Violent extremism undermines international efforts to achieve peace, security and development and remains a significant concern across the globe, including in South Asia. In recent years, Maldives has been facing challenges related to radicalization to violent extremism, particularly, among its young people. The complexity of this phenomenon calls for a multi-faceted and comprehensive preventive approach. Understanding the underlying causes of radicalization is essential, as is prioritizing proactive measures focused on prevention, awareness-raising, and early warning and response mechanisms.
In this regard, the role of civil society actors in the prevention of violent extremism (PVE) is instrumental. The UN Secretary General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, adopted in 2016 by the General Assembly, underscores the need to engage and partner with civil society organizations (CSOs) and support community empowerment through a whole-of-society approach. The Plan of Action also emphasizes the need to develop comprehensive and inclusive strategies to safeguard communities from recruitment and the perils of violent extremism.
In this context, UNODC is cooperating with the Government of Maldives to support their PVE efforts through a whole-of-society approach as outlined by Maldives’ national action plan on PVE. Currently, this partnership is supported under the framework of the national “Project for Enhancement of Ability in Maritime Safety and Security” funded by the Government of Japan. The initiative aims to facilitate effective and long-term trust-based partnerships between government authorities, civil society organizations (CSOs), and local communities.
With this objective in mind, UNODC, in collaboration with the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of Maldives, organized a national workshop on promoting engagement of CSOs and community leaders in national PVE frameworks and enhancing community resilience to violent extremism in Male on 27-29 February 2024. The event was opened by the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Japan in Maldives, the Director of NCTC of Maldives, and UNODC’s Regional Representative for South Asia. In their opening remarks, the speakers emphasized the importance of adopting a multi-stakeholder approach and engaging with CSOs in efforts to prevent violent extremism. This perspective was reflected in the diverse participation in the workshop, which included 34 representatives from law enforcement and criminal justice authorities, relevant competent ministries, the Male city council, local councils, and CSOs. With a view to promote the adoption of holistic approaches, the workshop explored effective strategies to build and strengthen community resilience and safeguard at-risk individuals from recruitment by violent extremist groups. It also emphasized the importance of trust-building measures at the community-level through the promotion of dialogue and early warning mechanisms. Additionally, the participants engaged in roundtable discussions to elaborate the way forward and develop tailored solutions to more effectively engage CSOs and local communities in PVE policy-making and programming.
Civil society engagement and community-based strategies are key to effectively preventing violent extremism. The outcomes of this workshop will not only serve as a roadmap for national stakeholders and inform future UNODC counter-terrorism programming within the country, but also facilitate broader collective efforts on PVE strategies across South Asia.
This event was made possible thanks to the support of the Government of Japan.
