NU CO-HOSTING INT'L WORKSHOP ON COUNTER-TERRORISM

Jakarta, Nov 18 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Center for Global Counter-Terrorism Cooperation (CGCTC) are holding an international workshop on counter-terrorism on November 18-19 at the Sultan Hotel here.

Themed "Raising Awareness about the UN's Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy among Civil Societies in Southeast Asia," the workshop is being attended by 90 representatives of civil society organizations in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia.

The workshop participants would discuss and build on the rich contributions of civil societies to furthering human security in Southeast Asia and lay the foundations for the development of a civil society network related to issues in the UN's strategy, according to a media release issued by the event's roganizers.

Since the November 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in the United States, many countries had enacted and implemented anti-terrorism laws which, unfortunately, had had a negative impact on respect for human rights and practical standards of law enforcement.

In response to the condition, the United Nations General Assembly in September 2006 agreed to adopt a global strategy which emphasized the prevention of terrorist acts. The strategy contained suggestions to involve civil societies to help governments in promoting anti-terrorist activity among the people as well as to ensure that law enforcement against suspected terrorists was done in effective and just ways.

The UN strategy rests on four pillars which focus on measures to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, measures to prevent and combat terrorism, capacity building and ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law.

In 2008, with the support from Germany and Sweden, the Center for Global Counter-Terrorism Cooperation (CGCTC) undertook a project aimed at raising awareness about the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy among civil societies.

Among the project activities were a workshop in New York in July 2008 and another workshop in Cape Town South Africa, in June 2009. ***5***