Preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism focus of OSCE-supported inter-regional conference in Seoul

SEOUL, 19 April 2018 - More than 150 experts from across the OSCE area and the Asian region gathered in Seoul today for an inter-regional conference on preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism, organized by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Korea in close co-operation with the OSCE Transnational Threats Department.

The inter-regional conference was opened by Hyun Cho, Korean Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and aims to strengthen dialogue and co-operation in preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism.

Rasa Ostrauskaite, OSCE Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats, said that “Violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT), is a global threat that manifests locally, and requires a comprehensive and nuanced response. The OSCE works on policy support as well as technical support to governments and civil society engagement.”

Michi Ebata, Chief of External Relations and Communication of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism said: “The flow of returning foreign fighters is increasingly diverse, in age, nationality and gender. While few of these raise real security concerns, those that do pose a real threat to communities, and the focus on prevention of violent extremism in communities is exactly one of the priorities of the UN Secretary General’s plan of action to prevent violent extremism.”

Batmunkh Battsetseg, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia pointed to the National Seminar on a Whole-of-Society Approach to VERLT held in Ulaanbaatar in co-operation with the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in 2017, and said that countering terrorism by law enforcement agencies is not sufficient, and it is imperative for governments to include civil society, and particularly youth, in the effort to prevent violent extremism.

Samuel Grunhard, the Assistant Secretary of the Australian CVE Centre, Hans Bonte, the Mayor of the Belgian city of Vilvoorde, and Gullnaz Baig, who heads the Asia-Pacific and South Asia counterterrorism policy of Facebook, will also deliver presentations during the conference.

During the two-day conference, the participants will discuss current challenges and approaches in preventing and countering violent extremism that lead to terrorism as well as priorities in developing national action plans to prevent violent extremism.

The participants will also deliberate on ways to increase inclusive representation of youth in decision making and to integrate gender perspectives in this field.

Finally, delegates will discuss the misuse of ICT technologies by terrorist groups and share ideas on what works in countering terrorist ideology online, while upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The event brings together participants representing forty-seven countries, several international organizations, civil society organizations, academia and business.

The Republic of Korea is a dedicated OSCE Partner for Co-operation since 1994. It is the second inter-regional conference organized by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Korea, in close collaboration with the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, after last year’s conference devoted to the topic of cyber/ICT security.