Ambassador Greenstock, Chairman of the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC), briefed member states on the work of the CTC on 9 December 2002.  The CTC had received 175 first round reports and 101 second round reports from member states to date.  However 16 first round reports were still outstanding and Ambassador Greenstock said that the CTC planned to intensify its efforts to encourage those states that had yet to submit a report to do so promptly.   

Ambassador Greenstock said that the CTC had discussed how to organise its work so that it offered the best guidance to member states to help them implement the requirements of SCR1373 quickly and effectively.  The CTC had agreed the process should follow that set out in the discussion paper "CTC Stage B".  This paper set out three phases, and it was expected that the states would move through these phases at their fastest capable speed.           

The CTC had also been considering Jeremy Wainwright's letter of 11 November 2002 to the CTC Chairman on states' responsibilities with regard to assets freezing.  Ambassador Greenstock emphasised the need for member states to act quickly to freeze the assets of any individual or organisation suspected of any involvement in terrorism and not simply those on sanctions lists.   He urged representatives to bring the paper to the attention of their governments.  

Two new experts (Ms Senna, Brazil and Mr Netshitomboni, South Africa) had joined the CTC's Stage A team making a total of four.  The CTC were looking to recruit two more Stage A experts, another one for the Technical Assistance Team and had agreed the Terms of Reference for another two experts to look at Stage B issues.   

Ambassador Greenstock said that the CTC was keen to promote contacts with international, regional and sub-regional organisations to strengthen international and regional co-operation against terrorism.  The CTC planned to hold a Special Meeting in the spring of 2003 with representatives from these organisations.  He added that it had recently met representatives from the IMF, the World Bank and the FATF to discuss co-ordination in the area of suppressing the financing of terrorism.   

Ambassador Greenstock announced that the Directory of Counter Terrorism Information and Sources of Assistance was now on-line and any additional contributions would be most welcome.  It can be accessed through the "CTC Directory" button on this website.