As part of support provided to the Government of Iraq for the implementation of its national prevention of violent extremism (PVE) strategy, IOM arranged for the ‘National Committee for the Implementation of the National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism’ to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to exchange expertise and best practices in PVE with local counterparts, paying special attention to gender-inclusive strategy, local-national coordination and the role of civil society in PVE.

"This exchange comes as a part of the National Committee's interest and effort to communicate and look into international experiences relevant to countering and preventing violent extremism and hate speech. The visit facilitates the exchange of expertise and experiences between relevant stakeholders and institutions in BiH, in cooperation with IOM," stated Ali Abdullah, President of the National Committee.

The itinerary has included discussions with national-level government officials on the BiH’s national PVE strategy; talks with representatives from across levels of government on their efforts in PVE, as well as challenges in and opportunities for implementation; and meetings with local government officials on budgeting and the participation of local communities in designing and implementing PVE programmes.

The delegation also attended a reception with the international community held jointly by the BiH Ministry of Security and IOM BiH, and visited communities where IOM BiH's PVE programme is active to meet with youth and community representatives.

“This study visit represents a unique opportunity for everyone involved in PVE to exchange knowledge and experience and create useful connections between the two countries. We, at IOM BiH, are happy to welcome the Iraqi delegation and our colleagues from IOM Iraq, to share our results and lessons learned, and to bring together representatives of the relevant institutions, individuals, organizations, inclusion champions, to the same table and engaging in a whole of society approach to the prevention of extremisms,” said Laura Lungarotti, IOM BiH Chief of Mission and Sub-regional Coordinator for the Western Balkans.

This exchange was made possible thanks to collaboration with Violence Prevention Network (VPN) within the SIMVEX project, IOM BiH, and the support of the Government of Canada.