OSCE Programme Office in Astana supports Regional Conference on Countering Violent Extremism
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, 30 June 2015 – The two-day Central and South Asia Regional Conference on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) as a follow-on to the CVE Summit held in Washington D.C., in February 2015 concluded its work today in Astana, Kazakhstan. It adopted a set of recommendations and proposed a concrete steps to enhance national and regional efforts in advance of the CVE leaders’ summit to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September in New York.
The event was co-organized by the governments of Kazakhstan and the United States with support of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana for some 200 high-level government officials, representatives of the private sector and civil society from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Experts and officials from Germany, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Turkey and the United States of America shared their countries’ experience in conducting threat assessments, implementing countermeasures to violent extremism, engaging civil society and local communities in preventing radicalization and developing new forms and methods to combat terrorism and prevent the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes. Representatives of United Nations’ agencies, the European Union, the OSCE, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Co-operation Organization and the Organization of Islamic Co-operation stressed the need for a comprehensive strategy that identifies and develops a wide range of tools to prevent and effectively combat the spread of violent extremism.
The participants agreed on the urgency to strengthen national strategies that provide support for women and young people; encourage sharing information and research into causes of radicalization such as social exclusion or political marginalization; raise awareness of human rights, freedom of religion, conflict resolving and inter-ethnic dialogue. They also discussed the issue of producing counter-messages and positive narratives in response to violent extremist propaganda.
Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordination for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, presented the OSCE United in Countering Violent Extremism communication campaign launched in support of the CVE Summit. They focused on the Organization’s role in engaging youth, women, religious leaders and civil society members in preventing violent extremism.
The event is part of the OSCE’s multiyear efforts to counter violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism and to promote international co-operation in this endeavour.