Meeting series “Call of Sahel”: Second meeting starts in Algiers

 
ALGIERS- The works of the 2^nd meeting of the series of meetings “The Call of the Sahel,” decided by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) during the 1^st Global Parliamentary Summit on Count-Terrorism (September 2021 in Vienna), kicked off on Sunday at “Abdelatif Rahal” International Convention Center.
The Speaker of the People’s National Assembly Brahim Boughali chaired the opening of the works of the meeting of Algiers, with the participation of members of a high-level consultative group on the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, in addition to parliamentarians, religious leaders, local officials of the Sahel region, representatives of the United Nations, members of regional parliamentary assemblies, victims of terrorism, representatives of the civil society, non-governmental organizations and a group of experts.
The Call of the Sahel is based on an action plan which provides for a series of five meetings on the environment, local populations, security, education and development. The meeting of Algiers, which lasts two days, comes after that of Kigali, held last year and which focused on the issue of the environment.
The works of the aforementioned meeting will be held in the form of five workshops which will discuss issues related to the role of stakeholders of local communities in the fight against terrorism and prevention from violent extremism, in addition to the strengthening of resilience to attempts of exposing women, children and young people in the Sahel region to radicalization.
 
The meeting’s works will result in a series of recommendations that will be submitted to the Global Summit concerning the global response to the Call of the Sahel and which will be organized by the end of the meetings scheduled for this purpose.
 
"Sahel Call": Participants adopt Algeria's comprehensive approach to counterterrorism
ALGIERS-Participants at the closing session of the second meeting of the “Sahel Call” affirmed the adoption of Algeria's comprehensive approach to the fight against terrorism as a pioneering model, calling for the need to distinguish between religion, violent extremism, and terrorism.
"Algeria has adopted, from the outset, a comprehensive approach to counter-terrorism in Africa, and has repeatedly stressed that the resolution of problems, especially in Africa, can only be done by Africa itself,” said the Speaker of the People's National Assembly (Lower House), Brahim Boughali at a press conference, held jointly with the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Duarte Pacheco.
Algeria was "one of the first countries to call, from the early stages of terrorism, to set aside the security approach which is insufficient to eradicate this scourge, and to integrate the economic, cultural and social aspects to address the real causes of religious extremism and terrorism.”
The underdevelopment, the vulnerability of the basic infrastructures, the deterioration of the cultural and educational level, and the lack of healthcare facilities further fuel the scourge of extremism and terrorism, which certainly have no nationality or borders, he stated.
“Hence the need for financial assistance to contribute to the development of the economies of the countries in the region so as to give hope to young people and prevent them from joining such networks, after having lost hope for a decent life in their own countries.”
Regarding the religious approach, Boughali stressed that "Algeria has experience in this area, through the Zaouia Tidjania which had the merit of spreading Islam in Nigeria," emphasizing the importance of "transposing the religious model based on moderation from the religious referent of Algeria which advocates moderation, coexistence, peace and stability in our countries.”
For the Lower House speaker, the fight against terrorism and the drying up of its sources can be achieved through the implementation of "a strategy oriented towards the effective mobilization to support security and achieve the goals of sustainable development (SDGs), especially, education and teaching.”
In this regard, he affirmed that "Algeria’s experience was a pioneering model in the fight against terrorism in that it is part of regional and international efforts to promote the development and coordination under the global counter-terrorism strategy of the United Nations and other regional mechanisms," recalling that Algeria is among "the founders of the global forum on counter-terrorism.”
Boughali stated that "the Sahel is a bastion to prevent the spread of insecurity and instability in other regions of the world," expressing the wish to see parliamentarians support the approach to prevention and resolution of crises, and eradication of factors that feed terrorism to give hope to young people in the Sahel to achieve development and a decent life.
 
"The Sahel Call" meeting: Participants urge inclusive action plan to counter violent extremism
 
ALGIERS-The second meeting of the "The Sahel Call" series of meetings closed Monday in Algiers with the release of a final communiqué calling for the development of a comprehensive action plan to combat violent extremism involving central and local institutions, religious institutions, media, and civil society.
In the final communiqué of the 2nd meeting on "The Sahel Call” themed "Involvement of Societies in the Prevention of Violent Extremism and Response to Terrorism", participants welcomed the valuable contribution of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune "through his leadership role within the African Union (AU) in the fight against terrorism and within the framework of the UN counter-terrorism strategy of 2006".
Emphasis was placed on the importance of developing a comprehensive action plan to combat violent extremism with the participation of central and local institutions and religious institutions, the media, and civil society, especially women and youth, to boost prevention efforts against this scourge.
"Parliaments encourage the request for technical assistance from the IPU and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to fill the gaps in their national legislation, particularly concerning the adaptation of provisions to the international legal framework in terms of counter-terrorism, but also to the latest resolutions of the UN Security Council,” said the final communiqué read by the member of the High-Level Advisory Group on Counter-Terrorism and Violent Extremism to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Moundir Bouden.
In this regard, participants welcomed "the contributions of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), through programs addressing well-defined vulnerabilities that make us vulnerable to terrorism and affect the effective response of criminal justice systems in these countries.”
The participants reiterated their commitment to take advantage of their positions of responsibility and representation to achieve many goals, including further dialogue within society and between societies to create a climate of trust, communication, coordination, and living together in peace.
They also underlined the need to "strengthen the capacity of society's leaders and civil society actors to prevent violent extremism and fight against terrorism, while boosting the role and coordination of ulama and preachers in the fight against extremist discourse and the dissemination of the values of peace and moderation.”