The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review

A/RES/68/276View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 119The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, published in 2013.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2012–2018

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/72/284

2018A/RES/72/284The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy reviewLatestCompare with previous version
2016A/RES/70/291The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy reviewCompare with previous version
2014A/RES/68/276The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy ReviewCompare with previous version
2012A/RES/66/282The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy review

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 topics

Coordination Within UN System Counter-Terrorism Human Rights Information Dissemination International Cooperation International Security Terrorism

What does this mandate say?

43 operative paragraphs

Reiterates its strong and unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes;

Reaffirms the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and its four pillars, which constitute an ongoing effort, and calls upon Member States, the United Nations and other appropriate international, regional and subregional organizations to step up their efforts to implement the Strategy in an integrated and balanced manner and in all its aspects;

Stresses the importance of keeping the Strategy relevant and contemporary in the light of emerging new threats and evolving trends of international terrorism;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Activities of the United Nations system in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy”, welcomes the new summary matrix of counterterrorism projects implemented by United Nations entities around the world and the efforts deployed by the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force Office in this regard, and underlines the importance of providing the necessary resources for the implementation of these projects;

Also takes note of the measures that Member States and relevant international, regional and subregional organizations have adopted within the framework of the Strategy, as set out in the report of the Secretary-General, which are to be considered at the fourth biennial review of the Strategy, on 12 and 13 June 2014, all of which strengthen cooperation to fight terrorism, including through the exchange of best practices;

Reaffirms the principal responsibility of Member States to implement the Strategy, while further recognizing the need to enhance the important role that the United Nations, including the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, plays, in coordination with other international, regional and subregional organizations, as appropriate, in facilitating and promoting coordination and coherence in the implementation of the Strategy at the national, regional and global levels and in providing assistance, upon request by Member States, especially in the area of capacity-building;

Affirms the importance of the integrated and balanced implementation of all pillars of the Strategy, recognizing the importance of redoubling efforts for even attention paid to and even implementation of all the pillars of the Strategy;

Stresses the significance of a sustained and comprehensive approach, including through stronger efforts, where necessary, to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, bearing in mind that terrorism will not be defeated by military force, law enforcement measures and intelligence operations alone;

Recognizes the principal responsibility of Member States to implement the Strategy, while encouraging the further elaboration and development of national, subregional and regional plans, as appropriate, to support the implementation of the Strategy;

Encourages civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to engage, as appropriate, in efforts to enhance the implementation of the Strategy, including through interaction with Member States and the United Nations system, and encourages Member States and the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force and its entities to enhance engagement with civil society in accordance with their mandates, as appropriate, and to support its role in the implementation of the Strategy;

Calls upon Member States and the United Nations entities involved in supporting counter-terrorism efforts to continue to facilitate the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as due process and the rule of law, while countering terrorism;

Urges all States to respect and protect the right to privacy, as set out in article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including in the context of digital communication, also while countering terrorism, in accordance with international law, in particular international human rights law, and to take measures to ensure that interferences with or restrictions on that right are not arbitrary, are adequately regulated by law, and are subject to effective oversight and to appropriate redress, including through judicial review or other legal means;

Urges Member States to ensure that any measures taken or means employed to counter terrorism, including the use of remotely piloted aircraft, comply with their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, human rights law and international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of distinction and proportionality;

Recognizes the work done and efforts made by the relevant United Nations bodies and entities and other international, regional and subregional organizations aimed at supporting, recognizing and protecting the rights of victims of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and urges them to step up their efforts to provide, upon request, technical assistance for building the capacity of Member States in the development and implementation of programmes of assistance and support for victims of terrorism;

Deeply deplores the suffering caused by terrorism to the victims of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to their families, expresses its profound solidarity with them, encourages Member States to provide them with proper support and assistance while taking into account, inter alia, when appropriate, considerations regarding remembrance, dignity, respect, justice and truth, in accordance with international law;

Welcomes the efforts of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force to increase its transparency, accountability and effectiveness, and calls upon the Task Force and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre to improve the strategic nature and impact of their programmes and policies;

Calls upon States that have not done so to consider becoming parties in a timely manner to the existing international conventions and protocols against terrorism, and upon all States to make every effort to conclude a comprehensive convention on international terrorism, and recalls the commitments of Member States with regard to the implementation of General Assembly and Security Council resolutions relating to international terrorism;

Underlines, in that regard, the importance of greater coordination among United Nations entities and of the work of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force to ensure overall coordination and coherence in the counter-terrorism efforts of the United Nations system, as well as the need to continue promoting transparency and to avoid duplication in their work;

Recognizes the continued need to enhance the visibility and effectiveness of United Nations counter-terrorism activities and ensure greater cooperation, coordination and coherence among United Nations entities, with a view to maximizing synergies, promoting transparency and greater efficiencies and avoiding duplication of their work;

Reaffirms the need for enhanced dialogue among the counter-terrorism officials of Member States to promote international, regional and subregional cooperation and wider dissemination of knowledge of the Strategy in order to counter terrorism, and in that regard recalls the role of the United Nations system, in particular the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, in promoting international cooperation and capacity-building as elements of the Strategy;

Recognizes the role of the regional organizations, structures and strategies in combating terrorism, and encourages them to consider using best practices developed by other regions in their fight against terrorism, as appropriate, taking into account their specific regional and national circumstances;

Recalls that all States must cooperate fully in the fight against terrorism, in accordance with their obligations under international law, in order to find, deny safe haven and bring to justice, on the basis of the principle of extradite or prosecute, any person who supports, facilitates, participates or attempts to participate in the financing, planning, preparation or commission of terrorist acts or provides safe havens;

