DUSHANBE, March 29, 2011, Asia-Plus — The second in a series of counter-terrorism expert meetings at regional level opens in Dushanbe today.
According to UNDP Tajikistan, this two-day event is part of a joint initiative of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task-Force (CTITF) and the European Union working with the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA). The aim of this initiative is to assist Central Asian countries to strengthen their efforts to fight the threat of terrorism and enhance cooperation at a regional level. The initiative is funded by the European Union with a financial contribution by Norway.
The meeting participants are reviewing Pillar II of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy on “preventing and combating terrorism”. The expert meetings are expected to contribute to the elaboration of a joint Plan of Action on implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia, to be adopted at ministerial level meeting.
They are considering issues related to improvement of legal and international instruments of combating terrorism, enhancement of interaction between the law enforcement agencies in preventing and combating terrorism, preventing the financing of terrorism and use of Internet for terrorist goals, etc.
UNRCCA in cooperation with The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) and the European Union (EU) launched a new project to step up efforts to combat terrorism in Central Asia in September 2010.
The project consists of a series of expert meetings, the first one of which was held in Bratislava, Slovakia on December 15-16, 2010. The meeting in Bratislava focused on Pillars I and IV of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, namely measures to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and steps to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law as the fundamental basis of the fight against terrorism. The UN Strategy was adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly in 2006. The Bratislava meeting provided an opportunity for representatives of Central Asian states, neighboring countries, international and regional organizations, and counter-terrorism experts to build consensus on common approaches and solutions to enhance cooperation and international partnership against the terrorist threat. The objective of the project is to support the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to design a joint counter-terrorism Action Plan in line with the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
