“Soft” targets, also called vulnerable targets, (e.g., urban public spaces or other sites that are crowded with local or tourist populations) are attractive to terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), because they are relatively open and easy to access; are subject to lower levels of security protection; and offer an opportunity not only to cause massive destruction, high civilian casualties, and widespread publicity with limited logistic and financial resources, but also to instil fear into the public. Such attacks have increased in numbers in every region of the world over recent years. The effective protection of “soft” targets requires not only the implementation of physical protection measures, but also the development of strong and resilient communities and close engagement with civil society and all other sections of society, including religious and community leaders, women, educators, youth, and social workers.
The protection of “soft” targets, including public spaces, presents a number of significant and complex challenges. Such targets vary considerably in size and nature, and most are privately owned. Terrorist attacks against such sites generally involve some combination of suicide bombers, teams of gunmen, and hostage situations. The strong support expressed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Da’esh) and other terrorist groups for such attacks by their affiliates and inspired attacks by “sleeper cells” raises not only the risk level, but also the level of unpredictability.
In its resolution 2396 (2017), the Security Council stresses the need for States to develop, review, or amend national risk and threat assessments to take into account “soft” targets, in order to develop appropriate contingency and emergency-response plans for terrorist attacks. In their further efforts to protect critical infrastructure and soft targets from terrorist attacks, Member States should also consider putting in place national frameworks and mechanisms to support risk-based decision-making. Resolution 2396 (2017) also calls on States to establish or strengthen national, regional and international partnerships with public and private stakeholders and to share information and experiences in order to prevent, protect, mitigate, investigate, respond to, and recover from damage from terrorist attacks against “soft” targets.
In its Addendum to the guiding principles on foreign terrorist fighters (2018) (S/2018/1177), the Counter-Terrorism Committee encourages Member States, in cooperation with local authorities, to consider promoting public-private partnerships by developing cooperation mechanisms; supporting business owners and operators and infrastructure managers; and sharing plans, policies and procedures.
In view of the continued terrorist and other security threats to “soft” targets, there remains a need to strengthen risk-based decision making and the engagement of all relevant stakeholders to enhance implementation of protection measures. The level of implementation of related strategies, action plans and other measures varies considerably across regions.
The objective of the proposed open briefing would enable representatives of Member States, United Nations entities, international and regional organizations, the private sector, civil society and academia to discuss current trends, threats, and the normative framework relating to the protection of “soft” targets and to share best practices and possible approaches for prevention, response, recovery and investigation. The open briefing will also provide an opportunity to address potential linkages to other Security Council resolutions pertaining to the protection of critical infrastructure, such as resolution 2341 (2017).
The briefing seeks to address challenges, gaps and vulnerabilities relevant to the protection of “soft” targets against terrorist attacks, as well as policies, instruments and tools developed to effectively manage risks to “soft” targets and enhance effective implementation of resolutions 2396 (2017) and other relevant resolutions (e.g., resolution 2341 (2017)).
The virtual open briefing will take place on 27 January from 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) via VTC and will be open to Member and Observer States, United Nations staff and interns, UN entities, intergovernmental organizations, and specialized agencies. The event will also be webcasted at .
The concept note of the virtual open briefing is available here.
The agenda of the virtual open briefing is available here.
Additional resources about the Security Council Guiding Principles on Foreign Terrorist Fighters are available .
Presentations shared by the participants: