Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee holds Special meeting to revise principles on foreign fighters

AKHVEDELID — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 18:38:00 +0000

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On 13 December 2018, The United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee held a Special meeting in New York on “Security Council resolution 2396 (2017): review of the Madrid Guiding Principles.” Adopted in 2015, the Madrid Guiding Principles consists of 35 practical tools to assist States in stemming the flow of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) to conflict zones.

Since these principles were adopted three years ago, the flow of FTFs to conflict zones has decreased. However, as FTFs are returning to their home countries, relocating to other States, or to different conflict zones, a number of different challenges arise, including former foreign fighters’ possible re-engagement in terrorist activities.

“Some FTFs may be returning or relocating together with family members who accompanied them to conflict zones, with families formed in the conflict zones, or with family members born in the conflict zones,” stated H.E. Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations, and Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

The CTC Special meeting was chaired by H.E. Meza-Cuadra of Peru.

“The flow of FTFs back to their home countries or to other countries is expected to increase in the coming years. The lethality of terrorist attacks has fallen, but the number of unsuccessful attacks has risen,” said Assistant Secretary-General Michèle Coninsx, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED).

At the meeting, Member States, international and regional organizations, civil society, practitioners, and experts discussed ways in which the Madrid Guiding Principles could be updated to address these and other challenges.

Many foreign terrorist fighters evade detection because some States lack the necessary resources and capacity to track them. Some panelists therefore expressed the need for support to strengthen countries’ border management. Others stressed the importance of increased information-sharing and cooperation between various sectors of society, including military and police, in order to identify, investigate, and prosecute terrorist suspects. Also the need for biometric data to help identify FTFs was highlighted. Several panellists further stressed the need for full compliance with international legal obligations, especially the protection of human rights when collecting evidence and conducting risk assessments or appropriate targeting measures.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres was represented by Assistant Secretary-General Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Department of Political Affairs, whereas the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) was represented by Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov (via video message).

More photos from the Special meeting can be found at CTED’s Flickr account, available here.

A webcast recording of the first part of the meeting is available here, and of the second part here.

Statements:

Presentations:

Additional statements/presentations will be added shortly.

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CTED conducts focused visit to Australia

AKHVEDELID — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:09:00 +0000

On 16-19 July 2018, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), acting on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, undertook a visit to Australia. Following the Committee’s initial assessment of July 2009, this was a focused visit concentrating on Australia’s implementation of Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001), 1624 (2005), 2178 (2014), 2396 (2017), and other relevant Council resolutions. In accordance with the practice followed for the Committee’s previous assessment visits, the human rights aspects of Australia’s counter-terrorism measures and the role of women in countering terrorism and violent extremism in accordance with Security Council resolutions 2242 (2015) and 2395 (2017) were also raised during the discussions.

The delegation held meetings with the Government of Australia in Canberra, then travelled to Melbourne and Sydney to meet with representatives of the States of Victoria and New South Wales to discuss their unique approaches and advancements to countering terrorism and violent extremism. Under the auspices of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), representatives from a wide variety of national ministries and agencies, as well as State-level authorities, and representatives of civil society and academia, took part in the four days of discussions.

Australia has demonstrated a strong commitment to the enactment of a national framework on counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism (CVE). The delegation noted the various measures taken by Australia to address terrorism threats related to the movement of terrorist actors and foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), varying from enhanced border controls involving the use of cutting-edge technologies, through the creation and deployment in major cities of joint operational teams, to legislative enhancements to facilitate the prosecution of terrorists and returning FTFs. The delegation also noted Australia’s awareness-raising measures to prevent radicalization in prison and counter violent extremism, and commended Australia on a number of effective mechanisms aimed at ensuring inter-agency coordination and information sharing across Commonwealth and State-level agencies.

The delegation included CTED experts, as well as representatives of INTERPOL, ICAO, and UN Women.

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Security Council - Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) - foreign

Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee holds Special meeting to revise principles on foreign fighters

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CTED conducts focused visit to Australia