ORIENT Interview: UN supports Central Asian efforts on Afghanistan
The Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism organized a regional conference on the Counter-Terrorism Early Warning Network for Central Asia. The event took place on October 9–13 in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
More than 70 representatives of government agencies and civil society organizations from all five Central Asian states, regional organizations, as well as independent experts and employees of various UN agencies and structures took part in the discussion.
The discussions helped identify common transnational and national threats in Central Asia that will require concerted efforts and cooperation in data collection, analysis and monitoring through the Early Warning Network.
After the conference, a training course on modern methods of threat and risk assessment was held. Participants gained experience in identifying and prioritizing critical threats, their causes and consequences, and developing adequate response policies.
Armands Pupols, Human Rights and Political Affairs Advisor at the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, spoke about this event in an interview.
- Please formulate the key topics and goals of this conference.
– The purpose of the meeting is to improve the exchange of information between the countries of Central Asia on the fight against terrorism and extremism, with risks that may arise or are arising in the context of the development of the situation in Afghanistan, and also to improve interaction between the states of the region in terms of preventive measures.
The event consisted of three main components. The first component is an analysis of the situation, primarily the latest developments in the fight against terrorism and extremism and the situation in Afghanistan. The second component is a discussion of the modus operandi (line of action - editor's note) of the Early Warning Network, which is being created between the five countries of Central Asia. And the third component is training on analyzing the situation, identifying indicators, developing methodology and preventive measures.
– This is not the first meeting of this kind, tell us what preceded the current meeting?
– Absolutely right – this is already the third event in this direction. The first took place in June 2022 in Istanbul, where the initial intentions to create such a Network were announced. Then representatives of five countries expressed support for the initiative, and experts made their assessment regarding the fight against extremism and terrorism, threats that may be associated with the development of the situation in Afghanistan.
Then we had consultations at the national level, they took place in July of this year, where proposals for the Early Warning Network were discussed in more detail.
The current event is, to a certain extent, a final event, during which the recommendations and conclusions of previous meetings were summarized. On their basis, a regional discussion of the Early Warning Network took place for the further development of its structure, work plan, etc. Among other things, the task was to determine, using specific examples, which indicators to use, the degree of their importance, etc.
– The program of this conference was intense. Have you, as its organizers, achieved your goals?
– I think that these goals have been achieved - now we have basic recommendations developed at the forum, on the basis of which the Early Warning Network will work. I would also like to note that the training part of our conference was interesting: the activity of the participants was high, examples of methodology that can be used in working with the Early Warning Network were given.
– What are the next steps?
– As for further actions, after preparing the draft of this Network, we will send it to representatives of the Central Asian countries for final confirmation. When the project is approved, we will launch the Network.
– What other areas are present in the work of the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy, headquarters of which is located in Ashgabat?
– I would like to dwell on one important point here. The mandate of the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia includes a clause related to the analysis of the situation related to Afghanistan and our joint work with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Our mandate also states that we must work to prevent transnational threats, and one of them is terrorism and extremism. The event in Tbilisi corresponds to these two points of the UNRCCA mandate
Of course, we also have other priority areas, such as climate change issues and water use issues, which do not lose their relevance. And in Tbilisi, when we talked about Afghanistan, the issue of rational use of water resources was raised.
Another important area of our activities is working with women, increasing their role in the region within the framework of the UN Women, Peace and Security initiative.
We also work within the framework of another important initiative - “Youth, Peace and Security”. The Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy operates in these areas.
– How does the Center assess the efforts of the Central Asian countries in Afghanistan?
– As for the issues of Central Asia and Afghanistan, as I have already said, they are included in the range of issues of our mandate. There is a separate UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which works on the internal issues of this country, with its de facto authorities.
Our mandate is to promote cooperation between Central Asian countries and Afghanistan. It is important to note here that this interaction has been strengthened over the past decade, and it remains, despite difficult situations.
– What is the role of Turkmenistan in this process?
– The role of Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan, in supporting the reconstruction of Afghanistan is very important. This includes humanitarian assistance, economic assistance, and strategic infrastructure projects - the TAPI gas pipeline, the CASA-1000 cross-border high-voltage power transmission line, etc.
We absolutely agree with the position of the Central Asian countries that the long-term peaceful and stable development of the region depends on how Afghanistan is involved in regional economic processes.
From this point of view, it is necessary to promote economic and infrastructure projects and, of course, simultaneously resolve issues in the field of security, politics, and human rights in Afghanistan. In this regard, we support the efforts of the countries of Central Asia, including neutral Turkmenistan.
Bekdurdy AMANSARYEV
