UNOCT International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism in Doha organized an Interactive Briefing for Member States

UNOCT International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism (BI Hub), in partnership with the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, organized an Interactive Briefing for Member States, on 2 November 2022 in New York.

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format for in-person and online participants, and attended by several UN entities, including the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, United Nations Development Programme, and UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact Coordination Committee members, alongside civil society, academia and behavioural science experts. 

The briefing showcased the achievements and presented the future activities of the UNOCT Behavioural Insights Programme in support of Member States, the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities, regional organizations, and other beneficiaries of technical assistance.

The meeting discussed how behavioural insights can be used to address the complex phenomenon of terrorism.  It also highlighted the behavioural roots of vulnerabilities leading to radicalization and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and how this threat can be reduced through behaviourally informed interventions.  The UNOCT BI Hub also presented its vision for the better deployment of behavioural insights for countering terrorism as a tool for planning, monitoring and evaluation.

During the meeting, the BI Hub presented results of two years of its programmatic activities, outlining major accomplishments in the areas of research, knowledge sharing and capacity building, as well strategic communications, partnerships development, and advocacy/outreach initiatives. The briefing also served as a platform for the soft launch of the first UNOCT Going to Extremes podcasts, created and produced by the BI Hub in Doha. 

In his closing remarks, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov thanked the State of Qatar for the support to his office, including the BI Hub. He stated that it is essential that the Hub continues to work with partners in Qatar and around the world to advance evidence-based, whole-of-society approaches that address all forms and manifestations of terrorism, as well as the lifecycle of radicalization to violence, in compliance with international law.  “I hope that today’s discussion has given you a better appreciation of the growing expertise within the United Nations system in countering the threat of violent extremism through the use of behavioural insights” he concluded. 
 
The BI Hub in Doha was established through an agreement between the Government of the State of Qatar and UNOCT to operationalize a behavioural science approach to counter-terrorism and to prevent violent extremism.