The Diplomat
The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Malaga City Council will organize next May in the Andalusian city a UN conference on Human Rights, civil society and the fight against terrorism.
This was recalled last Friday by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Angeles Moreno Bau, on the occasion of the celebration of the European Day of Victims of Terrorism, which remembers the victims of the attacks of March 11, 2004 in Madrid. “Faithful to its commitment against terrorism, Spain will host a UN Conference on human rights, civil society and the fight against terrorism on May 10 and 11,” the Secretary of State stated via her official Twitter account.
The Malaga event, which will be held at ministerial level and will be attended by UN Secretary General António Guterres, could coincide with the opening of an UNOCT Office in Madrid charged with “developing programs and projects that help to deradicalize and prevent terrorism in Sahel,” as reported in early March by the deputy director of International Cooperation against Terrorism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Díaz.
The aim of the office will be to develop projects to use sport as a tool to put an end to radicalism, protect vulnerable objects and critical infrastructures and protect victims. In this regard, the government is negotiating with the UN to hold the first Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism in New York during the ministerial week of the General Assembly in September. “The victims have to be at the center of the debate on the fight against terrorism,” said Diaz. In addition, she said, Spain wants to promote, within the framework of the congress, “the creation of a trust fund to support victims of terrorism and a global network of victims’ associations.
The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism was established on June 15, 2017 by a decision of the United Nations General Assembly. The creation of the Office was the first major institutional reform undertaken by António Guterres, following his report on the capacity of the United Nations to assist Member States in the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
