Workshop for Europe - Technical guidelines to facilitate the implementation of Security Council resolution 2370 (2017)

Brussels - On 27-29 April 2022, the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) jointly organized a workshop for Europe to promote the Technical guidelines to facilitate the implementation of Security Council resolution 2370 (2017). 

In line with the resolution, the technical guidelines look at measures for preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons with a specific focus on small arms and light weapons, improvised explosive devices and unmanned aircraft systems. The technical guidelines, which were recently launched in New York, are a product of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact Working Group on Border Management and Law Enforcement relating to Counter-Terrorism and were developed under the leadership of CTED, UNIDIR and UNCCT, with generous funding of Germany and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The workshop convened representatives of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as experts from the European Commission, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Criminal Police Organization, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

The workshop was the first in a series of regional events to discuss the maturity of practices in preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons and identify areas for improvement of measures at national and regional levels. The workshop also aimed at providing a foundation for further modifications, revisions and updates of the technical guidelines –which are a living reference document. UNCCT and its partners are planning to conduct similar workshops in the Maghreb/Sahel and Caribbean regions in 2022.

Background
The prospect of non-State actors, including terrorist groups and their supporters, gaining access to and using weapons is a serious threat to international peace and security. Keeping weapons from terrorists is therefore of critical importance to the international community. The increasing diversion of small arms and light weapons to terrorists, the increasing use of improvised explosive devices, and the emerging issue of the use of unmanned aircraft systems by terrorists are particularly concerning trends and developments – both old and new – that merit greater attention in the collective fight against terrorism. 
To tackle this issue in a comprehensive manner, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2370 (2017) outlining concrete measures to be undertaken by Member States. To facilitate the implementation of this resolution, as well as other related international standards, the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact Working Group on Border Management and Law Enforcement relating to Counter-Terrorism has developed these technical guidelines.