Strengthening rule of lawcompliantcriminal justice responses to terrorism was the aim of an onlineseminar that concluded on 25 June 2020.Practitioners from relevant government agenciesattended thisevent in Ashgabat, while international experts joined in online from their respective duty stations.

The event was organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat together with the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department. It focused on age- as well as gender-sensitive criminal justice responses to terrorism. The seminar built on a 2019-event which tackled effective terrorism prevention and prosecution measures, while emphasizing respect for applicable international law.

Natalya Drozd, Head the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, notedthat the Centrewas one of the first international organizations in Turkmenistan to launch activities in the area of preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT).

“In line with Turkmenistan’s National Strategy on Preventing Violent Extremism and Countering Terrorism, introduced recently at the High-level Conference on Foreign Terrorist Fighters convened jointly by the OSCE, UNOCT and Switzerland, the Centre in Ashgabat stands ready to support the host country’s efforts aimed at preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism,including through awareness raising campaigns on preventing and countering the threat of VERLT for youth and vulnerable communities,” said Drozd.

“The host country is demonstrating a great interest in international instruments and best practices aimed at preventing any kind of violent extremism and terrorism, and the Centre has been supporting participation of national experts in OSCE-organized events on those issues,” said Drozd.

Experts and participants discussed gender perspectives within criminal justice responses to terrorism offences, as well as Juvenile Justice parameters applicable to the prosecution of minors. Closely linked to these subjects, the online seminar also addressed efforts by governmental and civil society actors in disengaging and reintegrating former terrorist offenders back into society.