Regional organizations central to global efforts in countering violent extremism, says OSCE Secretary General
NEW YORK CITY, 29 September 2015 - “Regional and sub-regional organizations have a key role to play in global efforts to counter violent extremism”, says OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier.
Zannier is taking part in the Leaders’ Summit on Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism hosted by President of the United States of America Barack Obama, on the margins of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The OSCE has been actively involved in the White House Summit Process on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), which was launched on 17-19 February 2015 in Washington D.C.
As a regional contribution to the CVE Summit Process, Serbia’s OSCE Chairmanship convened an OSCE-wide counter-terrorism expert conference on 30 June and 1 July 2015 in Vienna, Austria, which resulted in a list of recommendations for countering the incitement and recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters.
The OSCE Secretary General and the OSCE Serbian Chairmanship have also launched a campaign ‘United in Countering Violent Extremism’ to send a unified message from the OSCE to help reinforce a global consensus against violent extremism that the CVE Summit Process has been forging.
The campaigns aims to unite the voice of all parts of the OSCE and its 57 participating States, by showing that everyone must rise to the challenge of responding to the corrosive appeal of violent extremism by promoting tolerance, mutual respect, pluralism, inclusion, and cohesion.
Countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism following a multi-dimensional approach is a strategic focus area for OSCE counter-terrorism activities.