Switzerland: New international organization to combat extremism in the developing world

The fight against extremism in developing countries will be the main job description of a new international organization to open in June in Geneva. According to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the organization will have about USD 200 million available to it over the next 10 years.

The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund will finance projects targeting the fight against extremism and the radicalization of youth in impoverished countries. A spokesperson for the Swiss Foreign Ministry said the fund would be launching pilot projects this year in Bangladesh, Mali, Morocco and Nigeria.

The creation of the fund was negotiated by representatives of 30 governments at an international conference on the fight against terrorism held in New York last September. Its task will be to coordinate private and state support for community projects aiming to stop violent extremism from permeating the everyday life of society; the organization will be financed by the EU and other states, the USA, the World Bank, and private sponsors.