Implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in East Africa

June 2008 - By Eric Rosand, Jason Ipe, and Alistair Millar

The report, which is the culmination of a project funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provides an analysis of issues and challenges relevant to the implementation of the UN Strategy in East Africa and an overview of the Strategy-related counterterrorism efforts of some of the key stakeholders in the subregion. It offers a series of recommendations aimed at states, the UN, and regional and subregional bodies on how to further the implementation of the Strategy in East Africa with a view to strengthening counterterrorism cooperation in this volatile subregion.

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The UN’s Role in Fighting Terrorism: Where Does Its Comparative Advantage Lie?

11 July 2008 | Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, Washington, DC

On Friday, 11 July 2008, the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation and the United Nations Information Center hosted a breakfast discussion with Mike Smith, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate.

Smith highlighted areas were the UN adds value to ongoing national, regional, and international efforts to combat terrorism, including its promotion of international norms and the corresponding international legal framework against terrorism devised over the last 30 years. He cited its unique convening power, authority and legitimacy and its potential to counter the narrative of hate expounded by extremists. He noted that although states may be the primary operational counterterrorism actors, the UN has a broad base of technical expertise at its disposal and can play a key role in the provision of technical and other counterterrorism assistance.

Smith discussed in particular the work of the United Nation’s Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate and the important contributions that it and other agencies within the broader UN family, such as Interpol, make toward improving the ability of all states to combat terrorism. Drawing on his experience as the former Counter-Terrorism Coordinator in the Australian Government, Smith presented examples of how bilateral and multilateral efforts are both necessary and mutually reinforcing and underlined the central role of United Nations in those efforts.

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