Military victory ends battles. It does not end extremism. That distinction is at the heart of International PVE Day — observed every February 12 — and nowhere is it better understood than in Iraq and Syria.
Established in 2022 by the UN General Assembly through Resolution 77/243, the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) as Conducive to Terrorism was notably championed by the Republic of Iraq — a country that paid an enormous human price for the rise of ISIL and has spent the years since learning what it truly takes to prevent its return. At Aligning Cultures, this day is not a calendar entry. It is a reflection of the work we do every day.
The Special Significance for Iraq and Syria
While global terrorism trends have shifted, the legacy of ISIL remains deeply personal across the MENA region — and the threat is far from over.
Iraq: From Battlefield to Social Cohesion
Having liberated its territory from ISIL, Iraq has turned its attention to the harder, slower work of prevention. The Iraqi government's role in creating International PVE Day reflects a deliberate national commitment: to use this platform to foster international cooperation and build the capacity needed to keep extremist narratives from taking root again. Today, Iraq's PVE strategy centers on empowering youth and women to lead community-based initiatives that rebuild social trust — recognizing that the strongest barrier against extremism is a community that believes in its own future.
Aligning Cultures has operated across all 18 of Iraq's provinces since 2004, working at the intersection of conflict prevention, community reconciliation, and CVE programming. Our crisis committees in Anbar, Diyala, and Ninewa have resolved over 170 disputes and facilitated the return of thousands of internally displaced families — concrete steps toward the stable, cohesive communities that make radicalization less likely.
Syria: Navigating a Governance Vacuum
In Syria, the stakes of prevention are shaped by ongoing instability. The governance vacuums that have followed periods of regime collapse create dangerous openings for extremist groups to regroup and recruit. Nowhere is this more acute than in camps like al-Hol and Roj, where tens of thousands of individuals — the majority of them children — remain in conditions that leave them deeply vulnerable to radicalization. PVE in Syria is not a post-conflict project. It is an urgent, active priority.
Aligning Cultures supports Syrian civil society organizations navigating these extraordinary challenges — providing organizational capacity building, proposal development support, and donor alignment assistance to NGOs operating across multiple conflict-affected contexts. We believe that sustainable prevention must be rooted in local organizations led by people who understand their communities from the inside.
Why Prevention Matters More Than Ever
The MENA region's experience has demonstrated clearly that military force alone cannot defeat extremism. Lasting prevention requires addressing the conditions that make radicalization possible in the first place.
Addressing Root Causes
Extremism rarely emerges from nowhere. It takes hold where grievances go unaddressed, where livelihoods are absent, and where communities feel politically invisible. PVE work that ignores these underlying drivers will always be chasing symptoms rather than causes. At Aligning Cultures, our programming in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Sudan is grounded in a root-cause analysis that looks beyond the immediate security situation to the political, economic, and social conditions that enable radicalization.
The Digital Frontier
The 2026 theme for PVE Day focuses on preventing violent extremism in the digital age — and for good reason. Extremist groups are increasingly sophisticated in their use of AI-generated content, encrypted platforms, and algorithm-driven social media to target and recruit younger generations. In conflict-affected communities across MENA, where internet access has expanded faster than digital literacy, this vulnerability is acute. Countering it requires investment in media literacy, trusted local voices, and community-based counter-narrative infrastructure.
Human Rights-Based Approaches
Prevention measures that undermine the rights of the communities they claim to protect are counterproductive. Heavy-handed counter-terrorism responses have historically generated the resentment that fuels the next wave of recruitment. Effective PVE must be grounded in human rights and the rule of law — not as a constraint on action, but as its foundation.
Investing in the Architects of Peace
For Iraq and Syria, International PVE Day is a reminder that the most strategic investment is in people — especially youth. This includes young people with perceived family affiliation to extremist groups, who face stigma and exclusion that make them particularly vulnerable to re-radicalization, as well as their peers who can become the most powerful voices against extremist narratives when properly supported. The goal is not just to prevent violence. It is to ensure that the next generation becomes architects of peace rather than targets for radicalization.
That is the work Aligning Cultures is committed to — in Iraq, in Syria, and across the MENA region — every day, not only on February 12.