What We Do

Assessments

Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) requires the Counter-Terrorism Committee to monitor the implementation of its provisions. The Committee is supported in this work by its Executive Directorate (CTED), which implements the Committee’s policy decisions and conducts expert assessments of Member States. CTED uses two main tools in its dialogue with States: the Detailed Implementation Assessment (DIS) and country visits conducted with the approval of the host Government. The DIS helps the Committee and CTED to understand and define the counter-terrorism situation in each State. Shared only with the State concerned, the DIS is prepared on the basis of information provided by the State concerned, international organizations, and other public sources.

To date, CTED shared 18 assessment visit reports with the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Platform, which launched in March 2020. 

As of September 2022, CTED has conducted more than 182 visits to over 112 United Nations Member States (including 11 virtual components of the hybrid visits during the COVID-19 period and 2 full hybrid visits), on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

S/2020/731– Framework document for Counter-Terrorism Committee visits to Member States aimed at monitoring, promoting and facilitating the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001), 1624 (2005), 2178 (2014), 2396 (2017), 2462 (2019) and 2482 (2019) and other relevant Council resolutions [AR CH EN FR RU ES]  

Facilitation of Technical Assistance

The Counter-Terrorism Committee facilitates the provision of technical assistance to Member States by disseminating best practices; identifying existing technical, financial, regulatory and legislative assistance programmes; promoting synergies between the assistance programmes of international, regional and subregional organizations; and, through its Executive Directorate (CTED), serving as an intermediary for contacts between potential donors and recipients and maintaining an on-line directory of assistance providers, all within the framework of resolution 1373 (2001).

In accordance with the Committee’s guidelines and action plan and the revised organizational plan, CTED also analyzes Member States’ assistance needs in the context of their implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), helps the Committee prioritize States’ requests for assistance and recommends potential sources of assistance in the areas highlighted during the review process.

Meanwhile, the CTED working group on technical assistance has undertaken steps, as approved by the Committee, to identify visited States as being of priority importance in the facilitation of technical assistance and focus on their high-priority needs, as well as devise strategies together with present and potential donors. The working group has also made efforts to organize informal subregional meetings, generate a larger pool of donors and undertake wider outreach and increase the number of relevant performance benchmarks. A database has also been developed to strengthen and promote the exchange of targeted information internally as well as greater transparency between CTED staff and donor focal points in the tracking of technical assistance needs, assessment and process timelines.

The Committee itself is not an assistance provider.

CTC policy guidance on technical assistance can be accessed here. 

Research & Analysis

In its resolution 2129 (2013), the Security Council directs CTED to identify emerging issues, trends and developments relating to relevant Security Council resolutions. In accordance with the resolution, and in order to strengthen its existing research and analysis capabilities, CTED launched the  Global Research Network (GRN) in February 2015.

In its resolutions 2395 (2017) and 2617 (2021), the Council reiterates CTED’s essential role within the United Nations to identify and assess issues, trends and developments, and notes the value of CTED’s relationships with, inter alia, academia, think tanks and international, regional and subregional organizations, in promoting an analysis of emerging threats and trends.

Partnerships

In line with Security Council resolution 2395 (2017), CTED and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) have continued to strengthen their cooperation. This includes the sharing of information, identifying priority regions and areas for collaboration, undertaking joint country visits and follow-up, cooperating on the design and development of projects and programmes, and aligning their strategic communications and joint outreach activities.

Focus Areas

Countering the scourge of terrorism has been on the agenda of the United Nations for decades. Since the 1960s, the Organization has worked to bring the international community together to prevent and counter terrorism, notably developing the international counter-terrorism legal framework to help States combat the threat collectively.

In the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks against the United States, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1373 (2001), which charted the way forward in the fight against terrorism. The resolution established the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), which consists of all 15 members of the Security Council, to monitor the implementation of the provisions of resolution 1373 (2001) and other resolutions. The Committee is supported in its work by its Executive Directorate (CTED), which implements the Committee’s policy decisions and conducts expert assessments of Member States.

The Counter-Terrorism Committee has a global mandate and focuses on specific thematic areas, which are described in detail in the following pages.

• Counter-terrorism strategies - Factsheet
• Countering the financing of terrorism - Factsheet
• Border security and arms trafficking - Factsheet
• Law enforcement - Factsheet
• Legal issues - Factsheet
• Human rights - Factsheet
• Integrating gender into counter-terrorism - Factsheet
• Countering violent extremism and terrorist narratives - Factsheet
• Information and communications technologies - Factsheet, Cyber Security - Factsheet
• Foreign terrorist fighters - Factsheet

Download all of the factsheets about CTED’s work.