Farooq Sobhan, Eva Busza, and Enam Chaudhury.

Panel Discussions - Thursday, November 13, 2008

Implementing the UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy in South Asia

On November 13th-14th, the International Peace Institute (IPI) together with the Center for Global Counterterrorism Cooperation (CGCTC) convened a roundtable of counterterrorism practitioners and experts to discuss “Implementing the United Nations Global Counterterrorism Strategy in South Asia.”

 Held in IPI’s Trygve Lie Center, the two-day workshop sought to identify ways in which the UN’s Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy could be better promoted and implemented by bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to explore the role of the Strategy and the challenges it faces. Among the forty-plus participants were representatives from South Asian governments, the UN, regional think tanks, and other civil society groups from, or working on, the region.

Building on past work by IPI and the CGCTC on this subject, the discussion and the resultant project report will contribute to improving the UN’s capacity to better understand and counter transnational security challenges, strengthening the response capacities of national, regional, and international actors, and enhancing counterterrorism cooperation in South Asia.

A cocktail reception following the discussions allowed for increased interaction among the conference participants, diplomats, experts, and the broader UN community in New York.

Welcoming Remarks

Edward Luck,
IPI Senior Vice President and Director of Studies

Alistair Millar,
Center for Global Counterterrorism Cooperation (CGCTC)

Speakers and Moderators
Imtiaz Ahmed,
Department of International Relations, Dhaka University, Bangladesh

Richard Barrett,
UN Security Council Al-Qaida/Taliban Sanctions Analytical and Monitoring Team

Laila Bokhari,
Norwegian Defense Research Establishment

Eva Buzsa,
UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force; Executive Office of the Secretary-General

Suba Chandran,
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, India

Christopher Coleman,
United Nations Department of Political Affairs (UNDPA)

Kishore Dash,
Thunderbird School of International Management

Sreeradha Datta,
Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis, India

Naureen Chowdhury Fink,
IPI Senior Policy Analyst

Shirani de Fontgalland,
Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, United Kingdom

Bushra Gohar,
Awami National Party, Member National Assembly, Pakistan

John Hirsch,
IPI Senior Adviser

Nigel Inkster,
International Institute for Strategic Studies, UK

Christian Mahr,
United Nations Counterterrorism Committee Executive Directorate

Eric Rosand,
CGCTC

Shambhu Ram Simkhada,
Peace and Conflict Management Committee, Government of Nepal

Farooq Sobhan,
Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, Bangladesh

Slide show: Image 1 of 12
Photo Credits: Joe Peoples
Bushra Gohar, Jenna Slotin, Naureen Chowdhury Fink, and Michael Healey.