Abu Dhabi hosts conference on combating violent extremism

A Conference of the Working Group for Countering Violent Extremism, an offshoot of the Global Counter-terrorism Forum, opened today in Abu Dhabi at the Emirates Towers.

A number of international experts on terrorism and extremism will discuss over the next two days, several issues related to the field.

Welcoming the delegates to the conference, Faris Al Mazroui, Assistant to the Foreign Minister for security and military affairs, said that the question of violent extremism has become the focus of attention of experts and practitioners in the fight against terrorism. He underlined the increasing role of security, legal and judicial bodies and military forces to neutralise the terrorist groups and intercept their operations.

"The international community has not yet reached to a full mechanism to deter individuals and discourage them from pursuing the path of terror, and to identify good practices that contribute to keep them away from violent ideological thinking", Al Mazroui said.

He noted that during the inauguration of the Global Counter-terrorism Forum, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikha Abdullah Bin Zayed had proposed to open in Abu Dhabi, the world's first centre for countering violent extremism. This proposal reflected the fact that the life in UAE is based on the principles of tolerance, innovation and pluralism, which conflict with extremism and violence; he added.

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