On 28 March 2023, the Security Council held a high-level debate on the theme “Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts: countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism conducive to terrorism by strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations and mechanisms”. The event was presided over by the President of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi.
 

On 9 February 2023, the Security Council held a briefing on the sixteenth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peace and security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat (S/2023/76). 
 

In his briefing to the Security Council, Acting Executive Director of CTED, Weixiong Chen, said the Delhi Declaration, adopted by the Committee last October, called for efforts to develop recommendations and non-binding guiding principles to assist Member States in implementing Security Council resolutions on countering terrorism and terrorist use of new and emerging technologies.
 

The management of violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) poses major challenges to many United Nations (UN) Member States, according to a new Analytical Brief published by the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED). At the same time, the detention period represents a unique opportunity to promote disengagement from violence and develop prevention strategies that can reduce the risks of recidivism in the medium- and long-term.

Challenges identified stem from a host of different reasons. First, the scale of the issue is often unknown or, at best, only roughly estimated. Second, violent extremist prisoners are not a homogenous prison population category, and tailored efforts need to be put in place to address specific needs. Third, for the management of VEPs to be effective, many factors need to be taken into consideration and adequate resources be provided.
 

In paragraph 35 of its resolution 2462 (2019), the Security Council requests CTED to strengthen its assessment process relating to CFT and to provide, annually, on the basis of its reporting and in consultation with the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and the Taliban, to the United Nations Office on Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), through the Counter-Terrorism Committee, a thematic summary assessment of gaps identified and areas requiring more action to implement key CFT provisions of relevant Council resolutions for the purpose of designing targeted technical assistance and capacity-building efforts and, taking into account, as appropriate, mutual evaluation reports of FATF and FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs).
 

The 2022 summary assessment builds upon the information gathered during the visits conducted by CTED on behalf of the Committee in 2022, ongoing analysis of financing of terrorism trends and threats, and CFT-related events organized or attended by CTED throughout the year, as well as inputs gathered from available reports of the Monitoring Team and from FATF/FSRB mutual evaluation reports, as appropriate. In light of the hybrid nature of the visits conducted in 2021 and 2022, the 2022 assessment should be read in conjunction with the 2021 findings.
 

From 3-5 April 2023, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) took part in the 2023 Joint Experts Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in New Delhi, at which over 140 operational experts discussed topics related to the three ongoing projects of the FATF’s Risk, Trends, and Methods Working Group (RTMG): Misuse of Citizenship- and Residency-by-Investment Schemes; Money-Laundering/Terrorism Financing (ML/TF) and Cyber-Enabled Fraud; and Crowdfunding for Terrorism Financing. 
 

Following two previous regional workshops, which were held in Europe (in April 2022) and the Sahel/Maghreb (in February 2023), the regional workshop for the Caribbean on the Technical Guidelines for Member States to facilitate the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2370 (2017) and the relevant international standards and good practices on preventing terrorist from acquiring weapons held virtually from 7 – 9 March 2023, is the last in a series of events organized by CTED, UNCCT, and UNIDIR to promote the Technical Guidelines for Member States to Facilitate the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 2370 (2017) and the Related International Standards and Good Practices on Preventing Terrorists from Acquiring Weapons, to discuss the development of practices to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons, and identify opportunities for strengthening relevant measures at the national and regional levels. The workshop also aimed to provide a foundation for further amending, revising, and updating the Technical Guidelines, which is intended as a living, working reference document.

The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) participated in an expert group meeting organized by the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), with the support of the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), in Valletta, Malta on 21 and 22 March 2023. The meeting brought together human rights experts, legal practitioners, academic experts, and representatives of international and regional organizations to consider priority areas for technical assistance to be provided by the new Counter-Terrorism Platform for Human Rights Engagement (CT – PHARE). CTED was represented by its Senior Human Rights Officer.

From 20 – 21 March 2023, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) led the advance passenger information (API)/passenger name record (PNR) national consultation in Islamabad, Pakistan under the Countering Terrorist Travel Programme. The purpose of the national consultation was to establish a comprehensive understanding of Pakistan’s existing level of API and PNR implementation in terms of legal, operational and technical capacities, as well as of its national counter-terrorism structure and priorities, and to identify specific areas for capacity-building support and technical assistance.
 

The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) participated in the Fifth Global Security Forum, organized and hosted by The Soufan Centre in Doha from 13 to 16 March 2023.

The conference was opened by the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mr. Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The Forum covered international security broadly, which included the war in Ukraine, conflict in Africa, energy policy and space security. 
 

From 20-24 February 2023, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) took part in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Working Groups’ and plenary meetings held at FATF headquarters in Paris, contributing to the discussions on relevant FATF thematic projects, following country-specific processes and assessments, and gathering information on recent trends in terrorism financing and States’ responses. In addition, CTED took this opportunity to brief the FATF delegations on its work on the implementation of the Delhi Declaration on Countering the Use of New and Emerging Technologies for Terrorist Purposes and on its recently published thematic gaps assessment reports prepared in accordance with paragraph 35 of Security Council resolution 2462 (2019).
 

The use of predictive technologies to improve counter-terrorism initiatives, and more specifically border security, was the focus of CTED’s latest Insight Briefing, which was held on 27 March 2023.

One of the main takeaways of the Briefing was that while predictive and probabilistic algorithms, human and signals intelligence, big data analytics, and facial recognition capabilities offer opportunities for Member States’ efforts to address the scourge of terrorism, they also present some challenges.
 

Following the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)’s support to the development of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) good practices memorandum on the implementation of countering financing of terrorism measures while safeguarding civic space, CTED participated in a workshop for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region on safeguarding the non-profit sector from misuse for terrorism financing, organized by the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), on 24 and 25 January in Valletta, Malta.
 

On 23 February 2023, CTED held a brownbag conversation with Development Services Group (DSG) who showcased their Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center (GTTAC) database. Ambassador Adam Blackwell, DSG’s Vice President of International Development, and Dr. Eoin Healy, senior research scientist specialising in quantitative statistical analysis and methodology, terrorism research, and risk assessment, briefed CTED on the GTTAC platform.
 

Building on the outcomes of the previous conferences on the Lake Chad Region, held in 2017 and 2018, the aim of the third High-Level-level Conference on the Lake Chad Region was to advance solutions requiring collaborative approaches between local and central governments and humanitarian, stabilization, development and peace actors. The conference was held from 23-24 January 2023 in Niamey. The organizers sought to explore how these actors can work together and better collaborate with State authorities in the pursuit of durable solutions for people affected by the crisis. An additional purpose of the conference was to mobilize political and financial support to tackle the crisis in the Lake Chad Region.
 

On Thursday, 13 April 2023, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and New York University’s Center for Global Affairs (CGA) celebrated their decade-long partnership. Each semester, CGA and CTED hold consulting practicums which place students in real-world situations with faculty supervision. This brings academic perspectives and insights to CTED’s research and information-gathering activities. The anniversary event brought together alumni of these consulting practicums and CTED staff to discuss past and current practicums – their accomplishments, contributions, and the value of the experience to their postgraduate careers.
 

Her Excellency Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh was appointed Chair of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee on 30 January 2023.

Ambassador Nusseibeh has served as the United Arab Emirates Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations since September 2013.