Subsidiary Body Chairs Highlight Expanded Cooperation between Counter-Terrorism Committees to Combat Global Threats, in Annual Briefing to Security Council
In their annual briefing to the Security Council today, Chairs of the three counter-terrorism-related Committees highlighted expanded coordinated efforts between the subsidiary bodies to strengthen counter-terrorism work that address the evolving threat of terrorism throughout the world.
Lana Zaki Nusseibeh (United Arab Emirates) spoke on behalf of the Chairs of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities; the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism; and the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004). She reported that, over the past year, the Council’s subsidiary bodies have coordinated their work to strengthen approaches to counter-terrorism and prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery by non-State actors.
The Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, Monitoring Team and 1540 Group of Experts continue to meet regularly to identify further possible areas of cooperation, she continued. The Committees also collaborate, among other things, on drafting material, including the non-binding guiding principles on countering the use of new and emerging technology for terrorist purposes. “The three Committees will continue to cooperate and coordinate their work under their respective mandates, including through joint visits at the invitation of Member States,” she informed the Council.
During the individual briefings by the respective Committee Chairs, which followed, Vanessa Frazier (Malta), Chair of the 1267 Committee, said the resilience of terrorist groups implies a potential for resurgence under specific conditions. Detailing the threats posed by terrorist groups, including in Afghanistan, the Sahel and Sudan, she underlined the importance of maintaining the resolution 1267 (1999) sanctions regime as a top priority on the global counter-terrorism agenda. Encouraging Member States to participate in updating the sanctions lists, she emphasized that engagement with the Committee and Monitoring Team is crucial for effective operation of the sanctions regime.
Andrés Efren Montalvo Sosa (Ecuador), Chair of the 1540 Committee, said that resolution is a vital component of the global non-proliferation architecture to prevent non-State actors from gaining access to weapons of mass destruction. To date, 185 countries have submitted initial reports on the measures they have taken, or plan to take, to implement resolution 1540 (2004). By matching assistance requests from States with offers of assistance, the Committee also plays an important role in supporting Member States to fulfil their obligations, he noted, stressing that cooperation and dialogue with Member States are the cornerstone of the Committee’s activities.
Ms. Nusseibeh (United Arab Emirates), also briefing the Council in her role as Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, highlighted its activities in the assessment of Member States’ implementation efforts. The Committee’s eight visits this year provided an effective mechanism for constructive engagement and dialogue among the Committee, the Committee’ Executive Directorate and Member States. The Committee has also facilitated technical assistance to Member States, she said, noting its close cooperation with the Executive Directorate, Office of Counter-Terrorism and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
In the debate that followed, Council members commended the cooperation among the three Committees, while also voicing concern about the evolving threat of terrorism and the challenges facing the Committees.
Ghana’s representative, encouraging the three Committees to converge their actions on implementing the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, emphasized that the effectiveness of the 1267 Committee depends on Member States’ commitment to implementing sanctions, sharing information and cooperating internationally. However, the lack of adequate information from certain Member States and international organizations could lead to some terrorists evading accountability, he said.
Brazil's delegate emphasized that the collaboration between the three Committees is appropriate when the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction concerns non-State actors designated by the Council as terrorist entities. Nonetheless, State obligations on non-proliferation should remain independent from Security Council designations, he pointed out.
On that note, the Russian Federation’s representative pointed out that the 1540 Committee has neither the mandate nor the technical capacity to implement measures to identify or respond to terrorist threats. Shifting its focus could dilute its non-proliferation focus and result in interference in States’ domestic affairs, she warned.
Several speakers, however, voiced concern about efforts to block the 1540 Committee Chair’s almost year-long attempts to fill the gaps in the Group of Experts, with Japan’s representative stressing: “The Committee's work cannot continue to be held hostage by the obstructionism of any specific member of the Committee.”
To that, the United Kingdom’s representative, also highlighting the blocking of the 1540 Committee’s external engagement activities by a permanent Security Council member, said that situation undermines the ability to support States to implement a resolution designed to prevent chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and related material getting into the hands of nonstate actors.
Switzerland’s representative, as well, called for the appointment of the six proposed experts, underlining that for the 1540 Committee to fully provide assistance to States, it must be able to rely on a fully staffed and functional Group of Experts. She also welcomed efforts made to ensure that civil society voices are heard in the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s country assessments. “We must be attentive to the needs of those we seek to protect” and ensure that counter-terrorism measures do not serve as a pretext for human rights abuses, she said.
Supporting that stance, Albania’s delegate underscored that United Nations efforts to tackle terrorism in all its forms will ultimately fail if human rights are not at the heart of that collective fight. “Reacting to terrorism will never be enough,” he added, calling on the international community to invest in prevention, addressing the root causes of terrorism and undercutting the ability of terrorist groups to recruit new victims.
BRIEFINGS BY CHAIRS OF THE SUBSIDIARY BODIES OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL
Briefings
LANA ZAKI NUSSEIBEH (United Arab Emirates), spoke on behalf of the Chairs of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities; the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism; and the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004). She reported that, over the past year, the Council’s subsidiary bodies have coordinated their work to strengthen approaches to counter-terrorism and prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery by non-State actors. One of the ways they have done so is through cooperation visits, she said, noting that, in 2023, the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee visited Benin, Canada, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Jordan, Republic of Korea and Spain.
These visits also allow the Counter-Terrorism Committee to evaluate the threat of terrorism at the national and subregional levels, as well as identify progress, strengths gaps and good practices, including the delivery of technical assistance, she continued. An important aspect of the work over the past year has been on information exchange. In that regard, the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, the Monitoring Team and 1540 Group of Experts continued to exchange information on issues related to the mandates of the three Committees prior to and after country visits. It has become practice for the Monitoring Team and the 1540 Group of Experts to discuss threat assessments related to individuals and organizations listed under the 1267 and 1988 sanctions regimes, as well as those designated on national sanctions lists. The Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, the Monitoring Team and 1540 Group of Experts continue to meet regularly at the working level to take stock of the latest developments and their respective mandates and to identify further possible areas of cooperation, she added.
The Committees also collaborated on events, she said, noting that the Monitoring Team and the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate collaborated on two side events during the third United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week in June, with the support of experts and several delegations. In addition, experts of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate and the Monitoring Team cooperated closely in the drafting of the mandated sixteenth and seventeenth reports of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by Da’esh to international peace and security and the range of UN efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat. The Monitoring Team experts have contributed to consultations held by the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate to facilitate the drafting of the non-binding guiding principles on countering the use of new and emerging technology for terrorist purposes. The Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate and the Monitoring Team attended working groups and plenary meetings of the Financial Action Task Force and provided consolidated inputs on Da’esh and Al-Qaida financing.
In addition, the Monitoring Team, the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate and the 1540 Group of Experts have been engaged in awareness-raising efforts on the growing threat of non-State actors developing, acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, transporting, transferring or using nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, related materials and dual-use items for terrorist purposes, she reported. The 1540 Committee’s twentieth programme of work covering the period from 1 February 2023 to 31 January 2024, which was submitted to the Council on 16 February 2023, includes a comprehensive list of its planned activities to support full implementation of the requirements of resolution 1540 (2004) by all Member States. “The three Committees will continue to cooperate and coordinate their work under their respective mandates, including through joint visits at the invitation of Member States,” she said, adding that such an approach will ensure an effective and efficient approach to counter-terrorism and to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery and related materials by non-State actors.
https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15495.doc.htm
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