DUSHANBE, Tajikistan

On 3rd and 4th of May in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia participated in the High Level International Conference " Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism.”

In Dushanbe, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), Vladimir Voronkov and SRSG Natalia Gherman met with President of the Republic of Tajikistan  H.E. Emomali Rahmon and Foreign Minister H.E. Sirojiddin Aslov. Meetings were also held with Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan H.E. Erlan Abdyldaev and Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan H.E. Abdulaziz Kamilov. 

The Conference provided a platform to promote common understanding of current challenges and obstacles in implementing the United Nations Global Counter Terrorism Strategy globally and in Central Asia; it also allowed participants to explore opportunities for strengthening partnership and cooperation at national, regional and international levels to prevent violent extremism and counter terrorism.

In her intervention, SRSG Gherman stressed that Central Asian countries are leading by example in the joint implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy at regional level. She added that the Joint Plan of Action for Central Asia adopted in 2011, stands out as the first of its kind around the world.

The Head of UNRCCA also acknowledged the strong commitment of the Central Asian States to jointly address and defeat terrorism and further strengthen regional cooperation and coordination in this field.

She referred to UNRCCA’s robust preventive mandate and urged countries in the region to further focus on addressing root causes and drivers of these phenomena.

The Dushanbe Declaration recognizes the efforts and expertise of the United Nations, and those of other international, regional and sub-regional organizations in tackling terrorism and violent extremism. It also emphasizes the need to prioritize preventive action and reaffirm the commitment to a comprehensive implementation of the four pillars of the United Nations Global Counter Terrorism Strategy at regional and national levels.

This event follows the recent launch of the third phase of the project “Towards the Implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia” jointly implemented by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) and the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA).