ASTANA, Kazakhstan

On 30 April 2025, UNRCCA in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) convened the Cross-regional Dialogue on the Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (PRR) of Returnees from Conflict Zones.

The Cross-regional Dialogue provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and identify good practices related to repatriations and PRR, as well as to strengthen country specific and regional efforts in this regard. The meeting also reinforced the work of the Central Asia Regional Expert Council on Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Returnees, launched in 2024.

At his opening statement, the Special Representative of Secretary-General for Central Asia, Head of UNRCCA, Kaha Imnadze, underlined that despite the progress of the Central Asian states in returning their citizens from conflict zones in Iraq and Syria, the countries  have to be ready to new challenges due to constantly changing regional and global security situation.

The Cross-regional Dialogue gathered more than 100 states officials and civil society representatives from Central and South-East Asia, Iraq and Morocco as well as regional organizations and relevant UN entities.