On Dec. 14, 2012, the International Peace Institute and the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the United Nations co-hosted a panel discussion about combating violent extremism in New York. Speaking at the event, representatives from the UN’s Office of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) and CounterTerrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) discussed the key issues related to this challenge, including the role of civil society in these efforts.  The event, “Countering Violent Extremism: Prevention and Lessons Learned” video is available here.

Edward J. Flynn, senior human rights officer at CTED, called for expanding cooperation between the UN and civil society on counterterrorism efforts.  Praising the work of groups like Cordaid, he said:

“There are very credible, very hardworking civil society organizations at the grassroots level which want to have a voice in crafting comprehensive counterterrorism strategies precisely because of the impact not only of counterterrorism but of terrorism on their communities and because of their understanding of what is going in those communities.  So as long as their role and independence is respected from the outset, we have a very interested partner in civil society.” (25 minute mark on video)

Another UN representative discussed reducing the appeal of the terrorist narrative. “Young combatants are more likely to lay down their weapons if they are provided with the proper opportunities to survive in society,” said Anne Wu, special political adviser at CTITF. “So creating employment opportunities would be a potentially effective tool to prevent conflict and counter radicalization,” she said.

One program Wu mentioned during the discussion is a CTITF program in Somalia that empowers the Somali diaspora by training people hurt by violence to broadcast their stories via technology.  “The peace and hope expressed in victims’ messages are powerful themselves in counter narratives of the narratives of violent extremists,” she explained.

Naureen Chowdhury Fink, senior analyst at the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, opened the conversation by examining so-called “path to radicalization” theories. She said, “We don’t know exactly what prompts an individual to support violent extremist ideas, but we do know that the drivers of radicalization are complex and multifaceted.” There are both “push and pull factors” that drive extremism, according to Fink. Push factors include “inequality, lack of access to justice and civil rights, repressive regimes, unresolved conflicts, and marginalization.”  Pull factors include “the appeal of ideology, a charismatic leader, peer pressure, and appealing social networks.”