The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed today a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International Centre of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism, Hedayah.
The partnership aims at strengthening collaboration in preventing violent extremism (PVE), particularly in providing strong, informed and efficient support to requesting governments in the development and implementation of PCVE National Action Plans.
The MOU was signed by Ms. Sarah Poole, UNDP’s Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, and H.E. Maqsoud Kruse, Hedayah’s Executive Director.
UNDP is providing support to governments to develop their own PCVE National Action Plans through its Global, Regional and National projects in cooperation with other UN entities, recommending a coordinated and comprehensive response that complements the security approach with a developmental and prevention agenda and encouraging that the Plans are developed and implemented in a multidisciplinary, inclusive and holistic manner. Within this work, UNDP promotes collaboration with civil society, women and youth organizations, religious leaders, academia and the private sector.
PCVE National Action Plans development has been a key work theme for Hedayah since 2014, and as a result, Hedayah has also produced the “National CVE Strategies: Guidelines and Good Practices” document, offering guidance for national governments interested in developing, refining or implementing a national PCVE strategies and has built in-house expertise on this issue, with staff who have been involved in the design and delivery of National P/CVE strategies in different countries.
“We believe that this partnership would expand our joint capacities to assist UN member-states with top level expertise and technical assistance on various PVE related and specific activities, with special focus on design and implementation of PCVE Action Plans”, said Sarah Poole.
Hedayah was founded in 2012 following the September 2011 launch of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), which is an informal, multilateral platform currently chaired by Morocco and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, having also a satellite office in Washington, DC.
