STATEMENT ON VIOLENT EXTREMISM WFUNA 41ST PLENARY ASSEMBLY 18-22 NOVEMBER 2015 VANCOUVER, CANADA The 41st Plenary Assembly of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) shares deep sympathy with the victims of the recent terrorist attacks. We are gravely saddened by and condemn the terrorist attacks in Egypt, France, Lebanon, Iraq, Mali, Nigeria, and Syria after a year increasingly marked by rise in violent extremism. Recalling the previous statement by the members of WFUNA's Executive Committee on ISIL during its 209th meeting on November 15, 2014, we renew our calls urging world leaders to work together to address the issues at the root of radicalization. The WFUNA Plenary Assembly calls on the international community to take immediate and meaningful action to invest in peace and work to prevent violent extremism including addressing social and economic exclusion, government corruption, unaccountable institutions, human rights abuses, among other dynamics. To tackle root cause issues, the international community must make conscious efforts not to replicate dynamics, which provoke grievances. Upholding respect for international humanitarian principles, all human rights, and the rule of law, any action must ensure the protection of civilian populations as a priority. A global response, building on lessons learned, must involve representatives from all parts of society, including minorities, women and youth in particular. The international community does have the ability to foster a brighter, more peaceful future. Civil society must assist to engage policy makers, to build crosscultural and cross-generational societies founded on tolerance and inclusion. We call on all member states to work tirelessly to promote a world free from terror and violence, to build peace for our future generations.