UNHQ, New York 

On 12 February 2025, UNRCCA in partnership with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Government of Tajikistan co-organized a side event titled: Prevention of Violent Extremism through the Implementation of Tajikistan’s “National Strategy on Countering Extremism and Terrorism (2021-2025)”, at United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The event was organized as part of activities and events devoted to the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism.

In his opening remarks, Kaha Imnadze, SRSG for Central Asia and Head of UNRCCA, welcomed the willingness of Tajikistan to discuss lessons learned regarding the implementation of the current strategy, as well as the development of recommendations which could be useful not only for the country’s next strategy, but also for efforts of the other states in the region and beyond to counter extremism and terrorism.  

UNRCCA together with UNOCT, other UN entities, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) provided expertise to Tajik authorities in developing the second National Strategy and Action Plan on Countering Extremism and Terrorism five years ago. The country’s international commitments as well as UN and OSCE policy documents and recommendations were incorporated in this Strategy. Particular attention was paid to the role of civil society in preventive efforts.    

In April 2022, the Strategy was officilly presented at UN Headquarters in New York within the framework of the joint UNRCCA/UNOCT project “Towards the Implementation of the Joint Plan of Action for the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia” and under “Strengthening Resilience Against Violent Extremism in Asia (STRIVE Asia): A Joint EU-UN Initiative.”

The side event, which gathered relevant UN entities, member states as well as officials and civil society representatives from Tajikistan, provided an opportunity to share key achievements and lessons learned during the implementation phase of the Strategy, including through a whole-of-society approach. Based on this discussion, guidelines were outlined for the next National Strategy of Tajikistan on Countering Extremism and Terrorism.