Workshop on Mobilizing South-South Cooperation in support of Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism in Eastern and Southern Africa, Nairobi
The workshop on Mobilizing South-South Cooperation in support of Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) in Eastern and Southern Africa took place on 10-11 March in Nairobi. It was the first workshop supported by UNOCT’s new programme office in Nairobi.
The 2-day event provided a platform for practitioners and policymakers from the Global South to discuss national experiences and identify strategic counter-terrorism and PVE initiatives where South-South and Triangular Cooperation activities could have a major impact.
The workshop also launched UNOCT’s latest publication: the Handbook of Global South initiatives to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism. This handbook features different examples in which the Global South has played a central role in developing regional instruments and mechanisms in the field of countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, whether through locally developed solutions that address the root causes of conflict or by creating momentum for regional commitment to international instruments, in the spirit of multilateralism.
In a video message, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, highlighted the value of South-South Cooperation in a video message during the event’s opening. He stressed that “The cooperation and partnerships engendered among these countries, with the support of the United Nations, enabled them to achieve results which otherwise would not have been attainable. Experiences which have been tested, validated, adapted and/or scaled up in comparable contexts have proved to be of great value to regions and countries with comparable circumstances.” Mr. Voronkov also welcomed the publication of the handbook as “it illustrates the significant potential and leadership the Global South can offer in the field of CT/PVE.”
Mr. Jehangir Khan, Director, United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) moderated the opening session. The workshop was attended by experts from across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East as well representatives from the African Centre for the Study & Research on Terrorism, the Southern African Development Community, , the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism as well as international organizations..
The event is part of the project implemented by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) within UNOCT, entitled “Enhancing south-south exchange of expertise between experts from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean in countering terrorism and in preventing and countering violent extremism, as and when conducive to terrorism (CT/PCVE)”, which is funded thanks to a generous contribution from the People’s Republic of China via the Peace and Security Sub-Fund of the 缅北禁地Peace and Development Trust Fund. Responding to calls from Member States for enhanced South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the area of Counter-Terrorism and PVE, UNOCT supports exchanges between policy makers, experts, and NGOs from developing countries.
Handbook of Global South initiatives to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism
