The UN Secretary-General has commended Central Asian nations on the adoption of Ashgabat Declaration on Countering Terrorism and for their continued efforts in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the Joint Plan of Action for in Central Asia
A “High-Level United Nations-Central Asian Dialogue on Implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia,” presided over by the UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres, took place in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, on June 13.
According to the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA), ministers and high level officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, accompanied by the heads of counterterrorism agencies structures and/or national security organs participated in the conference.
The objective of the meeting was to review progress on the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action for the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia and to define future strategic counter-terrorism priorities for the region.
The Central Asian ministers reportedly expressed their concern about the threat of terrorism and resolved to implement the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and recommendations of the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism by promoting dialogue and conflict prevention, addressing foreign terrorist fighters phenomenon, promoting skills development and employment facilitation, countering terrorist narrative and the misuse of information technologies.
Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan adopted a Joint Declaration on strengthening regional collaboration to counter-terrorism.
The Declaration welcomes the recent initiative of the Secretary-General to reform the United Nations counter-terrorism architecture by establishing a new Office of Counter-Terrorism and acknowledges the importance of United Nations counter-terrorism efforts in the region. It also recognizes the valuable support of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) Office and the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) , as well as the expertise and support provided by other international, regional and sub-regional organizations in implementing the Joint Plan of Action.
“Central Asian countries are leading by example in the joint implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy at the regional level,” commended Mr. Antonio Guterres adding that the Joint Plan of Action for Central Asia is the first of its kind around the world. The Secretary-General also noted, “policies that limit human rights only end up alienating religious and ethnic communities, who would normally have every interest in fighting extremism.”
The Secretary-General also expressed his appreciation to the Central Asian countries for their “commitment to jointly addressing and defeating the scourge of terrorism” and for further strengthening regional cooperation and coordination in this field. “No one country can defeat terrorism alone,” Mr. Antonio Guterres said. He also reiterated the readiness of the United Nations to continue supporting regional and national efforts of Central Asian countries in this regard. He added that his counter-terrorism architecture reform initiative to establish a new Office of Counter-Terrorism “will provide stronger leadership, enhance coordination and coherence across the system, strengthen capacity building support and mobilize political will and robust partnership to ensure a balanced implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.”
The High-Level Dialogue came at the conclusion of the second phase of the project, Towards the Implementation of the Joint Plan of Action for the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia, which is being jointly implemented by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) Office and the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA) with the support of the European Union (EU) and Norway.
The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy was adopted by the General Assembly by consensus in 2006. The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) Office was established to bring system-wide coordination and coherence to the United Nations’ counter-terrorism work. The Office coordinates a CTITF membership that extends to 36 UN entities and the World Custom Organization and INTERPOL. The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) provides capacity building support to Member States in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. It was established within the CTITF Office in 2011.
