Virtual Launch: International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism in Doha, Qatar

What?

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) will hold a soft virtual launch of the International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism, which will be established as a UNOCT Programme Office in Doha, the State of Qatar.

The opening sessions will be followed by remarks from the Heads of the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities, who will provide their respective perspectives, experiences and good practices on the integration of behavioural insights to prevent and counter terrorism. The launch event will also include a presentation by UNOCT on the Hub and its programme of work, in addition to two other programmatic presentations by Mr. Fahad Al Kuwari from Hamad Bin Khalifa University of the State of Qatar, and Mr. Paul Daniell, Executive Director of the Strategy and Capability in the New South Wales Government.

Who?

Opening Remarks

• Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of UNOCT

Guest of Honor

• H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the State of Qatar

Distinguished Speakers

• Major General Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al-Ansari, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Chairman of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee, Ministry of Interior, the State of Qatar
• Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• Ms. Ghada Fathi Waly, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
• H.E. Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
• Ms. Michèle Coninsx, Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director, Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate

Programmatic Presentations

• Mr. Muhammad Rafiuddin Shah, Chief of Policy, Knowledge Management and

Coordination Branch of UNOCT

• Mr. Fahad Al Kuwari, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, the State of Qatar
• Mr. Paul Daniell, Executive Director, Strategy and Capability, New South Wales Government Education Standards Authority & Lecturer, The University of Sydney, Australia

When?
Monday, 7 December 2020 from 9:00am to 10:30am, New York time; and 5:00pm to 6:30pm, Doha, Qatar time.

Where?
The event will be open to media and streamed live on UN WebTV (https://webtv.un.org).

Background
Insights from behavioural science contribute to gain a better understanding of the threat of terrorism and violent extremism, which requires evidence-based research and analysis of individual, contextual and structural factors affecting human motivations, actions, interactions and responses.

A behavioural insights approach enables the identification of risk and resilience factors and the development of empirically validated interventions for policymakers and practitioners to effectively prevent and counter violent extremism.

In this context, the ‘International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism’ has been established as a UNOCT Programme Office in Doha, Qatar, through a contribution agreement signed between UNOCT and the State of Qatar on 8 September 2020.

The Hub will perform three core functions:

• conduct and advance research in behavioural sciences to better understand the drivers and factors contributing to radicalization leading to violent extremism and terrorism;
• provide capacity-building assistance to Member States, regional organizations and civil society partners to develop and implement programmes, projects and initiatives that integrate behavioural insights to counter terrorism; and
• promote communication, outreach and partnerships to share knowledge, expertise, experiences and lessons learned on behaviourally informed counter-terrorism interventions.

The International Hub will leverage the expertise of local, regional and international counter- terrorism actors, and enhance programming cooperation and coordination with the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities operating in the field for impactful and “all-of-UN” programme delivery on behavioural insights to counter terrorism.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit website: https://bit.ly/OCT-BI
Contact : Ms. Laurence Gerard, gerardl@un.org