International, regional, and subregional cooperation
The Security Council has affirmed the importance of international, regional, and subregional counter-terrorism cooperation in a number of resolutions and decisions.
Pursuant to Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), all Member States shall “afford one another the greatest measure of assistance” in implementing counter-terrorism measures. The resolution also underlines the need for States to assist one another in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings relating to the financing of terrorist acts. The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), acting on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, has conducted over 100 assessment visits to Member States and has reviewed the legal, administrative, and operational frameworks for international cooperation established by all Member States. Within its competence, the Committee has made numerous recommendations to Member States on how to improve and apply good practices in the area of international cooperation on extradition and mutual legal assistance (MLA) matters. Moreover, in its policy guidance on international cooperation, adopted in 2010, the Committee recommended that States “expedite, simplify and give priority to Extradition and MLA requests in terrorism-related cases”.
The Council drew particular attention to the increasingly diffuse nature of terrorism in adopting its resolution 2178 (2014), on foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), which emphasizes the need for States to strengthen their international, regional, and subregional cooperation in order to combat the FTF threat. The Committee and CTED have been working with their partners to facilitate information sharing for the purposes of intervention, the sharing and adoption of best practices, and an enhanced understanding of the transnational aspects of terrorism, including the FTF threat.
International, regional, and subregional organizations are key partners of the Committee and CTED in working with States on the implementation of resolutions 1373 (2001), 1624 (2005), 1963 (2010), 2129 (2013), and 2178 (2014), in particular by promoting international best practices, standards, and codes, assessing States’ performance, identifying regional and thematic challenges, assisting in States’ capacity-building, and facilitating technical assistance delivery. Those partners include, inter alia, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the International Organization for Migration (IOM); the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Bank. The Committee and CTED also maintain good working relationships with a number of other international, regional, and subregional organizations, including the African Union (AU), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union, the League of Arab States (LAS), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
The Committee and CTED are actively developing closer ties with other forums and centres such as the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), regional counter-terrorism mechanisms, and institutions, which play an important role in assisting States to achieve full and effective implementation of Council resolutions on counter-terrorism.