Kazakhstan, the United Nations and the European Union Working Together to Prevent Violent Extremism in Prisons

18 June 2019, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan - Today Nur-Sultan hosts the 1st Programme Steering Committee meeting under the UN global initiative " Supporting the Management of Violent Extremist Prisoners and the Prevention of Radicalization to Violence in Prisons". The Committee will look back on the progress achieved and set future tasks for joint efforts of Kazakhstan, the UN and the EU in tackling violent extremism and radicalization at Kazakh prisons. Representatives of the government agencies, international organizations and civil society institutions participate in the meeting.

According to the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the number of terrorism and extremism related crimes increased by 100%, from 2013 to 2017. To date, there are over 500 violent extremist prisoners.

In December 2018, Kazakhstan recognizing the growing threat of extremism and terrorism, was one of the first countries to join the Global UN initiative "Supporting the Management of Violent Extremist Prisoners and the Prevention of Radicalization to Violence in Prisons" along with other beneficiary countries such as Tunisia and Uganda. The programme is implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the UN Counter-Terrorism Center and the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, with the financial support of the European Union((USD 4,7 Mio.)), the UN Office of Counter Terrorism (USD 3,0 Mio) and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (USD 1,4 Mio.).

The Programme Steering Committee was established in May 2019 to monitor the programme implementation, as a mechanism to coordinate programme activities, take decisions and develop follow-up actions. The meeting of the Programme Steering Committee is convened twice a year.

The first meeting has the following objectives: (i) to discuss and approve working procedures of the Steering Committee, (ii) present progress report on the joint programme implementation for the period from September 2018 to June 2019, and (iii) inform meeting participants on planned activities for the period July-December 2019. Decisions taken by the Steering Committee are collegial and mandatory.

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For more information,

please contact Ms. Madina Sarieva,

International Coordinator at UNODC Nur-Sultan

at + 7 776 475 7797 or madina.sarieva[at]un.org