Security Council - Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) - countering violent extremism

Counter-Terrorism Committee holds informal meeting on community engagement in Asia

AKHVEDELID — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 05:26:00 +0000

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The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) has established close, longstanding relationships with the Member States of Asia, with a strong emphasis on the promotion of regional cooperation to counter terrorism and violent extremism. Recent work in South and South-East Asia has included a focus on the role of community engagement in these efforts, both within and outside the criminal justice system. CTED is also working closely with UN Women to identify and learn from the ways in which Governments of the region engage with women’s groups, youth, law enforcement, religious and community leaders, and educators, with the aim of identifying community engagement approaches as a way to counter incitement and violent extremism that is conducive to terrorism.

As part of these efforts, the Counter-Terrorism Committee on 6 June 2018 held an informal meeting in New York on community engagement to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism in South and South-East Asia. Building on work undertaken in 2017 and 2018 by the Member States of the subregions, CTED, and by its implementing partners to promote regional cooperation in the area, the meeting offered participants to provide insights into regional experiences, lessons learned, and good practices, as well as to highlight engagement between practitioners and non-governmental partners.

The informal meeting illustrated the value of a whole-of-society approach to countering terrorism and violent extremism. One of the tools mentioned as a means to challenge gender stereotypes and terrorist narratives, as well as to stress the importance of education, was the use of comics and comedy, e.g. a cartoon like Burka Avenger. Bringing satirical comedy to a serious topic allows youth to be engaged in the political landscape through dialogue and by bringing a diversity of ideas. In terms of education, teaching youth to recognize and identify terrorist propaganda and rhetoric, as well as integrating technology, specifically social media, were also mentioned as particularly important.

The meeting was chaired by H.E. Gustavo Meza-Vuadra Velásquez, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations. Participants included Assistant Secretary-General Michèle Coninsx, Executive Director of CTED; Takeshi Akahori, Minister and Political Coordinator with the Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN; and Alison Davidian, Programme Management Specialist with UN Women’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Presenters were H.E. Nabeel Munir, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN; Achsanul Habib, Political Coordinator for Human Rights, Counter-Terrorism, and Decolonization with the Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the UN; Humera Khan, Co-founder and President of Muflehun; and Datu Mussolini Sinsuat Lidasan, Executive Director, Al Qalam Institute, Atteneo de Davao University.

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CTED conducts focused visit to Denmark

AKHVEDELID — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 05:27:00 +0000

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Acting on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, its Executive Directorate (CTED) conducted a follow-up visit to Denmark from 29 May to 1 June 2018. The aim of the visit was to discuss Denmark’s progress in implementing Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001), 1624 (2005), as well as 2178 (2014) on stemming the flow of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), and identifying good practices and areas in which Denmark may be in a position to provide technical assistance to other Member States.

In welcoming the delegation, Mr. Jens Haarløv, Chief Consultant in the Stabilization and Security Department within the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed Denmark’s strong commitment to countering terrorism in all its aspects, including the phenomena of FTFs and returning foreign terrorist fighters, as well as abuse of the Internet and social media for terrorist purposes.

The delegation’s discussions with the Government focused on legislation and judicial practice, countering the financing of terrorism, law enforcement, border management, and countering violent extremism that leads to terrorism. The human rights aspects of Denmark’s counter-terrorism measures were also discussed, as well as the integration of gender as a cross-cutting issue in counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism efforts.The delegation conducted meetings with a wide range of Government officials in Copenhagen, as well as an on-site visit to assess customs measures in practice, and held a side meeting with the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), a member of CTED’s Global Research Network.

The delegation welcomed institutional and legislative measures adopted by Denmark in responses to the FTF phenomenon, as well as Denmark’s development of a national action plan on “Preventing and Countering Extremism and Radicalisation.” The delegation also discussed with the Government ways to further strengthen Denmark’s national framework for countering terrorism and violent extremism, and how to ensure effective information-sharing among relevant stakeholders.

Mr. Ahmed Seif El-Dawla, CTED Chief of Section and Head of the visiting delegation, noted that Denmark had made significant progress in its implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions. He commended Denmark’s wide-ranging activities to support international efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism. He also expressed appreciation for the Government’s high level of preparation ahead of and engagement during the visit.

Both CTED and Denmark highlighted the importance of taking a whole-of-society approach against terrorism, and noted that the delegation’s visit provided an opportunity for relevant domestic authorities to share experiences and to learn about global efforts to counter common challenges.

The visiting delegation also included representatives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

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CTED conducts follow-up visit to South Africa

AKHVEDELID — Fri, 11 May 2018 05:37:00 +0000

Acting on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, its Executive Directorate (CTED) conducted a three-day follow-up assessment visit to the Republic of South Africa on 7-9 May 2018.

Since the Committee’s comprehensive visit to the country 10 years ago, the global terrorism landscape has changed dramatically. The visit therefore focused not only on South Africa’s implementation of recommendations from 2008, but its evolving approach vis-à -vis new and anticipated challenges, as well as more recent requirements of the Security Council, including those related to foreign terrorist fighters (resolutions 2178 (2014) and 2396 (2017)), addressing counter-terrorism narratives (resolution 2354 (2017), and the protection of critical infrastructure (resolution 2341).

