical attacks by terrorists and violent extremists. These actors pose a clear threat to the security of infrastructure, places of worship, concert halls and other public spaces. Successful attacks in recent years provide real-world examples of the persistence of this threat and the urgency of mitigating its destructive impacts. Importantly, threats to the security of vulnerable targets come from malicious actors across the ideological spectrum, which makes addressing this challenge vital for every OSCE participating State.

Building on OSCE decisions, including the 2012 OSCE Consolidated Framework for the Fight Against Terrorism, and United Nations commitments, the OSCE participating States have focused for nearly two decades on addressing this threat in a human rights-compliant manner and signalled a clear role for the Organization in enhancing co-operation and building capacity at a national and regional level.

The Transnational Threats Department implements awareness-raising and capacity-building activities for the participating States to face this challenge, and promotes co-operation at all levels, including with the private sector. It provides a platform for exchanging good practices on terrorist attack preparedness and assists participating States in implementing relevant international commitments. These include OSCE Ministerial Council Decisions and United Nations General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on critical infrastructure protection, and on strengthening the resilience of ‘soft’ targets against terrorist attacks.