6 September 2022 – The United Nations Global Programme on Countering Terrorist Threats against Vulnerable Targets launched today five new specialized protection guides.
The five new guides of the Global Programme – led by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and jointly implemented with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) – focus on protecting: vulnerable targets; urban centres; tourist sites; religious sites; and vulnerable targets related to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
While “vulnerable targets” refers both to critical infrastructure (e.g. public transportation systems, energy sector) and public places or ‘soft targets’ (e.g. tourist venues, urban centers, religious sites), the new guides, or modules, focus on the latter.
“The five modules launched today will have added value to Member States in strengthening their capacity as well as in enhancing their understanding on how risk assessments and measures should be taken into account in front of the threats against vulnerable targets,” said CTED Acting Executive Director Mr. Weixiong Chen. The modules also complement the 2018 Compendium of good practices for the protection of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks, which is currently being updated, he added.
Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Under Secretary-General of UNOCT, said: “The guides we are launching today are a common effort”, emphasizing that “the threat against soft targets transcends the rhetoric of resolutions or declarations and goes to the heart of the principles of openness, tolerance and social cohesion that our societies defend and terrorists want to destroy.” Continuing, he said: “Because terrorists aim to frighten and divide us, only by working together at all levels we can successfully address this threat.”
Delivering a statement on behalf of the High Representative of UNAOC, Nihal Saad, Chief of Cabinet & Senior Advisor on Policy, said: “the specialized module on the protection of religious sites represents an innovative tool to raise awareness and offer concrete ideas about what is at the core of the United Nations Plan of Action.”
Also delivering statements were Antonia Marie De Meo, Director of UNICRI, and Alya Ahmed Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in New York.
All five new modules are now available from UNOCT in Arabic, English, French and Russian
Watch the launch on UN WebTV
Visit our website to read the Compendium of good practices for the protection of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks, a joint CTED-UNOCT-INTERPOL publication, available .
CTED was established as a Special Political Mission by Security Council resolution to assist the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and coordinate the process of monitoring the implementation of resolution . CTED’s work includes conducting expert assessments through country visits to assess Member States’ counter-terrorism efforts and to identify terrorism-related trends and challenges and good practices employed in the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions.
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