UAE cabinet approves counter-terrorism centre

Abu Dhabi: An international training and research centre focused on countering violent extremism was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting yesterday (Sunday).

The Cabinet, presided over by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, passed a law setting up the International Centre for Excellence in Countering Violent Extremism, Hedaya (Arabic for ‘guidance’), in Abu Dhabi, WAM reported yesterday (Sunday).

Shaikh Mohammad stressed during the meeting that the UAE embraces moderation and tolerance, that extremism is unacceptable in religions, internationally and morally and that global cooperation is necessary for fighting this menace.

Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, launched the landmark anti-terror initiative on the sidelines of the Global Counter-terrorism Forum, in December.

”The UAE’s hosting of the Centre upholds its principle of tolerance, which stands on the opposite bank of violent extremism,” Shaikh Abdullah said, adding that the country was “ honoured to assume our role in coordinating international community efforts to get rid of threats posed by violent extremism through this centre”.

The centre, an international incubator of a pool of experts and specialists who will partner with their in-house peers to counter violent extremism, is a part of the New York-based Global Counterterrorism Forum, launched in 2011 at the foreign ministers level.

The UAE and the UK co-chair the Countering Violent Extremism Working Group of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, which aims to strengthen measures to counter all forms of violent extremism that pose a threat to members’ interests.

Shaikh Abdullah toured more than 20 capital cities to build partnerships with similar institutions striving to put an end to violent terrorism and to set a time-frame for programmes and initiatives they will carry in the first year of the nascent centre.

Speaking about the Centre’s terms of reference, Shaikh Abdullah said key areas of interest will include sports and cultural diplomacy, countering violent extremism through curricula, denunciation of radicalism in prisons and supporting terror victims.

The Centre, he added, will forge a series of partnerships with credible institutions to carry out its activities. These partnership will be held with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy Centre, Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation, Jump Sports Academies in Abu Dhabi, Mohammad Bin Nayef Counselling and Care Centre in Saudi Arabia, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Women without Borders.

Joint cooperation will also be made with key EU and UN agencies like the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.