Representatives, judges, prosecutors and police officers from China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea attended a workshop, held at the United Nations in Bangkok from 21 to 23 October 2015, to discuss issues relating to effective methods for countering terrorism through closer cooperation.
The workshop, facilitated by CTED, was the first ever such regional workshop held for the countries of North-East Asia, and was aimed at identifying areas of common interest and closer cooperation at the practitioner level.
The relevant Security Council resolutions affirm that terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, stress the need to ensure that counter-terrorism remains a priority on the international agenda, and call for closer international cooperation to deal with new terrorism threats and challenges.
The Bangkok gathering provided an opportunity for participants to exchange views on recent trends in terrorist typologies, proliferation financing, and case studies on combating money-laundering and terrorism financing. Participants welcomed the opportunity to interact and expressed the desire to continue their discussions with a view to strengthening regional cooperation.
CTED was supported by relevant UN departments, the expert group of the of the Security Council “1540 Committee”, UNODC/TPB and INTERPOL, as well as donor States and independent resource experts.
A similar process in South Asia has brought together around 300 senior judges, prosecutors, and police officials from all countries of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as practitioners from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The process has involved 10 workshops, held over a seven-year period, aimed at promoting dialogue and cooperation among counter-terrorism experts of the region.