UN Entities
- UN Office of Counter Terrorism: http://www.un.org/en/counterterrorism/
- Secretary-General signs United Nations Coordination Compact with 36 Entities to end terrorism, violent extremism worldwide (SG/SM/18907, 23 February 2018): https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sgsm18907.doc.htm
- General Assembly approves creation of new UN Counter-Terrorism Office
(UN News Centre, 15 June 2017): http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56984
- United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact: https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/global-ct-compact
- UN Countering Terrorist Travel: https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/ctc/
- Victims of Terrorism Support Portal: http://www.un.org/victimsofterrorism/en
- Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC): https://www.un.org/sc/ctc/
- Security Council Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1540 (2004): https://www.un.org/en/sc/1540/
- Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities (“ISIL (Da’esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee”): https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1267
- Security Council Working Group established pursuant to Resolution 1566 (2004): https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/subsidiary/1566
- Ad Hoc Committee established by General Assembly Resolution 51/210 of 17 December 1996: https://legal.un.org/committees/terrorism/
- United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) – Preventing and Countering Transnational Security Threats, Terrorism, and Points of Nexus: https://unicri.it/topics/counter_terrorism
- United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
- Counter-Terrorism-Strategy: https://disarmament.unoda.org/counter-terrorism/
- Measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction: https://disarmament.unoda.org/sgreport-terrorism/
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/terrorism/index.html
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- OHCHR and terrorism and violent extremism: https://www.ohchr.org/en/terrorism
- Terrorism and violent extremism: https://www.ohchr.org/en/topic/terrorism-and-violent-extremism
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-terrorism
- Independent expert on terrorism: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-terrorism/independent-expert-terrorism
UN Observances & Events
- 2023 Counter-Terrorism Week: https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/2023-counter-terrorism-week
- International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism, 12 February: https://www.un.org/en/observances/prevention-extremism-when-conducive-terrorism-day
- International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, 21 August: https://www.un.org/en/observances/terrorism-victims-day
- High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States,
28 – 29 June 2018: http://www.un.org/en/counterterrorism/hlc/index.shtml
Treaties, Declarations & selected UN Documents
- International Legal Instruments:
https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/international-legal-instruments - UN documents on “Counter-Terrorism”: https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/un-documents
- UN documents on “Terrorism” – click here
- A/71/858 (3 April 2017): Capability of the United Nations system to assist Member States in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy: Report of the Secretary-General: http://undocs.org/A/71/858
Annexes (p. 20-58): 1. Written replies from Member States for inclusion in the report of the Secretary-General on the capability of the United Nations system to assist Member States in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy — 2. Terms of reference for the Advisory Board of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre. - A/70/674 (24 December 2015): Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism: Report of the Secretary-General: http://undocs.org/A/70/674
- A/RES/60/288 (Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 8 September 2006): United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy: http://undocs.org/A/RES/60/288
Summary: Decides, without prejudice to the continuation of the discussion in its relevant committees of all their agenda items related to terrorism and counter-terrorism, to undertake the following steps for the effective follow-up of the Strategy: (a) To launch the Strategy at a high-level segment of its 61st session; (b) To examine in 2 years progress made in the implementation of the Strategy, and to consider updating it to respond to changes, recognizing that many of the measures contained in the Strategy can be achieved immediately, some will require sustained work through the coming few years and some should be treated as long-term objectives; (c) To invite the Secretary-General to contribute to the future deliberations of the General Assembly on the review of the implementation and updating of the Strategy; (d) To encourage Member States, UN and other appropriate international, regional and subregional organizations to support the implementation of the Strategy, including through mobilizing resources and expertise; (e) To further encourage non-governmental organizations and civil society to engage, as appropriate, on how to enhance efforts to implement the Strategy; decides to include in the provisional agenda of its 62nd session an item entitled “The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy”. - A/60/825 (27 April 2006): Uniting Against Terrorism: Recommendations for a global counter-terrorism strategy; Report of the Secretary-General: http://undocs.org/A/60/825
Submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 60/1. Annexes (p. 25-32): 1. Inventory of UN counter-terrorism activities — 2. Status of universal instruments related to the prevention and suppression of international terrorism. - A/59/565 (2 December 2004): A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility; Report of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change: http://undocs.org/A/59/565
Summary: Transmits letter dated 1 Dec. 2004 from the Chair of the UN High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change enclosing the report of the Panel entitled “A more secure world: our shared responsibility”. Part 1 of the text on “Towards a new security consensus” identifies 3 basic pillars the case for collective security today rests on: i) threats without boundaries; ii) the limits of self-protection; and iii) sovereignty and responsibility. Part 2 on “Collective security and the challenge of prevention” identifies 6 clusters of threats with which the world must be concerned now and in the decades ahead: i) economic and social threats, including poverty, infectious diseases and environmental degradation; ii) inter-State conflict; iii) internal conflict, including civil war, genocide and other large-scale atrocities; iv) nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons; v) terrorism; and vi) transnational organized crime. Part 3 on “Collective security and the use of force” addresses the circumstances in which effective collective security may require the backing of military force, and identifies 5 criteria of legitimacy. Part 4 on “A more effective UN for the 21st century” focuses on the issue of the UN reform, and states that recommendations that ignore underlying power realities will be doomed to failure or irrelevance, but recommendations that simply reflect raw distributions of power and make no effort to bolster international principles are unlikely to gain the widespread adherence required to shift international behaviour. Included annexes are: i) summary of recommendations; ii) Panel members and terms of reference; iii) Panel secretariat; and iv) Panel meetings, regional consultations and issue workshops.
