REMARKS OF H.E. MR. NASSIR ABDULAZIZ AL-NASSER
HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE UNITED NATIONS ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS
BEFORE THE
OSCE MEETING ON
BUILDING BRIDGES: PROMOTING DIALOGUE
TO PREVENT RADICALIZATION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM
MAY 21 – 22
Your Excellency Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, OSCE Secretary General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to address you today, here at the OSCE, member of UNAOC and a regional body that has historically played a critical role in setting the agenda on the Continent and beyond…a role that continues to the present day.
A call to action: strengthening international responses to radicalization that leads to terrorism is indeed a subject with great importance to the International Peace and Security. Therefore, our discussion today is timely.
To our agenda, I would also like to recall the relevance of Chapter VIII “8” of the UN Charter, on the cooperation between regional arrangements with the UN in maintaining International Peace and Security.
To that end, the international community and the UN would not be able to advance their agenda without the crucial cooperation of sub-regional arrangements and regional actors such as the OSCE. This is why I am doubly glad to be here among you.
As High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations, I commend the vital role of OSCE in achieving global gains we have made on a wide range of issues—from arms control to human rights or from freedom of expression and media issues to eminent threats resulting of the new and emerging threats to our Global Security.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
In September of 2014, the Security Council of the United Nations unanimously approved a historic resolution aimed at stopping the flow of foreign extremists to battlefields around the world.
Resolution 2178 requires Member States to take specific steps to prevent suspected foreign terrorist fighters from entering or transiting their territories and to implement legislation to prosecute such fighters.
It also calls on states to take various steps to improve international cooperation in this field, such as by sharing information on criminal investigations, interdictions and prosecutions.
The seriousness of the Council’s actions reflects the gravity of the situation on the ground. As an example, foreign terrorist fighters in the Syria and Iraq come from more than 80 countries, and this includes several OSCE Member States. As an example, last year we learned that more than 3000 are EU citizens.
The specter of these fighters returning home is certainly something that warrants reflection and action. But we must also ask ourselves why they might have left the relative comfort of their homes to travel to countries where violent conflict is ongoing.
Why would they join terrorist groups spurred by extremist ideologies — such as Da’esh and the Al-Nusra Front in Iraq and Syria, Boko Haram in Nigeria and Cameroon and Al-Shabab in Somalia and Kenya.
These groups continue to carry out brutal acts, wreak havoc, and cause untold suffering to civilians, including young children and women.
What level of personal alienation would prompt such actions?
And, what actions can the International Community execute to respond?
Indeed it is questions like this one that have driven the inception and growth of the organization I lead, the Alliance of Civilizations, in the nearly 10 years of its existence.
The UN Alliance of Civilizations’ foundational document, the High Level Group Report, mandates us to work on countering the factors that cause polarization, radicalization, and violence between and within communities, in particular those factors with religious or cultural motivations.
As you know, Pillar I of the Global Counter Terrorism strategy calls us to action around this point. Beyond Security Council Resolution 2178, there are other relevant resolutions, such as 1624 and 1963, which emphasize need for greater dialogue between cultures and civilizations, the importance of building confidence and respects and, the necessity to assume preventive policies.
It is in this context, that the UNAOC has engaged its constituencies and local communities around the world in four specific areas:
- First, young people: Our work strives to empower marginalized, at-risk young people in communities around the world and to mainstream youth voices into political processes through workshops, trainings, and small grants to fund local projects.
We do this because many young people who are politically active are frustrated with the few avenues available to them to create meaningful change, struggle with a persistent feeling of disempowerment and lack of equal opportunities. This is understandable. More troublingly, this feeling is precisely what allows extremist organizations to prey on them.
As an example, in the region that I come from, the Arab Region, 75% of our population is under the age of 30. Yet, if you were to look at the role young people have in decision making, you would notice their notable absence.
- Second, Education. UNAOC supports education for all, for all our young girls and boys, however, classic education only is not enough in the 21st century with all its complexities.
There is a dire need to include intercultural dialogue, the acceptance of the other and the principles of co-existence, in education curricula.
- Third, Media – here our focus has been to counter narratives that lead to incitement and hate speech. To achieve this, we engage in two types of activities:
- Organizing training workshops for journalists in collaboration with senior media professionals and conflict resolution experts.
- Providing a platform to voices of credible individuals who put out messages that counter hate speech and negative narratives.
Let me remind you that UNAOC’s mandate is to build bridges between nations, based on respect and confidence building.
Therefore, I believe in the constructive role the media can play and I encourage both ethical and legal awareness of relevant instruments and UN resolutions that require the observance of such norms when practicing the freedom of speech, not the freedom of insult.
Fourth, Religion and religious mediation – in this area of work, we have engaged leaders of different faiths to speak out in their communities and engage in intra-faith dialogue to confront the issue of extremism. Recently, we organized a high-level debate in the UN General Assembly on the role of religious leaders in fostering inclusiveness and reconciliation and countering the rise of violent extremism.
Here I must emphasize that whether Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, or any other faith, it is not religion that causes violence. It is individuals who choose to espouse violence, and sometimes, they wrongfully invoke their faith in doing so.
Based on our record of work in this area and our understanding of best practices from both our successes and our failures, I would like to close my remarks today with 6 recommendations:
First, every context is different and needs specific approaches.
This is why we like all stakeholders to be consulted before we start any work so that their views can be incorporated into the project design from the very beginning.
This is also how UNAOC emphasize the need to builds trust and credibility with local civil society actors. We believe in a human-centered approach that begins with deep listening and benefits from strong local partnerships in all our projects.
Second, we must address the absence of channels for youth participation in political, social and economic life. This absence is extremely harmful to efforts to foster social cohesion and makes people more receptive to extremist recruiters.
At the same time, we must redouble our efforts to support youth leaders and youth-led organizations that are working hard to help empower them and provide them the opportunities they deserve.
We must do this for the sake of building peaceful and inclusive societies. This is the SDG 16.
Third, it is important for us, in contexts such as this one to think in terms of intergenerational dialogue. Youth need to engage with adults, and vice-versa, not only with peers.
Fourth, religious leaders play a great role in shaping society’s attitudes toward others. They need to be engaged at a systematic level in youth-led projects.
Religious leaders are in best position to carry the messages we need to deliver, to their respective communities.
Fifth, we MUST engage girls and young women in all our activities.
Sixth, there must be a global awakening of responsible leaders to find urgent solutions for the protracted and prolonged conflicts around the world, in particular the Arab Israeli conflict.
These humanitarian despairs resulting from occupation, violence, refugees provide fertile soil for radicalization that leads to the spread of terrorism and more suffering, hate and enmity in the region.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have offered here my thoughts and reflections based on what we have learned, as an organization tasked with preventive mandate to defuse cultural and religious tensions that may lead to threats to International Peace and Security.
Over a number of years of working in this field. As High Representative, I can assure you that I am committed to ensuring that the UN Alliance of Civilizations will continue to refine its approaches in this area. In that regard, I invite each one of you to engage directly with me on these key issues so that we might explore forming new partnerships aimed at enhancing our work in this critical area.
I thank you.