Jakarta (Indonesia), 14 March 2023 – The third STRIVE Juvenile Indonesia Project Coordination Meeting was led by the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and co-chaired by the European Union and UNODC. High-level representatives from 12 ministries and 9 civil society organizations, working in the security, justice and child protection sectors, gathered in Jakarta to reiterate their commitment to protecting children from the dangers of terrorism and violent extremism and providing rehabilitation and reintegration assistance to children who exit these groups.
The Surabaya attacks of 2018 changed the perception of terrorism in Indonesia. For the first time, the extent to which children were being recruited, exploited and killed by terrorism became visible. UNODC and the Government of Indonesia have worked tirelessly together since then to ensure that children associated with terrorist and violent extremist groups can be freed from violence and access a better future.
STRIVE Juvenile Indonesia, funded by the EU, builds on this strong partnership to implement an ambitious programme of activities. Delegates to the Project Coordination Meeting unanimously adopted the STRIVE Juvenile Indonesia workplan for 2023, that is in line with national priorities, strategies, and frameworks, and confirmed once again the value and sustainability of STRIVE Juvenile in addressing this complex phenomenon.
Mr. M. Zaim A. Nasution, Director for Regional and Multilateral Cooperation of BNPT, remarked that “The success of STRIVE Juvenile in Indonesia would not have been possible without the strong sense of national ownership and close cooperation between national stakeholders to ensure efficient coordination and shared responsibility over the various activities.”
This year’s workplan pursues a twofold objective. The launch of an awareness-raising campaign targeting children, parents, youth and teachers is aimed at strengthening critical thinking and dialogue; and ultimately at effective prevention of violent extremism. Capacity building activities will support the decentralisation of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for children associated with these groups.
Her Excellency Tri Rismaharini, the Minister of Social Affairs, highlighted the reasons why decentralisation must be prioritized: “Communities need to learn to see these children as victims, to accept them, welcome them, and actively participate in preventing the involvement of children in violence, especially those perpetrated by terrorist groups. This entails working to ensure better assistance at the local level, enhancing the skills of professionals in the communities that are most directly affected by this phenomenon, so that the children can receive help without being separated from their families, friends and the realities that they know.”
15-17 March, Jakarta - the STRIVE Juvenile project launched a series of three Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops targeting social workers from four selected centres located in Jakarta and three other provinces based on mapping that was conducted with the Ministry of Social Affairs. Through this comprehensive training cycle, UNODC will support social workers in gaining specialized knowledge of how terrorism and violent extremism affect children and the most effective psychosocial assessment processes to support their rehabilitation and reintegration. Through capacity development and ongoing mentoring, UNODC will support national social workers so that they in turn can help children to make a new start and gain new hope.
