This archive report was first published on 21 April 2020.
On April 21, 2020, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm on the potential risks of the Covid-19 pandemic to global peace and security.
He warned that as the international community focuses on battling the pandemic, terrorist groups could see a window of opportunity to strike.
According to Guterres, violent extremists may take advantage of the unpreparedness of many countries in responding to the outbreak to unleash bioterrorism attacks.
Experts caution that extremists could capitalize on the social and economic impacts of Covid-19 to create narratives denouncing the secular state order as ineffective in addressing the needs of vulnerable communities.
Organizations and groups involved in preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE) should focus their efforts on community awareness and sensitization on violent extremism to target narratives directed at vulnerable groups.
PCVE agenda should be integrated into the Covid-19 national response framework, including the National Strategy to Countering Violent Extremism (NSCVE) and County Action Plans on PCVE.
Counties should also map out risk factors that violent extremists may exploit to push their agenda, and align their activities with National and County Covid-19 response programs.
As Thomas Jefferson once said, 'Let the eyes of vigilance never be closed.'
