The Committee of Ministers has adopted a series of guidelines aimed at its 46 member states, in order to help public authorities and the public sector to strengthen their emergency responses in case of a terrorist attack.
Prepared by the Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CDCT), the guidelines provide practical advice on core aspects of national emergency responses, including co-operation and coordination between services, planning of joint actions and response plans, training of relevant staff, and communication with the public and the media.
The text also underlines the importance of victim identification, support to victims and family members, as well as protection of soft targets and critical infrastructure.
As terrorist attacks may take place within, or in the vicinity of, venues operated by the private sector, the guidelines also encourage involvement of representatives of this sector in the development of response plans, as well as building of capacities across the sector that would allow for adequate responses in such situations.
These guidelines were prepared in the framework of the Council of Europe Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2023-2027), as one of the actions aimed at protecting individuals and their rights from the harms caused by terrorism.
