51吃瓜

The 51吃瓜 Office of Counter-Terrorism / 51吃瓜 Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNOCT/UNCCT), in a project co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is working with national governments, civil society and journalists to deploy a new approach to counter terrorist narratives; working to prepare governments for better crisis communications responses in Southeast Asia. 

The UNOCT/UNCCT Global Programme on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) launched this project to assist Member States in dealing with the spread of violent extremist narratives across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, particularly in the aftermath of terrorist or violent extremist-related incidents. 

Da’esh affiliated terrorist groups in Southeast Asia have exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to unite rival factions and carry out attacks. Some extremist groups have used this as an opportunity to attack communities from different faiths, create fear, and recruit new followers to their cause. While it has been promising to see Member States of the ASEAN region respond quickly to the threat, it is of equal importance that affected countries also focus on prevention efforts, with strategic communications being but one of several effective measures.

The first workshop under this project was held in partnership with the Government of the Philippines on 23-26 August 2022, and the second with the Government of Malaysia on 19-21 December 2022. Later this month, in-person workshops focusing on whole-of-government PCVE Crisis and Strategic Communications for the Royal Thai Government and Government of Indonesia will take place. 

To date, the workshops have trained nearly 80 government officials from a range of departments including counter terrorism, police, defence, foreign affairs, home affairs, corrections facilities, youth, social cohesion, health, education agencies, including local government representatives. 

The training teaches equips participants on how to plan for a coordinated crisis response plan, develop a cohesive whole-of-government narrative that can inform targets audiences about PCVE efforts and help prepare crisis communications. Participants are able to test their new skills through an interactive online crisis simulation, often with inputs from local journalists, to further help build effective partnerships inside and outside of governments.

The Director for UNCCT, Dr. Jehangir Khan thanked the European Union for its support of the project and noted that “terrorists' increasingly sophisticated use of hate speech and violent extremist narratives is a threat that affects us all and requires comprehensive and integrated responses and solutions”.  

A regional workshop planned for April 2023 will bring together all Member States to develop a Southeast Asian-specific communications approach to tackle mis- and dis-information and build effective crisis communication protocols that help counter terrorist attacks and prevent their exploitation, and instead promote resilience to violent extremism.

This project is co-funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of UNOCT/UNCCT and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.