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OSCE organises anti-terrorism, security workshops in Kazakhstan, Armenia

VIENNA, March 26, /ITAR-TASS/. A two-day OSCE-supported workshop on countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes began in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, March 26.

The workshop is co-organised by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, the Anti-Terrorism Centre of Kazakhstan and the OSCE Centre in Astana with support from the government of Spain.

The event brings together some 60 participants, including experts from five countries and representatives of state agencies and civil society. It focuses on countering terrorist use of the Internet, terrorist threats against critical infrastructure and using public-private partnerships to effectively prevent and combat terrorism. Towards the end of the seminar, participants will prepare a list of recommendations on the next steps Kazakhstan can take to enhance security in these areas.

“In order to effectively counter terrorism and extremism on the Internet, it is necessary to actively unify and harmonize the national legislation of governments in this area, and thus provide for a more effective correlation of anti-terrorism measures taken on the national, regional and international arenas,” Head of the Anti-terrorism Centre of Kazakhstan, Colonel Kendebay Adambekov, said.

The event is part of the OSCE’s comprehensive contribution to the global efforts against terrorism.

The two-day workshop held in Armenia studied the linkages between the environment and security and how to address challenges associated with them.

Participants will discuss the role of international organisations, key legal documents and how environmental issues are and can be reflected in national security strategies. They will analyse case studies covering issues such as natural disasters, land degradation, the security implications of climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources.

Participants will have the opportunity to utilize the knowledge they have acquired in the workshop by identifying environmental and security challenges in Armenia and developing project proposals in response to a hypothetical situation. They will also learn about potential grant opportunities from representatives of the donor community present in the country.

The event is part of the Civic Action or Environment and Security (CASE) programme and is initiated by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities jointly with the OSCE Office in Yerevan within the Environment and Security (ENVSEC) Initiative.

CASE is a small grants programme designed to build the capacity of civil society organisations to address environment and security problems at the local level. Since 2009 the CASE programme has supported 28 NGO small grant projects in Armenia, the OSCE said.

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