Bali, INDONESIA, June 6, 2023 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States are jointly hosting the 3rd ASEAN-U.S. Regional Workshop on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) in Bali, Indonesia from June 6 to 7, 2023. The workshop will build upon the outcomes of the 2nd ASEAN-U.S. Regional Workshop on PCVE and the 2nd Multisectoral Task Force and Partners Meetings for the Implementation of the Bali Work Plan (2019-2025) co-chaired by Indonesia and the United States in August 2022. The meeting will take stock of progress on jointly developed and approved non-binding recommendations.
Under the theme “Community Resilience to Prevent and Counter Radicalization and Violent Extremism in ASEAN,” the workshop gathers key regional stakeholders from government, private sector, and civil society to discuss current trends, priorities, and good practices; explore gender dimensions of conflict prevention and protection, national peace processes, and community-based conflict prevention; and revisit the increasingly influential role of technology in both exacerbating and mitigating radicalization and violent extremism. Participants will discuss ASEAN efforts to advance Women, Peace and Security, in addition to initial findings from the “Regional Assessment of the current state of Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) System to PCVE within the ASEAN Member States,” an assessment conducted in late 2022 and endorsed by the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC). The workshop will also showcase youth leaders’ recommendations and explore private sector partnerships to prevent and counter violent extremism.
In his opening remarks, Police Commissioner General Prof. Dr. H. Rycko Amelza Dahniel, M.Si., Head of Indonesia’s National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), reiterated the continuing commitment of the United States Government to work with Indonesia, in supporting PCVE efforts in the region. “This is the third time, SOMTC Indonesia (led by the Chief of Criminal Investigation Division of the Indonesian National Police) and the U.S. Government have co-hosted the ASEAN-U.S. Workshop on P/CVE. Both Workshops have assisted the overall objective of identifying possible approaches and good practices, in developing national strategies and policies, including the development of national action plans on PCVE.” General Rycko also highlighted that the workshop will address several important issues pertaining to PCVE, among others: lessons learned from global and regional trends; updates from the ASEAN Member States on CVE; youth and women perspective in strengthening community resilience to P/CVE; early warning and early response related to P/CVE; and also on the partnerships to respond to violent extremist propaganda and other online challenges.
Congratulating ASEAN for its progress to prevent and counter violent extremism through the implementation and monitoring of the Bali Work Plan, USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia Mission Director Dr. Steven G. Olive in his opening remarks reiterated the importance of the moment. “The United States government believes that we are in a pivotal moment where what we do to counter violent extremism today – at home and around the world – will fundamentally enhance our chances of peace tomorrow.” Mission Director Olive went on to explain lessons the United States has learned to most effectively prevent and counter violent extremism. “Increasingly, we see the critical importance of taking a holistic approach that involves civil society and the private sector, as well as an inclusive approach where women, youth, and other historically marginalized groups are meaningfully engaged in dialogue and decision-making roles.”
In line with the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-U.S. Strategic Partnership (2021-2025), this initiative helps advance shared peace and security priorities for the United States and ASEAN under the ASEAN Plan of Action to Prevent and Counter the Rise of Radicalization and Violent Extremism (2018-2025) through the Bali Work Plan (2019-2025). Under this work plan, ASEAN leadership has emphasized the importance of including a broad range of stakeholders, including women and youth, in regional dialogue and policy processes.
A set of non-binding recommendations will be issued after the workshop to continue progress and cooperation on priority areas. The workshop will be followed by the 3rd Multisectoral Task Force and ASEAN Partners Meetings to elaborate next steps on implementation of the Bali Work Plan.
Preventing and countering violent extremism and building sustainable peace in the region and beyond requires strong multilateral partnership between ASEAN, the U.S. government, and other Dialogue Partners and donors.
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For media inquiries, contact:
National Counter-Terrorism Agency of the Republic of Indonesia / BNPT – (direktoratrm.bnpt@gmail.com)
USAID/ASEAN Office – Samara Sanders (jakartausaidasean@usaid.gov)