UN Counter-Terrorism Body to Continue as Special Political Mission for Three More Years
New York, Dec 20 2010 5:10PM
The Security Council today decided that the expert body providing advice to the Counter-Terrorism Committee assisting
States to prevent terrorist acts both within their borders and across regions will continue to operate as a special
political mission for another three years.
The resolution to extend the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) through 31 December 2013 was
adopted unanimously following a separate meeting today in which the outgoing chair of the Committee, Ertugrul Apakan of
Turkey, briefed the Council on its work.
The Counter-Terrorism Committee was established in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United
States by resolution 1373, which obliges all States to criminalize assistance for terrorist activities, deny financial
support and safe haven to terrorists, and to share information about groups planning terrorist attacks.
CTED, which carries out the policy decisions of the Committee, conducts expert assessments of each Member State and
facilitates counter-terrorism technical assistance to countries.
In his briefing to the Council, Mr. Apakan said that he had tried to make the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee
more visible around the world, and to look into “the evolving nature of terrorism” to identify issues and the regions
that need more attention.
The Committee has adopted a more strategic and focused approach, held thematic discussions on all key areas and
organized regional discussions.
“As a result of all these, we now have a clearer picture of the thematic and regional challenges and what steps need to
be taken,” he stated, adding that more transparency has been another priority for the Committee.
“The Committee should continue its strategic, focused and more transparent approach. This will help better monitor the
full implementation of the relevant resolutions, identify the specific needs of each region or Member State, and enable
the Committee to more intensively interact and cooperate with all Member States.”
Mr. Apakan added that the Committee should dwell more on issues such as incitement to terrorism and prevention, as well
as continue to focus on capacity building which is one of the challenges for many countries.
The four other outgoing members of the Council – Austria, Japan, Mexico and Uganda – also briefed the 15-member body on
the work of the subsidiary bodies they chaired during their two-year tenure.
ENDS