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.

Overview

Find out more about how UNODC assists Member States to strengthen and develop legislative frameworks, policies and strategies against terrorism and its financing. [Read more]

resources

Click here to access our latest publications, reports, research and other updates on our work on terrorism prevention. [Read more]

Monthly News Bulletin

UNODC/ROSEAP disseminates a monthly counter-terrorism news bulletin. All the news and articles therein are selected and compiled from publicly available sources and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of UNODC/ROSEAP. The Campaign Archive can be found here and you can sign up for our News Bulletin by clicking the below link:

relevant contacts

David Izadifar
Regional Programme Coordinator
Counter-Terrorism
(+66-2) 288-2799
david.izadifar@un.org
Niki Esse de Lang 
Research Officer
Counter-Terrorism 
(+66-2) 288-3006
delang@un.org
@nikiesse
Ekraj Sabur
Terrorism Prevention Officer
(+66-2) 288-2098
ekraj.sabur@un.org