Parts of the delegation in South Africa.

The delegation met with a wide range of Government officials to discuss legislation and judicial practice, counter-financing of terrorism, law enforcement, border management, international cooperation, countering violent extremism that leads to terrorism, the roles of women in countering terrorism and violent extremism, the need for rule-of-law-based responses to terrorism, and countering terrorism while complying with international human rights obligations. On-site visits to the South African Police Service’s Forensics Laboratory in Pretoria, the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison, the O.R. Tambo International Airport, and the National Human Rights Commission enabled in-depth discussions on specific issues.

Welcoming the delegation, H.E. Mr. M. Nkosi, Deputy Director-General for Global Governance and Continental Agenda, affirmed South Africa’s firm resolve to counter terrorism and violent extremism while respecting due process and human rights, in keeping with international obligations. The delegation appreciated its engagement with authorities on their overall institutional approach, founded in South Africa’s national counter-terrorism strategy, as well as thematic discussions aimed at understanding the laws and measures in place to counter terrorism.

The delegation, led by the CTED’s Chief of Africa Section, also included representatives of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

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Joint high-level consultations of UN counter-terrorism bodies in Tajikistan

AKHVEDELID — Wed, 09 May 2018 05:39:00 +0000

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On 3-4 May 2018, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) participated in a high-level international conference on Countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism. Held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the conference was co-organized by the Government of Tajikistan, several United Nations bodies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the European Union (EU), with financial support from the State of Qatar.

CTED Executive Director Michèle Coninsx delivered a statement during the plenary session of the conference, highlighting CTED’s current efforts aimed at countering terrorism and the evolution of its mandate pursuant to the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, as well as its work in Central Asia. One of CTED’s Legal Officers also delivered a presentation on evolving new threats and terrorist tactics with a focus on returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).

The main objectives of the Conference included creating a common understanding of current challenges and obstacles in the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in the region and globally; exploring opportunities for strengthening partnerships and cooperation at national, regional, and international levels; sharing opportunities and challenges of Tajikistan’s National Counter-Terrorism Strategy implementation; identifying trends and challenges of radicalization, and the role of youth, ideology and information in preventing and countering violent extremism leading to terrorism; exchanging experiences in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism with a focus on FTF threat prevention; stock-taking of domestic and regional mechanisms to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism; and strengthening cooperation against cyber-terrorism and developing directives/guidelines for countering violent extremism in cyber space.

The conference was attended by delegations from 47 Member States, several United Nations delegations, and many regional organizations.

On the margins of the conference, Ms. Coninsx held several bilateral meetings, some of these jointly with UNOCT, the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy (UNRCCA), and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). These meetings included discussions with the President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, high-level officials of Afghanistan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, the UN Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan, and heads of regional organizations.

Meeting with the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Mr. Rashid Alimov (centre).

Meeting between the President of Tajikistan and the UN delegation.

In the last three years, CTED has conducted assessment visits, on the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s behalf, to all five countries of Central Asia, and is working closely with UNOCT in the framework of the third phase of the Joint Plan of Action (JPoA) for Central Asia, which was launched on 30 April 2018 in Ashgabat. The recommendations made during these country visits – including those requiring the provision of technical assistance – will be addressed at the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s open briefing in New York on 2 July 2018.

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Sub-regional workshop on Afghanistan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka focuses on national CVE strategies

AKHVEDELID — Sat, 17 Mar 2018 05:57:00 +0000

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Group photo of the workshop participants.

From 14 to 16 March 2018, the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) organized a sub-regional workshop on promoting the adoption and implementation of national strategies to counter violent extremism (CVE). Focusing on national CVE efforts in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the Republic of Maldives, the workshop included the sharing of good practices and lessons learned; the roles of government and civil society in developing and implementing CVE strategies, including the importance of accounting for youth and gender; evolving international approaches; and rehabilitation and reintegration.

In her opening remarks, Executive Director of CTED, Assistant Secretary-General Michèle Coninsx, said that the workshop “provides an important forum for counter-terrorism officials, senior police officers and experts to discuss challenges and share lessons learned and good practices in the context of CVE-related issues, and most importantly – to foster habits of collective efforts to address violent extremism both in the region and beyond.”

Participants included officials from the Governments of Afghanistan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, representatives from national and international civil society organizations (CSOs) and academics, as well as experts from CTED; the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General; the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC); the UN Counter-Terrorism Office (OCT); the UN Development Programme (UNDP); and UN Women.

Over the three days, participants engaged in numerous interactive panel discussions, concluding with a case study simulation exercise. The format enabled participants to strengthen national and regional information-exchange networks, and to promote cooperation among counter-terrorism officials from the region, especially those focusing on CVE. In addition, it served as an opportunity to raise awareness about key Security Council resolutions of relevance to all Member States, such as resolutions 1373 (2001); 1624 (2005); 2178 (2014); 2395, and 2396 (2017).

Held in New York, the workshop was made possible thanks to generous support from the Government of Japan.

To access more photos from the workshop, please visit our Flickr album here.

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