
The Second Counter-Terrorism Week at the United Nations was anticipated to take place from 29 June to 3 July 2020 at the UN Headquarters, New York. This 2020 Counter-Terrorism Week was planned to include the Seventh Biennial Review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the first ever United Nations Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism, as well as the Second United Nations High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis and following the decision of the General Assembly to postpone the review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy to its 75th session, the entire 2020 Counter-Terrorism Week is postponed.
Countering Terrorism in a Global Pandemic Environment
The Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week will be held from 6-10 July and convened under the overarching theme of “Strategic and Practical Challenges of Countering Terrorism in a Global Pandemic Environment”.
The event will be launched on Monday 6 July 2020 at 10:00 am (New York time) with an opening two-hour high-level session titled “Post COVID-19 World: Contours and Pivot Points and Benefits of Multilateral Collaboration.”
Thereafter, the Week will include nine additional webinars and interactive discussions focusing on priorities such as bio and cyber terrorism, high-risk threats and trends, addressing the plight of victims of terrorism, flagship UN counter-terrorism programmes, human rights and counter-terrorism, countering the financing of terrorism, youth-led initiatives to build resilient societies, and civil society and media perspectives to prevent violent extremism, among others.
The event will provide an opportunity to bring Member States, United Nations entities, thought leaders, civil society representatives and other stakeholders together to exchange views, through strategic and expert-level online events, on what the new circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic mean for the counter-terrorism landscape.
The Opening, UNCCT Expo Launch and Closing sessions will be webcast live on: https://webtv.un.org
The full programme is also available here.
Conference sessions
The 2020 Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week will consist of ten (10) webinars and interactive discussions, including:
| Date | Session |
| Monday, 06 July 10 AM – 12 PM | The Opening Session Watch the recap on UN Web TV Key Note Address:
Distinguished Speakers:
Co-Moderators:
|
| Monday, 6 July 12:30 PM – 2 PM | Interactive Discussion I Emerging Threats: Responding to the Threat of Bio and Cyber Terrorism (concept note) |
| Tuesday, 7 July 9 AM – 11 AM | Webinar II The Global Scourge of Terrorism: Assessment of High-Risk Threats and Trends, including the rise of Violent Extremism and Hate Speech in a Pandemic Environment (by Invitation only). |
| Tuesday, 7 July 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM | UNCCT Virtual Expo Launch (concept note)(video) Distinguished Speakers:
Interview:
Moderator:
Watch the Launch Explore the Virtual Expo |
| Wednesday, 8 July 9 AM – 11 AM | Webinar III Addressing the Plight of Victims of Terrorism in a Challenging Environment (concept note) |
| Wednesday, 8 July 11:30 AM – 1 PM | Interactive Discussion III Global programmes on Countering Terrorist Travel, Returning Foreign Terrorists Fighters (FTFs), including their Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (concept note) |
| Thursday, 9 July 9 AM – 11 AM | Webinar IV Protecting and promoting Human Rights as a cornerstone of building resilience against terrorism (concept note) |
| Thursday, 9 July 11:30 AM – 1 PM | Interactive Discussion IV Prevention of Violent Extremism and Strengthening Social Cohesion: Investing in Youth-led and Youth-driven Initiatives to build Resilient Societies (concept note) |
| Friday, 10 July 9 AM – 11 AM | Webinar V Civil Society and Media Perspectives on Preventing and Countering Terrorism in a Pandemic (concept note) |
| Friday, 10 July 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM | The Closing Session Watch the recap on UN Web TV Moderator:
Speakers:
Commentary:
|

#UNCCT launched its 1st Virtual Exposition on 7 July 2020 during #VirtualCTWeek. The #UNCCTExpo takes visitors on an interactive digital journey, exploring the Centre's history and its capacity-building efforts.
- Explore and interact with the Virtual Expo!
- Watch the Launch (recap) on UN WebTV

UNCCT’s annual results-based reports present the Centre’s significant work and impact as the leading UN entity on CT capacity building, highlighting efforts to enhance its strategic support to Member States to ensure the balanced implementation of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
• The annual report is available for the year of: [2022]PDF[2021]PDF[2020]PDF[2019]PDF[2018]PDF
• Annual report summary[2022]
Useful resources
Visibility Report

The Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week 2020 Visibility Report contains highlights, key conclusions and outcomes from the ten webinars and interactive discussions that took place during the event.
2018 Counter-Terrorism Week
The UN Secretary-General convened the first UN High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States, on 28 and 29 June 2018 at United Nations Headquarters. The overarching theme for this Conference is “Strengthening international cooperation to combat the evolving threat of terrorism”.
UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
The UN General Assembly adopted by consensus the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy on 8 September 2006. The strategy is a unique global instrument to enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism. The General Assembly reviews the Strategy every two years, making it a living document attuned to Member States’ counter-terrorism priorities.