First Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
PART II
Observations of recent years have recorded the fact that the Internet has become a tool for spreading radical ideology. Extremists use the virtual space to recruit new members, raise funds, plan and carry out terrorist activities. Therefore, it is vital to unite the efforts of states in countering terrorism on the Internet.
For these purposes, Shavkat Mirziyoyev initiated the creation of the Central Asian unified electronic network on cyberterrorism within the Program on Cybersecurity and New Technologies, adopted in 2020. It will contribute to the exchange of experience, data, research and best practices.
The Uzbek leader did not bypass the issues of rehabilitation and reintegration of persons returned from war zones. As we know, the countries of Central Asia were among the first to return their citizens from the war zones in the Middle East. In total, the states of the region repatriated more than 1.5 thousand people. In this regard, the issue of expanding cooperation between specialists from the countries of the region in solving emerging problems is of particular importance in the citizens’ rehabilitation and reintegration process.
In order to improve programs in this area, as well as to develop proposals for combating terrorist propaganda in the Central Asian countries, Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed to create a regional Expert Council under the auspices of the UNOCT.
The Council will become an important platform for the exchange of information and experience, the development of joint approaches and methods on the de-radicalization of repatriates, as well as effective measures to combat the propaganda of terrorism.
Today, in many parts of the world, we observe an increase in inter-confessional and inter-ethnic contradictions and hatred. This leads to a rift in society and sometimes to clashes and conflicts on the national and religious grounds. Taking it into the account, the President of Uzbekistan paid special attention to promoting the ideas and principles of tolerance, interreligious and intercultural dialogue with the participation of all sectors of society, initiating a high-level conference “Enlightenment and Religious Tolerance” in Uzbekistan in 2023.
As we know, on December 12, 2018, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a special resolution “Education and Religious Tolerance”, initiated by Uzbekistan. The conference will become a practical embodiment of the resolution’s implementation, will allow representatives of government agencies, international organizations and civil society to identify promising areas for cooperation in solving topical problems. The platform will provide an opportunity to develop common approaches and effective measures to prevent radicalization processes in society, ensure prosperity and stability.
Of course, the most important condition for successful countering extremism and terrorism is an effective youth policy. Its relevance in the fight against terrorism is due to the replenishment of the ranks of radical organizations mainly at the expense of representatives of the younger generation, who are most susceptible to ideological influence.
With this in mind, the President of Uzbekistan proposed to convene in 2023 in Samarkand Youth Council of the Central and South Asia. It is intended to be an effective platform for the exchange of experience in creating favorable conditions for the self-realization of the younger generation and for developing its permanent immunity to the ideas of extremism and terrorism.
Speeches of the heads of international and regional organizations also attracted the special attention of the conference participants. In particular, UN Secretary General António Guterres stressed that the Tashkent conference demonstrates the political will of the Central Asian states to work together to prevent and combat the threat of terrorism. He highly appreciated the efforts of the countries of the region that adopted the JPoA on the implementation of the Global Strategy in Central Asia and gradually implemented it in close cooperation with the UN. According to him, the document was a vital tool for providing technical assistance in four pillars of the GCTS.
Speaking at the conference, UN Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov said that the regional countries have assumed “great responsibility in preventing the spread of terrorist threats to neighboring countries”. According to Vladimir Voronkov, the Joint Action Plan is a mechanism through which it is possible to strengthen the complex multilateral cooperation in the region, which is necessary in such circumstances.
Addressing the participants of the event, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Ghada Wali, highly appreciated Central Asian countries’ commitment to strengthen regional stability through response to challenges related to drugs, crime and terrorism.
She emphasized that joint efforts in the fight against terrorism are vital, as terrorism is a complex issue requiring comprehensive responses that focus primarily on engaging communities and youth, building social cohesion, and preventing radicalization leading to violent extremism.
An important outcome of the conference was the adoption by the heads of the foreign ministries of the region of an updated Joint Action Plan, developed on the basis of multilateral consultations and consensus. It defines strategic directions, as well as specific tasks, the fulfillment of which will make it possible to effectively counter the threats of international terrorism in the Central Asian space.
Regional countries have recognized the JPoA as a comprehensive, coherent and operational framework for joint efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism. Based on the JPoA implementation experience, the updated document took into account new threats and challenges, such as preventing the use of ICT for terrorist purposes, repatriation and reintegration of citizens returned from combat zones, etc.
In turn, the Tashkent Declaration adopted during the forum by the heads of the foreign ministries of the Central Asian countries confirmed the commitment of the regional states to cooperation within the framework of the new JPoA, the common desire to continue strengthening the regional dialogue, to take collective and individual measures to prevent and counter terrorism in Central Asia.
According to commentators, the Tashkent Declaration has become an integral part of the systemic and consistent measures of the Central Asian states to further develop cooperation in the field of combating terrorism, adopted following the high-level conferences in Ashgabat – the Ashgabat Final Declaration and JPoA on the implementation of the UN GCTS (2011) and Ashgabat Declaration on Countering Terrorism (2017), in Samarkand – the Samarkand Declaration on Increasing the Role of Youth in Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization Leading to Terrorism (2018) and Dushanbe – the Dushanbe Declaration following the results of the international conference “International and regional cooperation against terrorism and its sources of financing, including drug trafficking and organized crime” (2019).
An indicative outcome of the event was the unanimous opinion of the expert community, which recognized that the high-level international conference in Tashkent testified to the unity and cohesion of the Central Asian countries in countering common challenges and threats to security, the resolute disposition of the regional states to closely cooperate in the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism on the basis of a common strategic approach in order to ensure common and indivisible security.
The Tashkent platform provided an opportunity to agree on common principles and approaches to combating terrorism, taking into account the changing international socio-political and socio-economic environment. In the future, this will make it possible to coordinate efforts to combat new challenges and threats, as well as maintain high dynamics of interaction on key issues in the fight against terrorism and strengthen regional cooperation.
Finally, the Tashkent conference contributed in increasing the confidence of the international community to the Central Asian states as responsible actors of international relations, ready to bear joint responsibility for the sustainable development of the Central Asian region. It is an important condition for the further development of comprehensive cooperation between the Central Asian countries and international structures, which are key links in the fight against extremism and terrorism.
In general, the Tashkent Conference has become an important stage in uniting world community’s efforts in countering terrorism as one of the most serious threats to peace and security, raising the interaction of Central Asian countries with international and regional organizations in combating terrorism to a qualitatively new level.
It is a kind of indicator of the high level of constructive interaction between Uzbekistan and the international community represented by the United Nations. At the same time, the personal participation of high-ranking representatives of international and regional organizations, foreign states and leading experts in the capital of Uzbekistan turned the event into an important dialogue platform at the global level.
The success of the conference testifies on the absolute support of the international community for large-scale reforms carried out by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in various spheres of state and society, as well as the foreign policy of Tashkent, aimed primarily at turning Central Asia into a space of good neighborliness, stability, mutually beneficial cooperation, prosperity and sustainable development.
