About the Counter-Terrorism Committee

Our Mandate

The Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) was established by Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), which was adopted unanimously on 28 September 2001 in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States.

The Committee, comprising all 15 Security Council members, was tasked with monitoring implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), which requested countries to implement a number of measures intended to enhance their legal and institutional ability to counter terrorist activities at home, in their regions and around the world, including taking steps to:

Criminalize the financing of terrorism
Freeze without delay any funds related to persons involved in acts of terrorism
Deny all forms of financial support for terrorist groups
Suppress the provision of safe haven, sustenance or support for terrorists
Share information with other governments on any groups practicing or planning terrorist acts
Cooperate with other governments in the investigation, detection, arrest, extradition and prosecution of those involved in such acts; and
Criminalize active and passive assistance for terrorism in domestic law and bring violators to justice.

The resolution also calls on States to become parties, as soon as possible, to the relevant international counter-terrorism legal instruments.

In September 2005, the Security Council adopted resolution 1624 (2005) on incitement to commit acts of terrorism, calling on UN Member States to prohibit it by law, prevent such conduct and deny safe haven to anyone "with respect to whom there is credible and relevant information giving serious reasons for considering that they have been guilty of such conduct." The resolution also called on States to continue international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations.

The Security Council directed the CTC to include resolution 1624 (2001) in its ongoing dialogue with countries on their efforts to counter terrorism..

The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Mike Smith, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate ( CTED)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) takes the oath of office from Jean-Paul Laborde, Executive Director of CTED. New York, 22 July 2013

Under resolution 1535 (2004), the Security Council established the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) to assist the work of the CTC and coordinate the process of monitoring the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001).

Jean-Paul Laborde of France was sworn in on 22 July 2013 as the new Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED). Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon administered Mr. Laborde's oath of office and took the opportunity to welcome him back to the organization after serving for two and a half years as a Judge in the Criminal Chamber of France's Supreme Judicial Court (Cour de Cassation).

Mr. Laborde had previously served with the United Nations for 18 years, holding senior positions in counter-terrorism and criminal justice at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, the Department of Political Affairs and the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) in New York. He joined CTED as Assistant Secretary-General on 11 July 2013. He took over from Mike Smith of Australia.

CTED became fully staffed in September 2005 and was formally declared operational in December 2005. CTED's mandate was extended until the end of 2017 by Security Council resolution S/RES/2129 (2013).

CTED comprises some 40 staff members, about half of whom are legal experts who analyze the reports submitted by States in areas such as legislative drafting, the financing of terrorism, border and customs controls, police and law enforcement, refugee and migration law, arms trafficking and maritime and transportation security. CTED also has a senior human rights officer.

CTED is divided into two sections: an Assessment and Technical Assistance Office (ATAO), which is further divided into three geographical clusters to enable the experts to specialize in particular regions of the world, and an Administrative and Information Office (AIO).

In addition, five technical groups work horizontally across ATAO to identify issues and criteria for making assessments in their particular area of technical expertise and then disseminate these across the three clusters. The groups deal respectively with technical assistance; terrorist financing; border control, arms trafficking and law enforcement; general legal issues, including legislation, extradition and mutual legal assistance; and finally, issues raised by resolution 1624 (2005); as well as the human rights aspects of counter-terrorism in the context of resolution 1373 (2001).

Across AIO, there is also a quality control unit to improve the technical quality and consistency in language and format of CTED documents and a public communications and outreach unit to strengthen its outreach activities.

In support of the Committee’s work on resolution 1624 (2005), CTED has prepared two reports (S/2006/737 and S/2008/2) summarizing the responses submitted thus far by about half of the United Nations membership.

Media Coverage

This page was last updated on: 25-Jul-2016 2:41 PM EST

Related Links

Press Kit

About the Counter-Terrorism Committee

Our Mandate

The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)

Media Coverage