ALMATY, Kazakhstan

On 28-30 September, UNRCCA in partnership with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) organized a regional forum on the role of civil society organizations in the implementation of national action plans on preventing and countering of violent extremism in Central Asia. The regional forum took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It gathered more than 40 participants representing civil society organizations, state institutions and academia from all five Central Asian states as well as international experts.        

The forum was organized under the EU-UN initiative “Strengthening Resilience Against Violent Extremism in Asia” (STRIVE Asia) and in accordance with the priority areas outlined in the updated Joint Plan of Action for the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia (JPoA). It was also conducted taking into consideration the recommendations of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the Security Council resolutions 1963(2010), 2129(2013), 2395(2017).   

Participants had an opportunity to discuss prospects and best practices to increase the engagement of civil society organizations in preventing and countering violent extremism in the context of implementation of national strategies and action plans. Moreover, the forum served as a platform to increase interaction and partnership between civil society and state institutions in this sensitive area, as well as to promote contacts among civil society organizations within the region. As a result of these discussions, a set of recommendations for government and non-government organizations was developed.