2023 Counter-Terrorism Week

Background & overview

The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week is a biennial gathering of Member States and international counter-terrorism partners. The Third Counter-Terrorism Week (CT Week) is scheduled to take place from 19 to 23 June 2023 at the UN Headquarters in New York. It will comprise:

• The Third United Nations High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States to be held on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 June on the overarching theme of “Addressing Terrorism through Reinvigorated Multilateralism and Institutional Cooperation”.
• The Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly to adopt the eighth biennial review resolution of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy to be held on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 June. 
• 40 side events jointly organized by Member States, United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Compact entities, intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, academia and the private sector between Monday 19 and Friday 23 June.

Eighth review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy

The United Nations General Assembly reviews the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS) every two years, making it a living document attuned to Member States’ counter-terrorism priorities. 

All Member States take part in the review of the Strategy as part of the work of the General Assembly. The President of the General Assembly has appointed the Permanent Representatives of Canada and Tunisia as co-facilitators of the eighth review of the GCTS to assist him in steering this intergovernmental process. UNOCT supports the co-facilitators as substantive secretariat of the review process. 

The General Assembly reviews the Strategy and considers the adoption of a resolution on this occasion. 

For more information on the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and its eighth review, please visit the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

Third United Nations High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States

The Secretary-General will convene the Third United Nations High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States from Monday 19 to Tuesday 20 June under the overarching theme “Addressing Terrorism through Reinvigorated Multilateralism and Institutional Cooperation.” 

The Conference will provide a platform for Member States, United Nations entities, international and regional organizations, civil society organizations, and the private sector to exchange information, experiences, and good practices, as well as to explore further cooperation on key counter-terrorism priorities under the four pillars of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

The Conference will serve as an important check-in for the preparation of the New Agenda for Peace, proposed by the Secretary-General in his report on Our Common Agenda, and for the Africa Counter-Terrorism Summit to be held in Nigeria later this year or in early 2024. 

The report of the Second United Nations High-Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism (2021) is available here.

Side Events

Each side event, lasting a maximum 90 minutes, will feature discussions under the overarching theme of the High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter Terrorism Agencies of Member States, “Addressing terrorism through reinvigorated multilateralism and institutional cooperation”. Side events aim to exchange views on key priorities as well as to the implementation of all four pillars of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and relevant Security Council resolutions. 

These side event seek to provide a platform to gather high-level officials and experts from a diverse geographical, multicultural, and gender base, who are dedicated to share their best practices and enhance common efforts in the global fight against terrorism and violent extremism.