On 29 September, the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact’ Working Group on Resource Mobilization, Monitoring and Evaluation convened a virtual briefing on “Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism in Asia Pacific – How the United Nations Multi-Year Appeal for Counter-Terrorism Facilitates Coordinated UN Action”.
The briefing showcased five inter-agency flagship initiatives with a focus on enhancing national and regional capacities for countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism in the Asia-Pacific region. The programmes were jointly presented by INTERPOL, IOM, UNDP, UNICRI, UNOCT, UNODC, the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology, the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Bangladesh and UN Women, demonstrating the value of joined-up United Nations system action.
Over 80 participants – including representatives from 25 Member States, law enforcement agencies, UN Resident Coordinator Offices and colleagues from across the UN system – were in attendance.
In his keynote address, H.E. Mr. Ariel R. Penaranda, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN in New York, highlighted his country’s long-standing and multi-faceted partnerships with the United Nations system, which led to notable results such as the Philippines becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to adopt a multi-dimensional National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (NAP-PCVE) with support from UNDP. Looking ahead, Mr. Penaranda noted that the Philippines would rely on the UN system’s collective support for pursuing a human security approach that paid attention to the needs of each citizen with leaving no-one behind.
Ms. Elizabeth Joyce (CTED), presented key findings on challenges and priority recommendations across the region, noting that the projects in the MYA “aim to deliver targeted capacity-building focused on a range of legal, institutional, and operational efforts to address gaps in implementation identified by CTED.”
Ms. Jerena Niyazberdiyeva (UNOCT), Chair of the Working Group on Resource Mobilization, Monitoring and Evaluation, who moderated the event, highlighted the prominent role in multilateral action played by the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact “through which we leverage comparative advantages, share knowledge and expertise, build synergies, and strengthen partnerships, to deliver results-oriented technical assistance to Member States”.
Mr. Masood Karimipour (UNODC), Co-Chair of the Resource Mobilization, Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group, concluded “It is important that we continue this precedent of presenting comprehensive, integrated, and whole-of-society strategic and operational approaches designed to respond to complex and emerging threats, which are products of inter-agency collaboration – like we have done today.”
The five inter-agency initiatives presented in the briefing comprised the Global Counter-Terrorism Programme on Cybersecurity and New Technologies (co-presented by UNOCT and UNICRI), the UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme (UNOCT and OICT), the One UN comprehensive technical support to address online and offline challenges of and vulnerabilities to Violent Extremism in Bangladesh (UNDP and UN RC Office Bangladesh), Tackling the threat of violent extremism and its impact on human securities in West Nusa Tenggara and Central Sulawesi, Indonesia (UNDP, UNODC and UN Women), and Strengthening Border Management to Address Counter Terrorism: Document Examination Support Center (DESC) Phase V (IOM and INTERPOL).
All five initiatives are part of the United Nations Multi-Year Appeal (MYA) for Counter-Terrorism, a unique funding tool that coordinates the United Nations’ resource mobilization and outreach efforts for agile and concerted multilateral counter-terrorism responses across the globe.
All 52 MYA projects have been assessed and screened to ensure they (i) respond to technical needs and recommendations from CTED and the Counter Terrorism Committee; (ii) apply a rigorous human-rights focus; and (iii) advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
Member States are encouraged to rally behind the Untied Nations Multi-Year Appeal for Counter-Terrorism and explore the user-friendly online dashboard where all 52 projects are readily accessible with the option of downloading its summaries.