CTITF Office

The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) coordination framework was established by the Secretary-General in 2005, in order to achieve greater unity of purpose and strengthen coordination and coherence more broadly within the United Nations system. It was institutionalized in the Department of Political Affairs of the United Nations under the chairmanship of the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs in December 2009 through General Assembly resolution A/RES/64/235. The institutionalization provided the Task Force with a dedicated secretariat in the form of the CTITF Office.

The key functions of the CTITF Office include:

  • Ensure coordination and coherence in the overall counter-terrorism efforts of the United Nations system and assist the Secretary-General in fulfilling related tasks;
  • Provide leadership for United Nations system-wide collective initiatives, such as those undertaken through CTITF working groups, to support the implementation of the Strategy;
  • Facilitate and support initiatives and activities of the United Nations system entities in areas of their respective mandates and expertise for assisting in the implementation of the Strategy in its entirety;
  • Carry out core secretariat functions for the substantive, outreach, organizational and administrative conduct of the work of the CTITF and for the functioning of the CTITF as an efficient UN system-wide coordination tool in counter-terrorism; 
  • Mobilize and manage extra-budgetary resources for the CTITF initiatives in support of technical assistance delivery for the implementation of the Strategy and its four pillars.

In resolutions adopted by the General Assembly as part of its biennial review of the Global Strategy (A/RES/62/272, A/RES/64/297, A/RES/66/282 and A/RES/68/276), the mandate of the CTITF Office include the following responsibilities:

  • Working in coordination with relevant international, regional sub-regional organizations on key counter-terrorism matters;
  • Engaging in an enhanced manner with Member States on a wide range of substantive topics in order to further the implementation of the Strategy at the national, regional and global levels.
  • Coordinating input from CTITF entities and preparing a consolidated report on behalf of the Secretary-General on a biennial basis containing an assessment on progress made in the implementation of the Strategy and its subsequent review resolutions as well as suggestions on the way forward.
  • Interacting with Member States through regular briefings and reports on the work of the CTITF in order to ensure transparency and to enable Member States to assess the work and provide policy guidance and feedback on the Strategy; 
  • Providing means for and promoting enhanced dialogue among counter-terrorism officials of Member States to promote international, regional and sub-regional cooperation and wider dissemination of knowledge of the Strategy, particularly in the context of capacity building.

Coordination and Coherence

Effective engagement by and interaction between the entities in promoting the comprehensive implementation of the Strategy require strong coordination and coherence. In this respect, the CTITF Office has implemented a three-pronged approach:

  • It has drawn up a comprehensive matrix of all projects and activities being carried out by the 38 Task Force entities, which for the first time provides an overview of United Nations counter-terrorism efforts around the world
  • The Office has made efforts to reform and revitalize the structure, methodology and impact of its inter-agency working groups, which will help to promote coherence within the Task Force and reduce duplication and overlap between projects and activities.
  • The Office has been working to realize the Secretary-General’s vision of All-of-United Nations approach in countering terrorism by encouraging all Task Force entities to engage with outside forums and bodies in a more unified and coherent manner.