DUSHANBE, July 22, 2011, Asia-Plus – The Third two-day meeting of the project “Implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia” is concluding in Almaty, Kazakhstan today. According to the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), building and strengthening state capacities and promoting regional and sub-regional cooperation among counter-terrorism authorities are the focus of United Nations sponsored meeting in Almaty.
Experts from the Central Asian region and beyond are reviewing Pillar III of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy on “Measures to build States” capacity to prevent and combat terrorism and to strengthen the role of the United Nations system in this regard.”
The Almaty meeting is the last in a series of three counter-terrorism expert meetings at regional level. (The first meeting was held in Bratislava, Slovakia, on December 15-16, 2010; the second in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on March 29-30, 2011).
The series of meetings is a joint initiative of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task-Force (CTITF) and the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU) working with the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA). The initiative is funded by the European Union with financial contribution by Norway.
The aim is to assist Central Asian countries to strengthen their efforts to address the threat of terrorism and enhance cooperation at a regional level through the elaboration of a joint Plan of Action on implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia which is to be adopted at ministerial level meeting by the end of 2011.
There is growing concern about the possibility of intensifying activities of various extremist, terrorist and criminal groups operating in Central Asia, fuelled by instability in the wider region and porous borders. Furthermore, terrorism is at the core of multiple security threats that spread across borders: it feeds into criminal networks, stimulates illegal trafficking of all kinds and corrupts state structures.
The Central Asia initiative, which was launched in September 2010 in New York, shows how the participating states work together to implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which was adopted by consensus of the General Assembly in September 2006, and demonstrates a shared commitment from Central Asian countries, regional organizations, the UN system and the European Union towards enhanced coordination to address the threat of terrorism.
The European Union has been one of the strongest proponents of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Through this initiative, the EU intends to work with the Governments of Central Asia to prevent terrorism and to reinforce the security and stability of the region by means of the comprehensive implementation of the UN Strategy.
Speakers at the opening session include the Acting Head of the representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan in Almaty, Mr. Dudar Zhakenov, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) Mr. Miroslav Jenca, the EU Ambassador to Kazakhstan Mr. Norbert Jousten, and the UN Special Political Advisor of the Office of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, Ms. Anne Wu. Meeting participants also include representatives from Central Asian states, UN agencies, regional organizations such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure of the SCO, Central Asia Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC), representatives from neighboring countries, regional and international experts.
Among the issues discussed at the Almaty meeting are state capacities to prevent and combat terrorism; the role of regional organizations in addressing state capacity; strengthening the role of the UN system in building state capacity to prevent and combat terrorism; enhancing information sharing on counter-terrorism technical assistance and public awareness; and public-private partnerships to prevent and combat terrorism.
