Members of the visiting delegation with representatives of the Belgian Government.
On 3 June 2022, the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), acting on behalf of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), completed its follow-up assessment visit to the Kingdom of Belgium. This follow-up visit was conducted in line with the ‘hybrid’ approach to assessment visits, approved by the CTC in light of restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and was aimed at assessing progress made by Belgium in implementing recommendations made by the CTC following its first visit to Belgium in January-February 2009, as well as measures introduced to implement Security Council resolutions 2178 (2014) and 2396 (2017) and other relevant Council resolutions.
The virtual component of this assessment was conducted between 19 October and 30 November 2021 and focused on terrorist threat assessment; legal and criminal justice; international legal cooperation; countering the financing of terrorism; countering violent extremism (CVE), and comprehensive counter-terrorism strategies.
The physical component of the assessment was conducted between 31 May and 3 June 2022, and focused on practical measures undertaken in the areas of law enforcement and border management, including aviation security measures. During the physical component, the visiting delegation conducted an on-site visit to Brussels International Airport. In accordance with Security Council resolution 2617 (2021), the delegation also met with multiple civil society organisations to discuss measures taken by Belgium in the area of counter-terrorism and CVE.
In line with the practice followed for the Committee’s previous visits, the human rights aspects of Belgium’s counter-terrorism measures and the roles of women in countering terrorism and violent extremism were raised during both the virtual and physical components of the assessment, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2242 (2015).
Across the two components of the assessment, the delegation was led by Mr. Ahmed Essmat Seif El-Dawla, CTED Chief of Section for Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, and also included CTED experts, as well as experts from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women); the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); the World Customs Organization (WCO); the International Organization for Migration (IOM); and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol).
The Head of delegation noted that “the visiting delegation appreciated the cooperation and the constructive dialogue experts from CTED and participating United Nations, international and regional partners had with a wide range of interlocutors in Belgium, as well as the Permanent Mission of Belgium to the United Nations in New York”.