The Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, Ambassador Murmokaité.
For one day, the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee moved outside of New York — to Madrid. Hosted by the Government of Spain, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, and chaired by H.E. Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaité, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the United Nations in New York, the Counter-Terrorism Committee on 28 July 2015 held a special meeting with Member States and relevant international and regional organizations to discuss and advance the follow-up to Security Council resolution 2178 (2014) on how to better stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters.
The special meeting was preceded by a day of technical discussions on various aspects of the foreign terrorist fighter threat. Attended by over 400 experts and representatives of Member States including States most affected by foreign terrorist fighters, as well as civil society, academia and research institutions, Monday’s technical sessions focused on three broader themes: (i) Detection, intervention against, and prevention of incitement, recruitment, and facilitation of foreign terrorist fighters; (ii) prevention of foreign terrorist fighters’ travel, including through operational measures, the use of advance passenger information (API), and strengthening border security; and (iii) criminalization, prosecution (including prosecution strategies for returnees), international cooperation, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of returnees.
During the special meeting, which took place at El Pardo palace just outside of the Spanish capital and which saw the participation of H.E. José Manuel García-Margallo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Cooperation, and H.E. Jorge Fernández Díaz, Interior Minister of Spain, rapporteurs for each of the three groups reported back to the Counter-Terrorism Committee on preliminary conclusions and concrete recommendations on how to address issues and make improvements in all areas covered.
The Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, Mr. Laborde.
Reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, the Committee emphasized that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, or ethnic group. The Committee also underlined the important function of the United Nations, specialized international and regional organisations, civil society, research institutes and academia in building an understanding of the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters. One of several sets of concrete recommendations was the strengthening of the role of civil society, supporting families in crisis, and creating opportunities for victims to contribute to countering violent extremism. Another recommendation was the availability of information related to foreign terrorist fighters, including advance passenger information (API), at the border posts of affected States to detect and prevent foreign terrorist fighters from crossing borders. A third proposal was for Member States to consider updating their laws and mechanisms pertaining to mutual legal assistance (MLA).
CTC conclusions of the Special Meeting on stemming the flow of FTFs, Madrid, July 2015
Link to information about the CTC special meeting and technical sessions in Madrid.