Ambassador Greenstock (Chair, Counter-Terrorism Committee) briefed interested UN delegations on 26 November on the work of the CTC. He said that the CTC would continue to operate with maximum transparency. However, some information in the area of counter-terrorism was likely to be sensitive. Ambassador Greenstock recalled that States were entitled to submit a confidential annex to their report submitted pursuant to paragraph 6 of resolution 1373 which would be circulated to CTC members only. States could submit other sensitive information on the same basis "Confidential to the CTC" meant that information would be seen by CTC members only.

Ambassador Greenstock added that it was conceivable that, in the course of verifying a State's implementation of resolution 1373, there might be areas where a State felt the information being requested was too sensitive to share with the 15 members of the Committee. In these areas, the CTC might ask the independent experts to explore the issue with the State concerned. The State might then provide information to the expert orally, who could then brief the CTC without disclosing the substance of the answers given.

Ambassador Greenstock said that the Committee had agreed that he should write to all States asking those in a position to do so to submit information about available technical assistance in the areas covered by 1373. The information would be collated and displayed on the CTC website.

The CTC had also discussed its procedures for processing the reports submitted by States pursuant to paragraph 6 of resolution 1373. The CTC had agreed to divide into three Sub-Committees to make an initial review of each report. The CTC would need to decide on each report whether follow-up action was required, and would also need to consider the question of assistance where requested. The CTC had also agreed that feedback should be given to States. Part of the feedback was likely to be confidential to the State concerned. The CTC would also send an unclassified response to each report in the form of a letter from the Chairman circulated as a Security Council document.

Ambassador Greenstock reminded delegations that the CTC would publish on 30 November a directory of contact points in Missions and capitals. He stressed that it was important that all States submitted an entry in order to maximise possible cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism. Delegations had also been submitting the names of possible experts to be appointed as advisers to the Committee.