NEW YORK, 11 February (United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism) - On Thursday, 12 February, the United Nations will mark the fourth observance of the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism under the theme "Preventing Violent Extremism in the Age of New and Emerging Technologies".

Terrorism, and the underlying spread of violent extremism, poses a serious threat to peace and security and is an affront to humanity - affecting people of all ages, cultures, religions and nationalities.

Established by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 77/243, the International Day provides a platform for Member States, the United Nations system and all relevant stakeholders - including civil society, religious leaders, the private sector, academia and the media, to come together to strengthen the international community's resolve to address the conditions conducive to terrorism, to raise awareness on the threat of violent extremism and to renew collective action to prevent its spread.

The observance aims to promote inclusive, human-rights-based and gender-responsive approaches to prevention, grounded in dialogue, partnerships and community-led solutions.

The 2026 observance focuses on the intersection between violent extremism conducive to terrorism and new and emerging technologies. Rapid digital transformation, including artificial intelligence, algorithmic systems, evolving social media and gaming platforms, and other emerging online spaces, are reshaping how individuals and communities communicate, form identities and engage with the world.

While these technologies offer significant opportunities to strengthen efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism, and to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, they are also increasingly exploited by terrorist actors, their supporters and sympathizers.

Online platforms and digital tools can be misused to spread hate speech and harmful narratives, enable recruitment and gamified radicalization to terrorism, amplify mis- and disinformation, and mobilize support for violence, creating new and complex challenges for prevention efforts.

At the same time, new and emerging technologies are not the problem in themselves. When designed and used responsibly, digital platforms and algorithms can be powerful tools for prevention, enabling earlier detection of harmful trends, better understanding of pathways to radicalization to violence, more tailored and positive messaging, and more effective, community-centred and evidence-based prevention efforts.

Against this backdrop, the 2026 International Prevention of Violent Extremism Day provides a platform to examine emerging threats, share good practices and highlight innovative, human-rights-based, gender-responsive and inclusive approaches to prevention. The observance will spotlight partnerships, policies and programmes that harness technology responsibly and in a human rights-compliant manner, strengthen international cooperation and translate global commitments into concrete outcomes.

To mark the Prevention of Violent Extremism Day, the Secretary-General, António Guterres will issue a message in UN official languages as well as in German.

The Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nations and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism will convene an event at United Nations Headquarters at 10 a.m.. Titled "PVE in the Digital Age: Anticipating New and Emerging Technologies Risks and Opportunities, Safeguarding Human Rights and Empowering Future Generations". This commemorative event, which will be broadcast live on UN WebTV, is organized under the framework of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact Working Group on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism.

The special dialogue "From Principles to Practice: Special Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism", co-organized by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, will be held at United Nations Headquarters at 2 p.m., and also will be broadcast live on UN WebTV.

Alexandre Zouev, the Acting Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, will participate in the commemoration and issue a video message.

For more information:, please visit bit.ly/2026-PVEDay; follow #PVEDay on social media; or contact Laurence Gerard, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, at email: [email protected].