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European Union, United Nations to Strengthen Partnership on Counter-Terrorism

BRUSSELS, 25 May (Office of Counter-Terrorism) — Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Vladimir Voronkov, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, met in Brussels today to discuss the cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, as well as efforts by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to reform and strengthen the Organization’s counter-terrorism work.

Ms. Mogherini, who is also Vice-President of the European Commission, and Mr. Voronkov spoke of possible steps that the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism could take in further developing global counter-terrorism policy, and in coordinating capacity-building efforts undertaken by various United Nations entities in support of Member States.  She confirmed the European Union’s commitment to the fight against terrorism, both internally and globally, with full respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law.  Ms. Mogherini underlined the European Union’s resolve to continue to work closely with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and the wider United Nations system in strengthening multilateralism and global governance.  Mr. Voronkov confirmed the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism’s commitment to play a central role in strengthening the partnership between the European Union and the United Nations system on the basis of shared values as well as common objectives and priorities.

Their encounter took place on the occasion of the first high-level European Union-United Nations Leadership Dialogue on Counter-Terrorism.  The Dialogue initiated a new spirit of practical collaboration aimed at strengthening multilateral coordination efforts in counter-terrorism and the prevention of violent extremism.  Discussions centred on collaboration between the United Nations and the European Union in areas of common concern such as addressing the challenges of retuning/relocating foreign terrorist fighters, counter-terrorism capacity-building efforts in Central Asia, South and South-East Asia, the Sahel region and the Lake Chad Basin, as well as promoting a “whole-of-UN” approach in preventing and countering terrorism.  Both sides agreed on the need to adopt an “all of society” approach to preventing violent extremism and to include civil society organizations, the private sector, think tanks, as well as Governments at the national and local levels in the process.

The Dialogue was co-convened by Mr. Voronkov and Pedro Serrano, Deputy Secretary General for Common Security and Defence Policy at the European External Action Service, with the participation of Sir Julian King, the European Commissioner for Security Union, and Gilles de Kerchove, the European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator.  Accompanied by Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General of INTERPOL, Mr. Voronkov led a delegation of representatives of six United Nations agencies, including the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, and the United Nations Liaison Office for Peace and Security.

Background

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism was established in June 2017 to provide leadership on the implementation of General Assembly counter-terrorism mandates, to enhance coordination and coherence, and to strengthen the delivery of United Nations counter-terrorism capacity-building assistance to Member States.

For more information, visit www.un.org/counterterrorism as well as eeas.europa.eu/topics/counter-terrorism_en, or contact Ms. Gerard, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, New York, at gerardl@un.org, or Ms. Kocijancic, Spokesperson for European Union Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, at maja.kocijancic@ec.europa.eu.

For information media. Not an official record.