On 12 November 2001 the Security Council adopted resolution 1377 (2001), which “recognizes that many States will require assistance in implementing all the requirements of resolution 1373 (2001), and invites States to inform the Counter-Terrorism Committee of areas in which they require such support”. By the resolution the Council further invites the 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 programmes”.

Since 2001 the Counter-Terrorism Committee has held four special meetings with international, regional and subregional organizations in order to discuss how such organizations might best cooperate with the Committee within the framework of the global counter-terrorism effort.

At the first such meeting, held on 6 March 2003 with the participation of 57 organizations, it was agreed that international organizations would share information on codes, standards and best practices in their areas of competence, and that regional and subregional organizations would develop mechanisms to facilitate assistance and cooperation among neighbouring countries. In the context of this cooperation, each organization would focus on its core competencies, avoiding duplication of effort and waste of resources and pursuing its own mandate and initiatives with greater urgency. Regional and subregional organizations would ensure that counter-terrorism was given a high priority by the Governments of their member countries, within the framework of resolution 1373 (2001).

Three subsequent follow-up meetings have been held. The first was hosted by the Organization of American States (OAS) and its Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE) in Washington, D.C., in October 2003; the second by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, in March 2004; and the third by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in January 2005. The Fifth Follow-Up Special Meeting is scheduled to take place at the end of October 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Pursuant to the outcome documents of these meetings, the relevant international, regional and subregional organizations agreed to provide the Committee with the necessary information for inclusion in a directory of available technical assistance programmes relating to counter-terrorism. The Committee’s Executive Directorate (CTED) has compiled this directory, which it makes available to Member States and to international, regional and subregional organizations. In doing so, CTED seeks to prevent the duplication of assistance programmes and to offer opportunities for joint assistance, as well as to focus and coordinate counter-terrorism action plans with the objective of fully targeting the priorities of resolution 1373 (2001). The directory is also an instrument to be used by Member States in identifying sources of technical assistance needed to implement the provisions of the resolution. International, regional and subregional organizations are urged to contribute to the directory as well as to utilize it as a tool to better understand the technical assistance programmes available through other organizations and to explore opportunities for joint technical assistance programmes.

Member States requiring counter-terrorism capacity-building assistance are invited to request such assistance directly from the relevant organization and to inform the Executive Directorate of the request (cted@un.org). Also, international, regional and subregional organizations are invited to keep the Executive Directorate apprised of any new initiatives, additions or changes to their technical assistance programmes.

The Directory of Assistance is the product of collaboration between the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate, on the one hand, and international, regional and subregional organizations, on the other. The directory provides information about the technical assistance programmes available from donors and providers, including programme descriptions, programme methodologies, eligibility requirements and contact information.

If you are a provider of technical assistance programmes related to resolution 1373 (2001), please contact CTED (cted@un.org) for further information on how to post your programme on this website.

Also, please contact CTED if your information as a donor/provider is listed in the Directory and you wish to share further updates.