Workshop on Countering Terrorist Threats against Vulnerable Targets in Indonesia
The 缅北禁地Global Program to Counter Terrorist Threats Against Vulnerable Targets, led by the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) and jointly implemented with the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the 缅北禁地Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), and in collaboration with INTERPOL, conducted its first workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia on 12-14 April 2023. The workshop launched Indonesia’s National Action Plan/“Roadmap” to protect vulnerable targets, including critical infrastructure and public places and aimed to strengthen relevant government capacities.
The event was opened by Indonesia’s National Counter-Terrorism Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Terorisme, BNPT). BNPT emphasized the importance of the partnership with UNOCT under the Global Programme on Vulnerable Targets protection, and the importance of the consultative process undertaken to develop the Roadmap. UNOCT and CTED stressed that the Roadmap, which they helped developed, remains a living document and looked forward to the participation of all relevant governmental entities in its implementation and updates.
Following the presentation of the roadmap, international experts from UNOCT, CTED, the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team for Da’esh, Al-Qaida and the Taliban, INTERPOL, and Enhancing Faith Institutions, among others addressed in dedicated training sessions key topics related to the protection of critical infrastructure and public places/soft targets protection, to further strengthen local capacities. These included the current terrorist landscape, risk assessments and listing of vulnerable targets, and strengthening public-private partnerships and mainstreaming human rights and gender considerations to effectively address the threats to vulnerable targets.
The workshop gathered 20 Indonesian officials from different ministries and entities, as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society. Indonesian and international experts led the different training sessions with UNOCT’s Regional Programme Coordination Officer for South-East Asia facilitated the organization of the event with local authorities and moderated sessions.
Since 2022, financial support provided by the United States State Department through its Counter-Terrorism Bureau has enabled UNOCT’s Global Programme to Counter Terrorist Threats Against Vulnerable Targets to support Indonesia in strengthening its legal, institutional and operation framework on vulnerable targets protection. Further capacity-building activities to contribute to the implementation of Indonesia’s Roadmap are being planned for 2023.