Counter-Terrorism Committee

The Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Security Council and was established in 2011 in the wake of September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) was established by adopting resolution 1373. The primary goal of the Committee is to increase the ability of states to fight terrorism. Although, the committee does not act as a direct capacity provider and maintain a list of terrorist groups or individuals, it does act as a broker between those states or groups which have relevant capacities and those in need of assistance. Only the members have been attending closed meetings held once in three months. The issues in which consensus is achieved by the committee can be taken by the Security Council.

Mandate

The CTC comprises of all 15 Security Council members. The mandate of the committee is to monitor the implementation of the following measures contained in the Security Council Resolution 1373 by the member countries to enhance their legal and institutional ability to counter terrorist activities at home and around the world. The measures are:

• Criminalize the financing of terrorism.
• Freeze funds related to persons involved in the acts of terrorism.
• Deny financial support for terrorist groups.
• Suppress safe havens and support for terrorists.
• Sharing terrorism related information with other governments.
• Provide cooperation with the governments of other nation in the investigation, detection, arrest, extradition and prosecution of persons involved in the acts of terrorism.
• Criminalize the active and passive assistance for terrorism in their respective domestic laws.
• To become parties to the relevant international counter-terrorism legal instruments.

Similarly, the Security Council adopted a resolution 1624 in 2005 calling on member states to prohibit by law the acts of terrorism, prevent such conduct and deny safe haven to anyone with links to terrorism. The resolution also calls for the states to make continuous international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding about the terrorism related issues.

Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)

The CTC is assisted by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) in its work. The mandate of CTED is to carry out the policy decisions of the CTC and to conduct expert assessments of each Member State. CTED became fully operational from 2005. Its mandate has been extended till 2017 by the Security Council. CTED comprises of staff members half of whom are legal experts. The CTED also has a mandate of facilitating technical assistance to countries and promote closer cooperation and coordination both within the UN systems of organizations but also among various inter-governmental and regional bodies.