UNICRI Center on Policies to Counter the Appeal of Terrorism
Mandate: United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy:
Section I, paragraph 6: “To pursue and reinforce development and social inclusion agendas at every level as goals in themselves, recognizing that success in this area, especially on youth unemployment, could reduce marginalization and the subsequent sense of victimization that propels extremism and the recruitment of terrorists.”
Status: UNICRI is in the process of establishing a “Center on Policies to Counter the Appeal of Terrorism” on detecting and preventing pathways into terrorism, early intervention efforts against terrorist recruitment as well as rehabilitation initiatives. The main objective of the Center will be to facilitate the exchange of information and experience among governments on their respective projects and programmes aimed at countering the appeal of terrorism and violent extremism.
The proposed Center will build on the work of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force’s now disbanded Working Group on "Addressing Radicalization and Extremism that lead to Terrorism." The Working Group, which was co-chaired by the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General (EOSG), the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), and the Monitoring Team of the Security Council’s 1267 Committee, has concluded the Task Force’s first phase of work on addressing radicalization with the submission of a report providing an initial mapping of different Member States’ non-coercive counter-radicalisation policies and programmes.
UNICRI’s “Center on Policies to Counter the Appeal of Terrorism” will launch the Task Force’s next phase of work in this area. The central objective of this phase will be to help Member States build a connective tissue among practitioners working in this area. As this will require direct and regular engagement with Member State and municipal capitals, the Task Force has decided that the Working Group format may not be the most practical way to move forward and has asked UNICRI to carry out future work in this area on its behalf.
Key planned projects for the initial three-year pilot-phase of the “Center on Policies to Counter the Appeal of Terrorism” include:
- A searchable web-based database containing information about different projects, programmes and policies pursued by governments to counter the appeal of terrorism.
- An annual analytical report based on non-reserved information provided by Member States. These reports will complement the database by highlighting key updates and determine broader trends in Member States’ efforts to counter the appeal of terrorism.
- A series of regional and inter-regional roundtables on countering the appeal of terrorism that will gather a select group of counter-terrorism practitioners and other relevant stakeholders acting at regional and at municipal level and facilitate the building of networks among them.
- An international conference at the end of the pilot phase to present to Member States with initial findings and achievements, to propose and discuss good practices and to highlight possible areas for international cooperation.
For more information on UNICRI’s funding proposal for the planned center, please contact lab@unicri.it
Documents:
Final Report of the Working Group on Addressing Radicalization and Extremism that lead to Terrorism