Members of the UN Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee meeting at Massey's Auckland campus with representatives from Massey University, the Department of Corrections and other government agencies.
Regional terrorism trends, and New Zealand’s measures to address these, were discussed during a visit to Massey University by three top international security agencies.
Members of the United Nations Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN CTED), along with staff from INTERPOL and the International Civil Aviation Organization were hosted at the University’s Auckland campus by Dr Veronica Hopner (School of Psychology) and Dr John Battersby and Mr Nick Nelson (Centre for Defence and Security Studies). All three senior academic staff are members of the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Community Engagement Forum, a collaborative venture between Massey University, the Department of Corrections, other government agencies, and community representatives.
The UN CTED is the arm of the Security Council responsible for ensuring that the resolutions and policy decisions of the Council related to countering terrorism are carried out by member states, says Mr Nelson. “In doing this it undertakes country visits to assess member states efforts in implementing the various resolutions and to identify areas where further assistance may be needed. This visit to Massey University was part of the UN CTED’s broader assessment visit to New Zealand and Australia.”
The visit provided the opportunity to discuss terrorism-related trends and challenges within the region and also to inform the directorate of the New Zealand-based research the CVE Forum is undertaking, he says. The discussions identified further collaborative opportunities between the UN CTED and the CVE Forum.
Head of the UN CTED delegation, Dr Elizabeth Joyce, stated that it had been one of the most informative and productive sessions she had been involved in during her 10 years working with the Directorate.