UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee

THE COMMITTEE’S MANDATE

The Counter-Terrorism Committee was established by Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), which was adopted unanimously on 28 September 2001 in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States.

Acting Chairman Ranko Vilović

CTC Chairman
Ranko Vilović

Ranko Vilović, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia, assumed the chairmanship of the Committee in July 2009.

The Committee, comprising all 15 Council members, was tasked with monitoring implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), which requested countries to implement a number of measures intended to enhance their legal and institutional ability to counter terrorist activities at home, in their regions and around the world.

Those measures include taking steps to:

  • Criminalize the financing of terrorism
  • Freeze without delay any funds related to persons involved in acts of terrorism
  • Deny all forms of financial support for terrorist groups
  • Suppress the provision of safe haven, sustenance or support for terrorists
  • Share information with other governments on any groups practicing or planning terrorist acts
  • Cooperate with other governments in the investigation, detection, arrest, extradition and prosecution of those involved in such acts; and
  • Criminalize active and passive assistance for terrorism in domestic law and bring violators to justice.

The resolution also calls on States to become parties, as soon as possible, to the relevant international counter-terrorism legal instruments.

Under resolution 1535 (2004), the Security Council established the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) to further assist the work of the Committee and thus to strengthen States’ capacity to combat terrorism.

In September 2005, the Security Council adopted resolution 1624 (2005) on incitement to commit acts of terrorism, calling on UN Member States to prohibit it by law, prevent such conduct and deny safe haven to anyone "with respect to whom there is credible and relevant information giving serious reasons for considering that they have been guilty of such conduct."

In addition to calling on States to continue international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, the Council directed the Committee to include in its own dialogue with countries their efforts to implement resolution 1624 (2001).

Committee working methods

The Security Council oversees the work of the Committee, based on a six-month work programme, and hears briefings from the Committee Chairman at open meetings of the Council on threats to international peace and security and receives other relevant reports.

In December 2006 the Secretary-General addressed a letter to the President of the Security Council concerning the process whereby CTED submits its semi-annual comprehensive reports.

While the Committee’s meetings are closed, implementation of resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1624 (2005) is an ongoing process and the Committee seeks to establish a dialogue with all Member States with a view to raising national counter-terrorism capacities and fostering international cooperation between the United Nations system, States and intergovernmental bodies.

The Committee began this process through reports submitted by countries on steps they have taken or plan to take to implement resolution 1373 (2001), eventually receiving more than 600 of them and forming what many experts consider to be the world’s largest body of information on the counter-terrorism capacity of each of the 192 UN Member States.

The Committee’s primary tool for its tailored approach to the situation in each State has been the preliminary implementation assessment (PIA), a snapshot of the counter-terrorism situation in each country based on information from the country itself, international organizations and other public sources, and distributed to that country only. PIAs have been prepared for all 192 Member States and each country is given an opportunity to review it and supply comments or updates in order for the Committee to build a more accurate picture of what is happening in each place.

Based on the information contained in the PIAs, CTED prepared in 2008 the first global survey of how resolution 1373 (2001) is being implemented in different regions and subregions around the world. The survey attempted to identify where progress has been made and where gaps remain, and suggested where the international community might most usefully focus its counter-terrorism efforts in the immediate future. The survey also contained global assessments across the major thematic areas dealt with in the resolution, notably counter-terrorism legislation, border control, law enforcement, countering the financing of terrorism, international cooperation and the protection of human rights while countering terrorism.

Country visits

In March 2005, the Committee began carrying out on-site visits to countries, always with their consent, in order to follow up on their implementation of the provisions of resolution 1373 (2001), as well as to evaluate the nature and level of technical assistance that a specific State may need in order to implement the resolution.

Since 2008, the Committee has recognized the need for carrying out more flexible visits that are tailored to the circumstances of the country concerned and the nature of the terrorist threat it faces.

The visiting teams are led by the CTED and often include experts from such organizations as the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). International, regional and subregional organizations such as the African Union and the European Union, as well as representatives of specialized bodies and institutions which deal with specific aspects of counter-terrorism and are in a position to provide technical assistance in strengthening States’ capacity also take part in these visits.

During the comprehensive visits, the expert teams focus on, and compile their observations into a report with recommendations for action mainly in areas that include counter-terrorism legislation, measures to prevent the use of assets for criminal purposes, the effectiveness of law enforcement services, international cooperation, territorial control and technical assistance.

Press Kit

See the CTC/CTED Press Kit for more details. pdf (520 KB)

THE COUNTER-TERRORISM COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORATE (CTED)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Mike Smith, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate ( CTED)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Mike Smith, Executive Director of CTED. New York, 21 December 2007

The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) was established in 2004 by Security Council resolution 1535 (2004) to strengthen and coordinate the process of monitoring the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001).

It is headed by Executive Director Mike Smith, who took up his appointment, at the level of Assistant Secretary-General, on 19 November 2007. CTED became fully staffed in September 2005 and was formally declared operational in December 2005. CTED's mandate was extended until the end of 2010 by Security Council resolution 1805 (2008).

CTED comprises some 40 staff members, about half of whom are legal experts who analyze the reports submitted by States in areas such as legislative drafting, the financing of terrorism, border and customs controls, police and law enforcement, refugee and migration law, arms trafficking and maritime and transportation security. CTED also has a senior human rights officer.

CTED is divided into two sections: an Assessment and Technical Assistance Office (ATAO), which is further divided into three geographical clusters to enable the experts to specialize in particular regions of the world, and an Administrative and Information Office (AIO).

In addition, five technical groups work horizontally across ATAO to identify issues and criteria for making assessments in their particular area of technical expertise and then disseminate these across the three clusters. The groups deal respectively with technical assistance; terrorist financing; border control, arms trafficking and law enforcement; general legal issues, including legislation, extradition and mutual legal assistance; and finally, issues raised by resolution 1624 (2005); as well as the human rights aspects of counter-terrorism in the context of resolution 1373 (2001).

Across AIO, there is also a quality control unit to improve the technical quality and consistency in language and format of CTED documents and a public communications and outreach unit to strengthen its outreach activities.

In support of the Committee’s work on resolution 1624 (2005), CTED has prepared two reports (S/2006/737 pdf and S/2008/29 pdf) summarizing the responses submitted thus far by about half of the United Nations membership.

CURRENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS

 

Sub-Committee A
France Austria Costa Rica Libyan Arab Jamahiriya United States
France
(chair)
 Austria Costa Rica Libyan Arab Jamahiriya United States
Sub-Committee B
Russian Federation China Croatia Turkey Uganda
Russian
Federation (chair)
 China Croatia Turkey Uganda
Sub-Committee C
Viet Nam Burkina Faso Japan Mexico United Kingdom
Viet Nam (chair) Burkina Faso Japan Mexico United
Kingdom

 

FORMER CHAIRPERSONS

RELATED LINKS

  • Revised Organizational plan for CTED (2008)
  • Organizational chart pdf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)
  • Steps taken to make CTED fully operational
  • Organizational plan for CTED (2004)
  • The revitalization of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC)