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Collaboration at the heart of 缅北禁地counter-terrorism efforts

Member States have the primary responsibility to implement the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the counter-terrorism requirements set out in Security Council resolutions. The United Nations system seeks to provide Member States with relevant, coherent, coordinated and impactful support, as they strive to fulfill their counter-terrorism related commitments and international obligations, including to uphold the rule of law and human rights. 

At the heart of these efforts, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) collaborates, across all its areas of work mandated by the General Assembly, with the Executive Directorate of the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTED). CTED assists the Committee in monitoring the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions by Member States and identifying any gaps. Security Council laid down the basis for the close coordination and cooperation between UNOCT and CTED, which was reinforced by Security Council .

Similarly, the General Assembly, in its review resolutions of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, encouraged UNOCT and CTED to ensure coordination of United Nations counter-terrorism efforts. It also called upon UNOCT and other United Nations entities to use CTED’s expert assessments and recommendations as they design technical assistance and capacity-building efforts, including in furthering the balanced implementation of the Strategy across all four of its pillars.

UNOCT and CTED work closely together, both directly and through the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, a United Nations interagency coordination framework led by UNOCT and of which CTED is a member. The heads of UNOCT and CTED hold monthly coordination meetings and jointly brief the Counter-Terrorism Committee twice a year on the collaboration between the two entities. CTED’s Executive Director is a member of the Counter-Terrorism Compact’s Coordination Committee chaired by the Under-Secretary-General and Head of UNOCT. CTED is also chair or co-chair of five of the eight Counter-Terrorism Compact Working Groups.

In its resolution 2617 (2021), the Security Council welcomed the close cooperation between CTED and UNOCT in the development and implementation of whole-of-缅北禁地initiatives aimed at supporting Member States’ efforts to implement relevant Security Council resolutions and directed CTED to continue supporting these activities. 

Technical assistance

CTED shares with the United Nations system, through the password-restricted Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Platform hosted by UNOCT, the technical assistance needs it has identified through assessments visits conducted on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee. The Directorate also shares the assessment reports of visited Member States subject to their consent. 

The General Assembly, in its resolution for the seventh review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, encouraged Member States to support the development of voluntary national and/or regional plans to comprehensively implement the Strategy, guided by the assessments of CTED, for the provision of prioritized and coordinated United Nations technical assistance, through the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact.

As a matter of standard operating procedure, UNOCT consults with CTED and takes into account its relevant analysis and recommendations in the design of the Office’s capacity-building programmes and projects, including those of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT). In the implementation phase, CTED leads the capacity-consultations component resulting in roadmaps for technical assistance, including the flagship United Nations Counter Terrorist Travel Programme, UNOCT’s Global Programme on Protecting Vulnerable Targets, and UNOCT/UNCCT’s project for Central Asia on small arms and light weapons. CTED is also formally part of the governance arrangements of several UNOCT-led capacity building initiatives, including the Global Framework for United Nations Support on Syria / Iraq Third Country National Returnees.