The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is set to unveil a major strategy to counter and prevent violent extremism in the region in response to the rise of terror threats among member states.
The launch of the strategy which also coincides with the inauguration of the ceremony of the bloc’s Center of Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (ICEPCVE) will happen in the IGAD headquarters in Djibouti.
The nine-member trade bloc said the ICEPCVE will be instrumental in institutionalizing the prevention and countering of violent extremism in the Horn and Eastern Africa Region. The members of the bloc include Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
The Center seeks to empower youth, women, religious leaders and civil society by enhancing their capacity in countering violent extremist ideology by helping generate positive alternatives for young people vulnerable to violent extremist recruitment.
According to the statement, the Center’s focus areas include; providing training to enhance the capacities of government to counter violent extremism, provide a platform to facilitate discussion among national and local actors, civil society, researchers and community leaders involved in CVE and catalyzing more research understand localized drivers of violent extremism, and developing new ways to effectively counter it.
