Interior minister Rihards Kozlovskis takes part in Washington Summit on Countering Violent Extremism

Met dank overgenomen van Lets voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2015 (Lets voorzitterschap) i, gepubliceerd op zaterdag 21 februari 2015.

On 18-19 February, the Latvian Minister for the Interior, Rihards Kozlovskis, took part in the Washington Summit on Countering Violent Extremism. From the EU delegation, he represented the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council.

During the meeting, ministers and other high-level officials discussed domestic and international efforts to prevent extremists and their supporters from radicalising. Taking into consideration the tragic events in Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen and other parts of the world, the discussions focused on measures to be taken in order to reduce the possibilities for individuals and groups to receive information on committing acts of terrorism and recruitment.

Rihards Kozlovskis stressed the importance of the implementation of the preventive measures in reducing radicalisation. With the help of different education programmes, internet and other instruments, possible ways of addressing young people should also be identified. The EU must strengthen the Radicalisation Awareness Network and use its opportunities in policy-making and the provision of support to those who face radicalisation issues. Whereas close cooperation between civil society and private sector must be developed in order to reduce the dissemination of terrorist ideas in different parallel education networks.

In the Summit, ministers and high-level officials as well as representatives from private sector and civil society approved an action plan for combating the spread of violent extremism. President of the United States Barack Obama, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the delegation representatives. The EU Delegation was headed by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

The representatives from governments, non-governmental organisations, civil society and private sector will be able to use the results of the Summit discussions as a platform for implementing specific measures to reduce radicalisation. During the UN General Assembly which will be held in September, world leaders will take stock of the progress made in the last seven months.