UN Action Against Terrorism
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For the Press

Taking Action: UN measures to counter terrorism

The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism strategy was adopted by General Assembly on 8 September 2006. This marks the first time that member states have agreed to a comprehensive, global strategic framework to counter terrorism. The strategy spells out concrete measures for member states to take to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, to prevent and combat terrorism and strengthen their individual and collective capacity to do so, and to protect human rights and uphold the rule of law while countering terrorism.

Through the consistent and systematic condemnation of terrorist acts, the United Nations aims to continuously undercut whatever appeal terrorism as a tactic my have for any group or people and clearly show that terrorism is not an effective tool to address real or perceived grievances.

Combating terrorism is integral to all aspects of the mandate of the United Nations. The UN Charter sets out the purposes of the Organization, which include to maintain international peace and security, to take collective measures to prevent threats to peace and suppress aggression, and to promote human rights and economic development. The United Nations has and will continue to assist member states in countering the scourge of terrorism.

Below are some examples of the UN taking action to counter terrorism:

Preventing and combating terrorism

  • Under the Al-Qaida and Taliban sanctions regime , 34 States have frozen at least $93.4 million in assets as of January 2006 of individuals and groups whose names appear on the consolidated list of the Committee established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1267 (1999).
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency implemented a Plan of Activities to Protect against Nuclear Terrorism (2002-2005) and has approved a Nuclear Security Plan for 2006-2009. More than 100 evaluation missions have been conducted for assessment, and as a result 38 high-activity radioactive sources were identified and secured in newly independent States.
  • The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has inventoried and inspected 70,000 tons of chemical agent. So far, more than half of the former chemical weapons production facilities in the world have been either completely destroyed or converted for peaceful purposes.
  • The Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) and its experts have examined reports from 127 States and one organization (the European Union) on their efforts to meet the requirements of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) while working to identify deficiencies and suggest improvements in preventing access by non-State actors to weapons of mass destruction and their components.
  • Military and civilian police components of United Nations peacekeeping operations have provided a more secure environment in 16 conflict zones all over the world in the last five years. This has helped to deny terrorists opportunities to recruit and to conduct their operations.
  • The United Nations Security Council has imposed travel bans and financial sanctions against members of Al-Qaida and associated entities.
  • Sixteen universal instruments and protocols have been developed and adopted at the United Nations that have criminalized specific acts of terrorism including hijacking, hostage-taking and nuclear terrorism. Together with the Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001), 1540 (2004), 1566 (2004) and 1624 (2005), those conventions provide a legal framework for multilateral actions against terrorism.

Building state capacity to counter terrorism

  • The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has assisted 112 countries in becoming parties to and implementing the universal instruments related to the prevention and suppression of international terrorism, and provided legislative advice on counter-terrorism to 67 countries. It has also developed or is in the process of developing nine technical assistance tools aimed at assisting countries in strengthening their legal regimes against terrorism.
  • With its field presence in 166 countries, the United Nations Development Programme undertakes numerous activities to promote the rule of law, including programmes to support the implementation of anti-money-laundering legislation, the strengthening of judiciary systems, and the developing of institutional capacity in prosecutors' offices.
  • The Department of Peacekeeping Operations provides training to national police on criminal matters including kidnapping, information-gathering, hostage-taking, close protection, and the investigation of assassinations, murders and bombings.
  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization provides learning materials and curricula to promote inclusive pedagogies and diversified content, and has promoted inter-university solidarity and dialogue through the network of 550 UNESCO Chairs and the UNITWIN programme, which provides opportunities for young people in all regions. UNESCO has also prepared a code of conduct for scientists to help deter the use of scientific work for terrorist purposes.
  • The International Monetary Fund has conducted 40 country assessments on anti-money-laundering and combating the financing of terrorism capacity, and undertaken over 200 bilateral technical assistance missions since 2001 to assist in legislative drafting and in the establishment and strengthening of financial sector supervision.
  • The World Bank has assessed measures of compliance with international anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards and delivered technical assistance to countries in all developing regions.
  • The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime continues to deploy professional expertise in the field to train relevant authorities and build institutions to improve anti-money-laundering and combat the financing of terrorism capacity. In addition the Office maintains a database on anti-money-laundering legislation.
  • The International Civil Aviation Organization assists States in protecting aircraft against attacks by man-portable air defense systems, and has worked to enhance the security of the passports of approximately 70 States.
  • Through the Global Programme on Maritime Security, the International Maritime Organization has conducted 32 country advisory missions and trained approximately 3,800 people on methods for ensuring maritime security.
  • The World Health Organization has detected over 1,000 epidemics of international importance and provided field support for more than 100 of those outbreaks. In addition, WHO has developed a global laboratory network that aggregates the laboratory capacity to respond to outbreaks and biological threats.
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency assists States in establishing an effective regulatory infrastructure, improving physical protection at facilities with nuclear and other radioactive materials, strengthening capabilities at borders to detect and respond to illicit nuclear trafficking, and establishing preparedness to respond to acts of nuclear or radiological terrorism.
  • The Department of Safety and Security is developing counter-terrorism expertise and has undertaken security support operations in 150 States. The Department, Interpol and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are also working together to develop emergency response capacity for security threats, including terrorism.
  • The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force , established in 2005 by the Secretary-General, works to ensure overall coordination and coherence among 23 entities throughout the United Nations system involved in counter-terrorism efforts.

Defending human rights while combating terrorism

  • The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provides assistance and advice to Member States, upon their request, on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, including the review and development of anti-terrorism legislation. OHCHR provides training for law enforcement and security officials, in order to build the necessary skills to implement international human rights instruments.
  • The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism works to identify, exchange and promote best practices on measures to counter terrorism that respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Special Rapporteur also provides, at the request of Member States, advisory services and technical assistance.
  • The Office of Legal Affairs , in collaboration with the Department of Political Affairs and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights , is developing proposals and guidelines for Member States on fair and clear procedures for placing and removing individuals and entities on United Nations sanctions lists.

Addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism

  • The Special Representatives and Envoys of the Secretary-General , in providing mediation support and backstopping the Department of Political Affairs , have helped to facilitate peace agreements in 13 conflicts around the world since 2001. The creation of a mediation support unit in the Department and the Peacebuilding Support Office will further enhance the United Nations peacemaking and peacebuilding capacity.
  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization promotes dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, supports inter-religious and inter-faith dialogue, and fosters quality education through strengthening transboundary cooperation and training in science. The UNESCO Culture of Peace programme assists civil society organizations in denouncing terrorist acts as inexcusable.
  • The Department of Public Information works with media, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations and civil society to promote respect, tolerance and cultural diversity. The Department organizes a series of seminars entitled "Unlearning intolerance" that focuses on combating anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and hate media.

(The above inventory of UN actions is based on the 2 May Report of the Secretary-General, Uniting against Terrorism: Recommendations for a Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.)