51吃瓜

The 51吃瓜 Office of Counter-Terrorism / 51吃瓜 Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNOCT/UNCCT) and the National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) of Indonesia jointly hosted a Regional Conference on Enhancing Resilience to Violent Extremism among Migrant Workers in Southeast Asia in Jakarta on 4 - 5 October 2022.

The regional conference helped identify sources of resilience to reduce vulnerabilities to violent extremism faced by migrant workers in Southeast Asia. The conference also sought to support the implementation of the Work Plan of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plan of Action to Prevent and Counter the Rise of Radicalization and Violent Extremism (2019-2025). 

65 representatives drawn from government, civil society and international organizations, law enforcement agencies, and academics came together to understand the conditions conducive to the radicalization of migrant workers, exchange best practices and develop measures of resilience to prevent and counter violent extremism in Southeast Asia.

The Conference is part of a project funded by the Government of Australia and implemented by UNCCT’s Global Programme on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE).  The project was launched in response to concern over the radicalization of migrant workers, particularly women, in Southeast Asia between 2016 and 2018, following several foiled terrorist plots involving former migrant workers, terror attacks involving women suicide bombers, and media reports of poor working conditions of women domestic workers. The project is also based on priority area 1.2 of the ASEAN Bali workplan, which aims to create fair working conditions for migrant workers, especially women as means to prevent them from being radicalized.

The conference follows the completion of evidence-based research commissioned by UNCCT’s PCVE team on the nature and extent of the radicalization of migrant workers in Southeast Asia, and a two-day validation workshop with civil society organizations and practitioners working with migrants on the ground.

To showcase the findings of the research study, an executive summary of the soon-to-be-launched report on Radicalization and Migration in Southeast Asia was shared, highlighting the analysis of 92 radicalized migrant profiles to inform the implementation of the ASEAN Bali Work Plan to Prevent and Counter Violent Extremism. 

Emphasizing the importance of recognizing the role that civil society organisations play on the ground with migrant communities, Mr. Raffi Gregorian, Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General at UNOCT stated “We must remember that these organizations have made huge strides over the last two decades in securing better rights for migrants in Southeast Asia host and their views need to be heard.” 

Mr. Andhika Chrisnayudhanto, Deputy for International Cooperation of Indonesian Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), Indonesia stressed “It is important to note to while violent extremism and terrorism remain a threat to international security and regional peace, it nevertheless affects a tiny minority of migrants. We should not conflate discussions of radicalisation with migrants, nor should it be the reason for stigmatizing migrant communities. They should be deemed as “unsung heroes”, for their families as well as the economies of their destination and countries of origin. To this end, the regional conference has helped improve our knowledge of what works and what doesn’t to support resilience among migrant workers.”