President Uhuru Kenyatta Speech at the Leaders Summit on Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism

From president.go.ke

Excellency President Barack Obama,

Excellency Mr.Ban Ki-Moon

Colleagues,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I express my gratitude to President Obama for inspiring a crucial initiative in response to violent extremism, a threat that is sweeping across the world, today. The White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) of February 2015 sow the seed for global collective action. Today, we are united in the common commitment that collective action will drain the pools that offer recruits and operatives for terrorism. My special thanks also go to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for organizing this important leaders’ summit on Countering Violent Extremism.
2. While we live in a world of opportunities and unprecedented prosperity in human development, we are at the same time confronted by severe threats. Climate change, terrorism, upsurge in violent extremism, all combine to create an unstable terrain that threatens the prospects of human development and International peace and security.
3. I note with profound concern the extent to which extremist groups such as ISIL, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and Al Shabaab in our region; have stepped up efforts to create a global Caliphate, through enhanced radicalization, recruitment and terror attacks. Dear Colleagues,
4. As we strive to create frameworks to guarantee better lives for humanity, the extremists reject a social and political order that is anchored on the core democratic principles of pluralism, diversity, individual freedoms and rights to association and speech.
5. Our citizens have demonstrated remarkable support for the campaign these negative forces of terrorism. Despite numerous attacks, the response by our people and States has been the opposite of that intended by the violent extremists. Attacks have emboldened our resolve. Never before has the region stood in strong solidarity as now.
6. In our region, my country Kenya has borne the brunt of Al shabaab attacks. Since the US Embassy terrorist attacks in Nairobi in 1998, Kenya has faced five ghastly terrorist attacks – that have left a trail of death and destruction. Many innocent lives have been lost, many people injured, property destroyed, lives disrupted and our economy adversely impacted, especially in the tourism sector. While these attacks have injured us, they have not bowed Kenya. Mr. President
7. We are alive to the changing nature of the threat today. The Al Shabaab group and its affiliates have stepped up radicalization and continue to recruit vulnerable youths to engage in violent extremism. My administration is fully invested in addressing this threat in a comprehensive manner.
8. To better respond – to detect, disrupt, detect and defend- we have aligned our policy, legal, institutional and operational mechanisms. We have reviewed our security laws, adopted a number of strategies to deal with terrorist threats and related international crimes that facilitate each other.
9. To anchor the counter terrorism policy framework and cohere government activity, we have established, in law, the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) to deepen inter-agency coordination particularly in understanding and mapping the threat as well as elaborating the necessary strategies for implementation.
10. Kenya is working closely with local, regional and international partners to implement counter-terrorism and CVE efforts. I re-affirm Kenya’s commitment to implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the other obligations including Security Council Resolutions 1373(2001), 1624(2005) and 2178(2014). In this regard, I welcome the scheduled assessment of progress in the implementation of these commitments by the United Nations Security Council Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (UNCTED) in 2016. We also look forward to working closely with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) to bolster our capabilities to deal with terrorism.
11. Owing to our commitment to strengthen our understanding and response to the emergent threat of violent extremism, my government hosted the Africa Regional CVE Conference in June 2015, as a follow-up to the inaugural White House Summit. Further, we participated in the Colloquium of Regional Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) conference organized by the Government of the Republic of Italy on 28 -29th July in Rome, and the United Nations Colloquium on border management. We have also consulted extensively with other affected countries.
12. We have given expression to these engagements in an elaborate National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism, that address the push and pull factors that make Kenyan youth and society vulnerable to violent extremists’ ideology. Our strategy, which draws on all engagements undertaken focuses on three broad components: Preventive Actions, Curative Measures and Community Resilience Initiatives.
13. On Counter Radicalization, our strategy is based on seven (7) pillars which offer the best platform to address this challenge, namely; psychosocial support, securing the population and territory, countering the ideology of violence, promotion of religious diversity, strategic communication and building capacity for resilience.
14. I am pleased to know that the Secretary General is working towards a framework to guide the development of national CVE strategies. My country looks to make a contribution towards this effort, and also to draw lessons on the elements that will improve our response, nationally.
15. Beyond the United Nations, we shall continue to work with regional organisations including the African Union, the East African Community and IGAD, as well as non-governmental entities, to enhance coordination in programmes that counter violent extremism and terrorism. In this regard, I wish to emphasis the value of the ‘do no harm’ principle from our partners at the national, regional and international levels. It is the critical that no effort offers insulation or opportunity to extremists and their ideologies. Caution must guide us, as should the lessons of the past, so that we do not open up to insidious motives that fan extremism and ultimately feed into terrorism.
16. At the bilateral level, I welcome the support received and pledged by a number of strategic partners including the United States of America, and look forward to enhance these collaborative actions, as a basis for drawing on best practices.
17. In conclusion, I wish to reiterate Kenya’s commitment to all efforts aimed at countering violent extremism. I commend the United Nations for enhancing dialogue on this global threat to the peace and security of many countries and look forward to more fruitful future engagements.

I thank you and God Bless you for your kind attention.