Terrorism Prevention
The Challenge: In today's globalized society, no country is immune to terrorism and no country can effectively deal with terrorism alone. Southeast Asia has also been afflicted by the scourge of violence by terrorist and violent extremist groups. These threats intersect with ongoing conflicts and insurgencies, with some countries undergoing post-conflict transitional processes. Links between groups within the region pose heightened challenges as tactics, materials, and other forms of support can be easily exchanged. Terrorists are adept at exploiting countries with weak counter-terrorism capabilities, and even those countries which do not currently encounter terrorism threats, such as the countries in the Pacific should ensure adequate counter-terrorism preparedness. National action and international cooperation are key elements for addressing these issues effectively. The ability to successfully address the challenges depends heavily on the capacity of national criminal justice systems to administer fair and effective justice for perpetrators of terrorist crimes, and to undertake effective preventive measures in accordance with the rule of law.
Regional Responses: Regional leaders have made clear terrorism prevention policy pronouncements and have adopted the
ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism (2007),
ASEAN Comprehensive Plan of Action on Counter Terrorism (2017), the ASEAN
Plan of Action and
Workplan to Prevent and Counter the Rise of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism (2018-2025), and the Pacific Island Forum adopted the
Boe Declaration on Regional Security (2018).
Steady progress is being achieved regarding the ratification of international counter-terrorism (CT) instruments, with some countries having already ratified up to 13, and most countries have CT legislative provisions in place. However, many states need to undertake a review of their CT legislative provisions and adopt legislative modifications for establishing full compliance with the provisions of all 19 instruments, related UN Security Council resolutions and Financial Action Task Force Recommendations, as well as the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
Our Approach:
- Stay abreast of national and regional developments in the terrorism landscape to ensure tailored and evidence-based interventions are developed;
- Support the development and implementation of legislation, policies and strategies against terrorism and its financing in line with international standards and best practices;
- Build capacity of government agencies and non-governmental actors to respond to terrorism and terrorism financing cases in accordance with human rights principles and rule-of-law based standards;
- Support a whole-of-society approach to prevention of violent extremism and terrorism;
- Enhancing mechanisms for regional and international cooperation.
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