The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office for Counter-Terrorism, Vladimir Voronkov, stressed that the UAE has provided a wonderful model for a society of tolerance for all countries, which must follow suit, as the UAE plays an effective role to deal with crises in the region, expressing the hope that the region will overcome these crises.
This came during the activities of the regional conference on "Empowering Youth and Promoting Tolerance: Practical Measures to Prevent Violent Extremism Leading to and Combating Terrorism", which was launched in Abu Dhabi yesterday, and organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in cooperation with the United Nations Office to Combat Terrorism and the Hidaya Center, to discuss initiatives Action plans to strengthen the capacity to counter extremism leading to terrorism, with a focus on youth empowerment and tolerance at the national and regional levels.
More than 300 representatives from member states of the League of Arab States, in addition to other countries from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, as well as civil society organizations, youth representatives, and parties concerned with religious affairs and inter-religious dialogue, participated in the conference, which ends today. Views and experiences from the Middle East and North Africa.
The Minister of State, Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, said that the holding of such conferences is a true embodiment of strengthening multilateral action to address cross-border security challenges and prevent the emergence of new crises, as well as it represents an important platform for strengthening consultations with countries of the region on their urgent regional issues. The UAE is to host this regional conference in cooperation with the United Nations, as it focuses on empowering youth and promoting tolerance in the Arab region, which is in dire need today to intensify efforts to counter extremism and terrorism.
He stressed that the UAE plays an active role to restore stability to the region, by addressing crises and supporting lasting political solutions, and aspires that the Arab region overcome these challenges, and move to a new stage in which security and prosperity prevail, pointing out that youth, with their unlimited energies and capabilities Distinguished by creativity and innovation, it is the ideal category to lead the region towards a brighter future.
He added that «the UAE has succeeded in embracing more than 200 nationalities living in peace and brotherhood, and all of them participated this year in launching initiatives to celebrate the year 2019 as a year of tolerance, and we are seeking through building the Ibrahimi family house, which will include a church, a mosque and a synagogue, and hosting the Louvre Museum, to encourage the celebration of diversity And to promote dialogue between religions and cultures, and the state, with its youth and all its members, will continue to work across all national, regional and international levels to fight extremism and violence and consolidate ancient human values.
For his part, Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office for Counter-Terrorism, in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and Hidaya Center in organizing this conference, said: “I hope this conference provides a platform to identify ways and opportunities to enhance cooperation between the member states of the League of Arab States, and to explore How can the United Nations further support youth empowerment and promote tolerance, as part of preventive efforts to combat terrorism?
He stressed the vital role of civil society organizations in building social cohesion and laying the foundations for preventing terrorist recruitment.
He said that the holding of the conference in Abu Dhabi is a strong indication of the serious work of Arab countries in confronting and eliminating terrorism, pointing out that civil society organizations have a role to play with the various parties to counter terrorism.
While the Executive Director of the Hidaya Center, Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, stressed that violent extremism is a global dilemma that requires a multilateral approach, and the development of a comprehensive and strong approach in combating violent extremism is the subject of this conference, necessitating the concerted efforts of civil society and local communities, empowering and integrating youth, and devoting values Tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
The conference included three sessions with general themes, a session on empowering youth to prevent and combat violent extremism that leads to terrorism, a session on promoting tolerance to prevent and combat violent extremism leading to terrorism, and a youth workshop on strengthening partnerships between governments, youth, the local community and religious actors to promote The values of tolerance and strengthening the ability to withstand terrorist propaganda.
Promote regional cooperation
The regional conference on “Empowering Youth and Promoting Tolerance: Practical Measures to Prevent Violent Extremism Leading to and Combating Terrorism” is the sixth in a series of regional conferences held around the high-level United Nations conference of heads of counter-terrorism agencies of member states, which was held for the first time in New York June 2018, at the invitation of the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, with the aim of strengthening international cooperation to combat the growing threat of terrorism.
The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office participates with Member States in different regions in organizing these conferences, which aim to strengthen regional anti-terrorist cooperation and prevent violent extremism leading to terrorism.
The conference discussed initiatives to strengthen the capacity to counter extremism that leads to terrorism.