Facilitation of Technical Assistance

Facilitation of Technical Assistance

CTED supports the Counter-Terrorism Committee in facilitating technical assistance as per Security Council resolution 1377 (2001) adopted on 12 November 2001. This resolution provided political guidance to the CTC on how to facilitate technical assistance:

“[The Security Council] invites the Counter-Terrorism Committee to explore ways in which States can be assisted, and in particular to explore with international, regional and subregional organizations:

• the promotion of best-practice in the areas covered by resolution 1373 (2001), including the preparation of model laws as appropriate,
• the availability of existing technical, financial, regulatory, legislative or other assistance programmes which might facilitate the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001),
• the promotion of possible synergies between these assistance,

As such, neither the Committee nor CTED are providers of technical assistance. Instead, they facilitate technical assistance by linking available technical assistance projects with the technical assistance needs identified by CTED on behalf of the Committee during assessment visits.

The Counter-Terrorism Committee facilitates the delivery of technical assistance to Member States by adopting recommendations based on the assessments of its Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and instructing CTED to support Member States’ efforts to implement them. The Committee also disseminates good practices, such as the [Madrid Guiding Principles and Addendum] intended to provide Member States with practical guidance on implementing relevant Security Council resolutions within the framework of resolution 1373 (2001) and other relevant resolutions. 

At the behest of Member States, the Committee, through CTED, works with Governmental, multilateral and civil society donors and providers of technical assistance, including OCT and UNODC, to build practical and sustainable results-oriented efforts. CTED’s collaboration with multiple implementation partners works as a force multiplier in improving the capacity of Member States to counter terrorism and violent extremism, as well as strengthening the habits of cooperation to face complex global and regional challenges.

CTED uses its strong networks of counter-terrorism and criminal justice practitioners to build innovative global and regional initiatives, at the behest of the Committee, which serve as laboratories for generating and testing new solutions to complex problems, many of which inform the core work of the Committee, other United Nations entities and implementing partners in a wide range of fields, including countering the financing of terrorism, the adjudication of complex terrorism cases, the use of digital evidence in criminal justice cases and the use of biometrics in border management, all within a human rights and gender sensitive framework. These efforts promote and improve the delivery of technical assistance on to counter terrorism and violent extremism. 

Pursuant to resolution 2396 (2017), the Counter-Terrorism Committee, with the support of CTED, has reviewed its guidance on the threat of foreign terrorist fighters, in order to identify new good practices and to facilitate technical assistance, specifically by promoting engagement between providers of capacity-building assistance and recipients, especially those in the most affected regions.

CTC policy guidance on technical assistance can be accessed here.

Counter-Terrorism Coordination Platform

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Office of Information and Communication Technology (OICT), have developed the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Platform, as a user-friendly, password-protected, digital gateway for:  

• Efficient and inclusive coordination and partnerships within the UN system and with Member States.  
• Joint, multi-stakeholder planning and collaboration among the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities.  
• One-stop-shop to enhance the visibility of UN efforts and for restricted sharing of information.  

Access to the Platform is restricted to designated focal points from Member States and Counter-Terrorism Compact entities.  

To support UN capacity-building activities, CTED has shared the reports of the Counter-Terrorism Committee on its visits to States that have given their consent to a full or partial release of the report, as well as the counter-terrorism-related technical assistance needs, on the online platform of the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, accessible to the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism and designated focal points of the Compact entities.  

 
Capacity Consultations 

Capacity consultations, led by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), form part of the capacity-building projects and programmes spearheaded by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and in partnership with other relevant entities. The aim of the capacity consultations is to enhance the understanding of the current situation on a specific topic and to evaluate the existing legislative, institutional and operational framework and response capacity of beneficiary countries, including with regard to their level of implementation of relevant international instruments and Security Council resolutions in a specific field. The capacity consultations address the current situation, gaps and challenges and map current interventions, establish a baseline and identify specific technical assistance needs and priorities, as well as set target parameters used to monitor the progress in project performance. Following each consultation, CTED, in cooperation with the programme partners, uses the findings to develop a national implementation road map for the Member State, which is a single document that sets out the steps needed to implement a specific international requirement accompanied by tailored recommendations on how the State can implement each of these steps in full compliance with the requirements and objectives of relevant Security Council resolutions and other relevant international standards and obligations. The road map also sets out specific areas of technical assistance that can be provided to the Member State by the programme.

Currently, CTED is leading capacity consultations under the following programmes:

• United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel Programme, a global “All-of-United Nations” initiative assisting Member States in building their capabilities to detect and counter terrorists and serious criminals by collecting and using advanced passenger information and passenger name record data, spearheaded by UNOCT in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Office of Information and Communication Technology and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)
• Addressing the terrorism-arms-crime nexus, preventing and combating the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons and their illicit supply to terrorists – supporting the implementation of Security Council resolution 2370 (2017) and the Madrid Guiding Principles; spearheaded by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre of UNOCT and UNODC in close collaboration with CTED and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization
• Global Programme on the Protection of Vulnerable Targets, contributing to the development of cooperative approaches involving both international cooperation and public-private partnerships to strengthen the security of Member States and in particular the protection of vulnerable targets from terrorist attacks; spearheaded by UNOCT, in partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, and in consultation with CTED and INTERPOL
• Global Fusion Cells Programme, aiming to develop national inter-agency coordination mechanisms or fusion cells/centres which can pool and analyse information, enable informed decision-making, help to prevent attacks from occurring, ensure appropriate preparedness, and promote intelligence-led activity; spearheaded by UNOCT in partnership with CTED, the United Nations Police, INTERPOL and the African Centre for the Studies and Research on Terrorism