BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan

On March 16, UNRCCA, in partnership with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) held a coordination meeting with law enforcement agencies and other state institutions of Kyrgyzstan as well as non-governmental organizations and independent experts on possible technical assistance in the implementation of the “Programme of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic on Countering Extremism and Terrorism for 2023 – 2027”.

A draft action plan with the proposed areas of activities and the newly endorsed national programme on countering extremism and terrorism were distributed ahead of the meeting, which allowed participants to focus on concrete proposals covering capacity building for law enforcement structures, media, religious and civil society leaders as well as other groups, such as women and youth.

Particular attention was paid to the involvement of academia and local and international experts in analyzing the situation and preparing preventive measures. Several presentations focused on further improvement of the national legislation taking into consideration the country’s international commitments. Civil society representatives also drew attention to transparency and a whole-of-society approach in adopting and adjusting legislation.       

UNRCCA in its interventions underlined the importance of regional interaction and cooperation based on the Joint Plan of Action for the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism in Central Asia, an updated version of which was endorsed by all five Central Asian states in March 2022.