18 September 2023
During the meeting of the 22nd Coordinating Committee Meeting, Co-Chairs, Egypt and the European Union, outlined the progress made towards the GCTF strategic priorities (2023-2025), in particular its action-oriented and dynamic approach.
The Coordinating Committee welcomed Kenya and Kuwait to the GCTF, in the Forum’s first-ever expansion. This expansion underlines a commitment to increasing multilateral cooperation by sharing expertise and strengthening regional counterterrorism efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
Framing the GCTF’s latest effort to support the role of local leadership and communities in the counterterrorism domain, the Coordinating Committee engaged local leaders at the frontline of the fight against terrorism from Iraq, Kenya and Morocco during its meeting. The local leaders shared their experience and sought support and solutions to face the challenges in their daily efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism and to rehabilitate and reintegrate former combatants and their families at the local level. They highlighted the strength of local leadership in addressing grievances, fostering resilience within communities, of gender-sensitive approaches, and the importance of focusing on – and giving a voice to – youth.
Two related operational documents developed by the Countering Violent Extremism Working Group, co-chaired by Australia and Indonesia, were launched. The two documents: GCTF National-Local Cooperation Toolkit and the GCTF Recommendation for Funding and Enabling Community-Level P/CVE | Arabic | French are important in promoting the work of local leaders in countering and preventing violent extremism.