Selected Statements and Speeches of the Secretary-General
- Calling terrorism ‘an affront to humanity’, Secretary-General urges being more vigilant than ever, in Global Day Message for Prevention of Violent Extremism (SG/SM/21683, 10 February 2023): https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm21683.doc.htm
- Data-driven tools, strategies must be at heart of building peace, security, Secretary-General tells Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact (SG/SM/21665, 25 January 2023): https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm21665.doc.htm
- Combating spread of terrorism in Africa ‘not a concern for african states alone, challenge belongs to all of us’, Secretary-General tells Security Council (SG/SM/21579, 10 November 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21579.doc.htm
- Transnational threats demand coordinated solutions, multilateral cooperation, Secretary-General tells Conference on Border Security, Counter-Terrorism (SG/SM/21540, 18 October 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21540.doc.htm
- Secretary-General tells terrorism victims ‘your voices matter, you are not alone’, in Message for Global Congress (SG/SM/21441, 8 September 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21441.doc.htm
- Victims, survivors of terrorism must always be heard, never forgotten, says Secretary-General, in Message for International Day (SG/SM/21414, 17 August 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21414.doc.htm
- Terrorism ‘an all-out assault on our shared values, an affront to humanity’, Secretary-General tells Global Coordination Compact Meeting (SG/SM/21313, 8 June 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21313.doc.htm
- Secretary-General stresses moral, legal duty, strategic imperative to put human rights front, centre of fight against terror, in Message for High-Level Event (SG/SM/21266, 10 May 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21266.doc.htm
Selected Publications available online
- UNODC Technical assistance tools and publications:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/terrorism/technical-assistance-tools.html - UN Office of Counter-Terrorism publications: https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/publications
- UN Women’s engagement in support of counter terrorism and prevention of violent extremism (UN Women, 2022): https://bit.ly/3zbf9XF
Databases & Research Guides
- Electronic Legal Resources on International Terrorism: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/international-cooperation/databases.html
- Counter-terrorism Learning Platform:
https://ctlp.unodc.org/login/index.php - UN Library Vienna Research Guide – Terrorism Prevention: http://libraryresearch.unvienna.org/terrorismprevention
- Ask Dag – What are the Madrid Guiding Principles? https://ask.un.org/faq/261902
- Audiovisual Library of International Law
- Historic Archives
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- Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, 1994, and the 1996 Supplementary Declaration thereto / by Rohan Perera: http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/dot/dot.html
- International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, 1997 /
by Pierre Klein: http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/icstb/icstb.html - International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, 1999 / by Pierre Klein: http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/icsft/icsft.html
- International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, 2005 / by Rohan Perera: http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/icsant/icsant.html
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- Lectures Series
- Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and War against Terrorism / by Maja Sersic: http://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Sersic_PS.html
- Tensions between Sanctions, Counter-terrorism Measures and Humanitarian Action / by Emanuela-Chiara Gillard: https://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Gillard_PS.html
- International Legal Framework to Enhance Co-operation in Combating International Terrorism – Contribution of the United Nations / by Rohan A. Perera: http://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Perera_PS.html
- The Security Council, the Al Qaida Sanctions Regime and Due Process / by Mr. Dire Tladi: http://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Tladi_PS.html
- State Responsibility for International Terrorism / by Dr. Kimberley Trapp: http://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Trapp_S.html
May 2023
not an official document – for information only
https://unric.org/en/unric-library-backgrounder-counter-terrorism/
