HE the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Monday that the inauguration of the International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism in Doha is an important occasion that carries great significance. He added that the hub is the first of its kind in the region and the world.

It was one of the outcomes of the agreements signed on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in the attendance of the UN Secretary-General. HE Sheikh Mohamed stressed, in a speech given as part of the inauguration ceremony on Monday, that Qatar's hosting of the hub reflects the strong co-operation with the United Nations in achieving its goals. He said that His Highness the Amir stressed that sentiment in the UN General Assembly speech.

HE Sheikh Mohamed also noted that inaugurating the hub in Doha shows that Qatar delivers on its commitment, and is set to strengthen its partnership with the UN and added that Qatar will continue its active participation in international counter-terrorism efforts.

The commitment of Qatar to hosting the hub stems from Qatar's policy that is based on the Islamic culture of rejecting violence in all forms regardless of the motives and reasons, in addition to its belief that counter-terrorism cannot be done without a comprehensive regional and international framework that deals with the root causes of terrorism. As a result, the hub will focus on children and youth given they serve as the fuel for extremist groups, something that requires focusing attention on that segment of society in all national and international programmes in order to build societies immune to extremist ideas.

HE Sheikh Mohamed stressed that Qatar is focused especially on violent extremism, and has worked on a national level and as part of the UN to protect children and youth from extremism. Qatar led the efforts to hold a high-level General Assembly meeting in 2016 on children and youth affected by violent extremism.

In that context, he said that Qatar is optimistic regarding the role the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism and reiterated Qatar's commitment to supporting the office, saying that Qatar is proud to be one of its donor states. HE Sheikh Mohamed also expressed Qatar's deep appreciation for the efforts of Under-Secretary for UN Counter-Terrorism office Vladimir Voronkov and his co-operation with Qatar's permanent envoy and the National Human Rights Committee in order to launch the hub.

The foreign minister also praised the efforts of HE the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani and the policy of Qatar under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir that looked to enhance ties with the United Nations to serve the goals of the international community.

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UNOCT launches hub's official page

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) has launched the official page of the International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism in Doha on the United Nations website, Qatar News Agency reports.

The English edition can be accessed at https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/behavioural-insights, or at the short link: https://bit.ly/OCT-BI

The Arabic edition can be accessed at https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/ar/behaviouralinsights, or at the short link: https://bit.ly/OCT-BI-ar

The permanent delegation of Qatar to the United Nations in New York has participated with information materials for the hub. These include a media advisory of the hub's opening event, a graphic design in Arabic and English, and a number of tweets that will be published on the Twitter account of UNOCT on this occasion, as well as other information that are available at https://trello.com/b/QCWk73Zl/unoct-doha-hub




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