1. Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul attended as the government delegate of the Republic of Korea the Ministerial Meeting of the “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)” hosted by the US in Washington on February 19.

* The Summit on CVE consisted of a meeting among delegates from civil society hosted by the White House on February 18; the Ministerial Meeting hosted by the Department of State on February 19; and unofficial side events on February 20.

° The event brought together delegates from major international organizations as wells as ministerial- or vice-ministerial-level officials from 60-odd countries, including President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry of the US, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, foreign, internal and justice ministers of major European countries, and Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama of Japan.

2. In the meeting, Vice Minister Cho, mentioning that no country is safe from violent extremism, conveyed the ROK’s intention to participate actively in efforts to counter violent extremism. He added that to that end, the ROK is willing to enhance awareness on the issue of CVE and seek social integration at home; and contribute to international CVE efforts.

° The Vice Minister, citing the recent disappearance of a Korean teenager influenced by the propaganda of the extremism, brought attention to the spread of the influence of violent extremism across the world. In that regard, he pointed out the need for the international community to further step up CVE efforts. As a fundamental way to that end, he stressed the need to make stronger efforts to seek social and economic engagement with vulnerable brackets through inclusiveness.

° The Vice Minister commented that as stated in UN Security Council Resolution 2178, education can play an important role in decreasing the risk of radicalization. He went on to say that in that light, the ROK, in implementing development assistance, will bolster education and vocational training in regions and communities vulnerable to violent extremism. He also mentioned that in a bid to raise CVE awareness in countries and regions unfamiliar with CVE, the ROK will work more closely with institutions focused on building CVE capabilities, such as the Hedayah Center in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.

° In addition, citing the importance of using private-public partnership (PPP) in CVE, the Vice Minister spoke of the ROK’s plan to lead social network service (SNS) companies of the country to play a positive role in countering the propaganda of violent extremism by helping enhance their CVE awareness and capabilities, while encouraging the ROK’s global enterprises to make social contributions in that regard.

3. The participants in the meeting shared the view that in order to prevent the radicalization of violent extremism and recruitment of terrorists, regional communities should make efforts to integrate marginalized groups; counter- propaganda against that of violent extremisms should be developed and diffused; and economic opportunities should be offered, such as through education.

° US President Obama stressed that the economic environment should be improved through vocational training and job creation; political grievances should be addressed through the respect for principles of democracy and human rights; and solid families and regional communities should be built to prevent vulnerable youth from being affected by extremism through comprehensive engagement.

° UN Secretary-General Ban brought attention to the need for CVE through good governance; education that wins hearts of younger generations; and the respect for human rights. He added that he will host a special relevant meeting with religious leaders.

4. The participants agreed to take various follow-up measures to the meeting until the UN General Assembly session in September, including conducting research and sharing information on causes of violent extremism; using strategic communication; and holding regional CVE meetings. They also agreed to hold a leaders-level meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session to review the progress in the implementation of the follow-up measures. 


                    Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation