As a follow-up to a visit earlier in the year to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on 28 November 2017 held an informal meeting on the country’s priority technical assistance needs. With support of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the aim of the meeting was to mobilize support for the Committee’s efforts to facilitate counter-terrorism related capacity-building activities for Afghanistan.
It was on 31 January and 1 February 2017 that CTED, on behalf of the Committee, conducted a country visit to Afghanistan to monitor the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001), 1624 (2005), and 2178 (2014). The visit resulted in a report that details information CTED gathered on the progress of the implementation and good practices of the Afghan government. The report, which was approved by the Counter-Terrorism Committee in October 2017, provides recommendations on ways to strengthen the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, and identifies priority areas for related technical assistance needs. The agreement of the Government of Afghanistan to make the report available to donors and potential implementing partners paved the way for the meeting, which enabled an open dialogue between donors, UN entities, and potential implementing partners around current challenges Afghanistan faces in countering terrorism, including foreign terrorist fighters and returnees.
As Mr. Arian Sharifi, Director of Strategic threat assessments, National Security Council of Afghanistan, stated in his presentation, terrorism is not a national issue, but rather a regional and global threat that requires cooperation at all levels and across generations. H.E. Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations, underscored the importance of cooperation, and called for regional cooperation and awareness of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) to ensure effective implementation of the resolution and other relevant resolutions. Member States applauded the Government of Afghanistan for sharing the report, expressed their support for the work of CTED, and commended the cooperation between CTED and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (OCT).