Emphasizes that tolerance and dialogue among civilizations and the enhancement of interfaith and intercultural understanding and respect among peoples, including at the national, regional and global levels, while avoiding the escalation of hatred, are among the most important elements in promoting cooperation, in combating terrorism and in countering violent extremism, and welcomes the various initiatives to this end;

Urges all Member States to unite against violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations as well as sectarian violence, encourages the efforts of leaders to discuss within their communities the causes of violent extremism and discrimination and to evolve strategies to address these causes, and underlines that States, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations, religious bodies and the media have an important role to play in promoting tolerance and respect for religious and cultural diversity;

Expresses concern over terrorist acts committed by lone terrorists in various parts of the world, and recognizes the need to address this issue;

Underlines the importance of multilateral efforts in combating terrorism and refraining from any practices and measures inconsistent with international law and the principles of the Charter;

Expresses its concern at the increasing use, in a globalized society, by terrorists and their supporters, of information and communications technologies, in particular the Internet and other media, and the use of such technologies to commit, incite, recruit for, fund or plan terrorist acts, notes the importance of cooperation among stakeholders in the implementation of the Strategy, including among Member States, international, regional and subregional organizations, the private sector and civil society, to address this issue, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and complying with international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter, and reiterates that such technologies can be powerful tools in countering the spread of terrorism, including by promoting tolerance and dialogue among peoples and peace;

Expresses concern at the increase, in some regions, in incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking committed by terrorist groups, for any purpose, including with the aim of raising funds or gaining political concessions, notes that ransoms paid to terrorists are used as one of the sources of funding for their activities, including further kidnappings, calls upon all Member States to prevent terrorists from benefiting from ransom payments and political concessions and to secure the safe release of hostages, in accordance with applicable legal obligations, and encourages Member States to cooperate, as appropriate, during incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking committed by terrorist groups;

Encourages all Member States to collaborate with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre and to contribute to the implementation of its activities within the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force;

Notes with appreciation the activities undertaken in the area of capacitybuilding by United Nations entities, including the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force entities, inter alia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in coordination with other relevant international, regional and subregional organizations to assist Member States, upon their request, in implementing the Strategy, and encourages the Task Force to ensure focused delivery of capacity-building assistance, including in the framework of the Integrated Assistance for Countering Terrorism Initiative;

Expresses its concern at the increasing flow of international recruits to terrorist organizations, including foreign terrorist fighters, and at the threat it poses for all Member States, including countries of origin, transit and destination, encourages all Member States to address this threat by enhancing their cooperation and developing relevant measures to prevent and tackle this phenomenon, including information-sharing, border management to detect travel, and appropriate criminal justice response, and to consider the use of United Nations instruments, such as sanctions regimes, as well as cooperation;

Recognizes the need to continue to take measures to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism, and in this regard encourages United Nations entities to cooperate with Member States and to continue to provide assistance, upon their request, in particular, to help them to fully implement their respective international obligations to combat the financing of terrorism;

Calls upon all States to adopt such measures as may be necessary and appropriate, and in accordance with their obligations under international law, to prohibit by law incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts, prevent such conduct and deny safe haven to any persons with respect to whom there is credible and relevant information giving serious reasons for considering that they have been guilty of such conduct;

Calls for the enhanced engagement of Member States with the work of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force;

Requests the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force to continue its positive efforts in interacting with Member States, and further requests the Task Force to continue to provide quarterly briefings and to provide a periodic workplan for the Task Force, including the activities of the United Nations CounterTerrorism Centre;

Encourages the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force to work closely with Member States and relevant international, regional and subregional organizations to identify and share best practices to prevent terrorist attacks on potentially vulnerable targets, and recognizes the importance of developing publicprivate partnerships in this area;

Recalls all resolutions of the General Assembly on measures to eliminate international terrorism and relevant resolutions of the Assembly on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and all resolutions of the Security Council relating to international terrorism, and calls upon Member States to cooperate fully with the relevant bodies of the United Nations in the fulfilment of their tasks, recognizing that many States continue to require assistance in implementing these resolutions;

Encourages all relevant international, regional and subregional organizations and forums involved in the fight against terrorism to cooperate with the United Nations system and Member States in supporting the Strategy, noting recent initiatives in this regard;

Underscores the role, within the United Nations, of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, including in assessing issues and trends relating to the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001) of 28 September 2001 and 1624 (2005) of 14 September 2005, in accordance with its mandate and Council resolution 2129 (2013) of 17 December 2013, and in sharing information, as appropriate, with relevant United Nations counter-terrorism bodies and relevant international, regional and subregional organizations;

Recognizes that Al-Qaida and its affiliates continue to pose a widespread challenge in the fight against terrorism, encourages Member States to integrate the Al-Qaida sanctions regime, pursuant to Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999) of 15 October 1999 and 1989 (2011) of 17 June 2011, into their national and regional counter-terrorism strategies, including by proposing for inclusion on the Al-Qaida sanctions list the names of individuals and entities, takes note of the significant contribution of the Office of the Ombudsperson, since its establishment, in providing fairness and transparency to the Al-Qaida sanctions regime, and stresses the need to continue efforts to ensure that procedures are fair and clear;

Underlines the importance of enhancing counter-terrorism efforts undertaken by all relevant United Nations agencies and bodies in accordance with their existing mandates, and encourages the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force to continue its collaboration with those agencies and bodies;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventieth session, no later than April 2016, a report on progress made in the implementation of the Strategy since its adoption in September 2006, which could contain suggestions for its future implementation by the United Nations system, as well as on progress made in the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventieth session the item entitled “The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy” in order to undertake, by June 2016, an examination of the report of the Secretary-General requested in paragraph 42 above, as well as of the implementation of the Strategy by Member States, and to consider updating the Strategy to respond to changes.

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Who created this mandate?

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