ISTANBUL, Turkiye

On 22-23 June, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Central Asia (SRSG) and the Head of UNRCCA, Natalia Gherman, jointly with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) co-hosted the high–level forum on “The Role of Central Asian States’ Women Parliamentarians in the Implementation of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) National Action Plans”.

The Forum was carried out under the EU-UN Programme on Strengthening Resilience Against Violent Extremism in Asia (STRIVE Asia) and along the priority areas of the joint UNRCCA and UNOCT project “Towards a Comprehensive Implementation of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia – Phase IV”.

It was also organized within the framework of the Central Asia Women Leaders’ Caucus (WLC) launched in 2020 with the support of UNRCCA and UNDP, to boost political, economic and social participation of women in Central Asia.

The Forum brought together women parliamentarians – members of WLC, state officials, civil society organizations, experts as well as UN entities and regional organizations working in the field of prevention and countering of the violent extremism and terrorism.

Noting a remarkable level of co-operation between the Central Asian States in joint efforts to counter violent extremism and terrorism, SRSG Natalia Gherman stressed importance of the recently adopted new Joint Plan of Action for the Implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (JPoA) in mainstreaming gender perspective into PCVE policies across the region.

Highlighting the women’s critical role in all elements of PCVE, the SRSG called on the Women Peace and Security community in the region of Central Asia to champion these efforts, and to bring its expertise and decision-making abilities to this cause. In this context she underscored the role of women parliamentarians and civil society leaders in implementation of national strategies and plans related to PCVE.

The SRSG emphasized the role and leverage of the Women Leaders’ Caucus in enhancing regional co-operation in the field of PCVE and promotion of the whole-of-society approach to countering terrorism and violent extremism in Central Asia.

A dedicated session with participation of the representatives of the Women Leaders’ Caucus specifically discussed the role of the WLC in enhancing regional partnerships on participation of women in design and implementation of the PCVE policies.   

The Forum marked the increasing role of WLC in promoting all dimensions of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Central Asia, including PCVE.

The meeting concluded with a decision to initiate the drafting of a roadmap for women’s engagement in the implementation of PCVE components of the National Strategies and Action Plans of the Central Asian states.

The Forum contributed to consolidation of interparliamentary co-operation among the Central Asian States and in particular strengthened partnerships between regional women parliamentarians.