OSCE facilitates discussion in Tajikistan on draft national strategy to counter Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism

A two-day high-level roundtable discussion organized by the Office in Tajikistan on the draft national strategy to counter Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism (VERLT) concluded in Dushanbe on 11 December 2015.

Featuring international experts from the OSCE’s Transnational threats Department and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the meeting of fifteen members of the working group provided feedback on the recently-drafted national strategy document. The working group includes partners from the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the Committee of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Education.

“Preventing people from becoming violent extremists requires resolute and concerted efforts on many fronts in order to broadly address deep-seated social, economic, ideological and political factors that can make individuals resort to hatred and violent extremism,” said Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, Markus Mueller. “We must encourage dialogue, and prevent marginalization throughout society to help strengthen communities.”

He noted that the conditions conducive to terrorism can be effectively tackled through co-operative approaches based on equality, fairness and cohesive communities.

The draft national strategy to counter VERLT was prepared by the working group, convened and co-chaired by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the National Security Council for the Republic of Tajikistan, which includes members from twenty two government agencies, civil society and religious communities.

The OSCE Office in Tajikistan has been actively engaged in activities related to countering VERLT since 2010, establishing the first OSCE field programme specifically on the issue. The OSCE Office’s work promotes a multidimensional understanding of VERLT, bringing together state and non-state actors to formulate context-specific preventive actions in full respect of fundamental human rights. The project is supported by the German Embassy in Dushanbe and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.