Law Enforcement Cooperation with Civil Society in preventing radicalization: Engaging Women and Protecting Children
16. 02. 2024
Law Enforcement Cooperation with Civil Society in preventing radicalization: Engaging Women and Protecting Children
“Societies, communities, and authorities should listen more responsively to youth”: This was repeatedly mentioned at a workshop organized by the European Union-funded projects LEICA and BOMCA in Almaty (Kazakhstan) on 14-16 February 2024. At the workshop “Law Enforcement Agencies Cooperation with Civil Society in the protection of Children and the Engagement of Women in Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)” participants also examined the gaps and opportunities of collaboration among civil society organizations and law enforcement agencies.
In the workshop participated some 35 Kazakh and Kyrgyz officials and experts from law enforcement agencies, ministries of justice, labour, and civil society organizations, including from academia and research centres from. Officials from international and regional organizations -UNODC, OSCE, GCERF- and experts from bilateral projects provided their experiences and shared lessons learned in the implementation of initiatives that promote the role of women in preventing radicalization and protect children from deviations into extremism and criminal activities.
This workshop followed a previous one organized in 2023 by LEICA and BOMCA on the same topic, for Tadjik, Turkmen, and Uzbek participants. Following the recommendations stemming from there, experts from North Africa and the Middle East were invited to this workshop and shared the programs and initiatives that are being implemented in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon. It was proposed to increased info sharing between Central Asia and the MENA region, and some suggested setting up an expert group to learn from each other in the empowering of women and the protection of children from radicalization.
Participants welcomed the presentation of Spanish expert, who informed about the national strategy against radicalization. It includes special programmes in schools attended by Muslim youngsters. Participants were interested in the curricula and books used in this regard.
Discussions also highlighted that further work still needs to be done in Central Asia to build trust between civil society -especially young people- and law enforcement agencies.
EU-funded project LEICA is managed by the EU Commission, through a consortium made by French CIVIPOL and Slovak ISEMI. The project is supported by Interpol.
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