Getting Back to Basics?: Renewing the Mandate of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate for 2014-2016

By Alistair Millar and Naureen Chowdhury Fink

Policy brief — November 2013

The policy brief discusses the role of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) and the opportunities presented by the renewal of its mandate before the end of this year to further strengthen and clarify its role in the multilateral counterterrorism framework. It explores recent changes in the multilateral counterterrorism architecture, including the establishment of new entities within and outside the United Nations with a focus on countering terrorism and violent extremism.

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The G8’s Counterterrorism Action Group: Leaving Takes Leadership

By Alistair Millar

Newsletter article — June 2013

This article focuses on the role of the G8 as a global leader on countering terrorism, with the foresight to step away and let others, such as the Global Counter Terrorism Forum, take the lead on counterterrorism capacity building.

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Reshaping United Nations Counterterrorism Efforts: Blue-Sky Thinking for Global Counterterrorism Cooperation 10 Years After 9/11

By James Cockayne, Alistair Millar, David Cortright, and Peter Romaniuk

Report — March 2012

This report provides concrete suggestions for strengthening international counterterrorism efforts over the next decade, including three specific, costed options for a single UN counterterrorism coordinator. The report details 22 recommendations aimed at helping the United Nations to better exploit its comparative advantages in countering terrorism and to enhance the productivity of its partnerships with other counterterrorism actors, including states, regional intergovernmental bodies, nongovernment experts, and civil society.

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Multilateral Counterterrorism: Harmonizing Political Direction and Technical Expertise

By Alistair Millar

Newsletter article — December 2010

This brief, published by the Stanley Foundation, finds that input from technical experts is essential to keep those who set the agenda from putting all the attention on a narrow set of current hot spots and missing opportunities to prevent future hubs of terrorism from emerging.

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Integrating UN Sanctions for Peace and Security

By David Cortright, George A. Lopez, and Linda Gerber-Stellingwerf, with Eliot Fackler and Joshua Weaver

Report — October 2010

This study examines the challenges of integrating Security Council sanctions with other forms of international policymaking. It proposes options for the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council, and the Secretariat to enhance implementation and coordination capabilities. It proposes the creation of a UN Sanctions Implementation Task Force, greater staff support for sanctions coordination within the Secretariat, improved guidance for cooperation between panels of experts and UN missions in the field, and greater information sharing and dissemination across all UN agencies and offices.

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An Opportunity for Renewal: Revitalizing the United Nations Counterterrorism Program

By James Cockayne, Alistair Millar, and Jason Ipe

Report — September 2010

To help inform the UN General Assembly’s review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the Security Council’s comprehensive consideration of the mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), this report details an independent strategic assessment of UN counterterrorism efforts over the two years since the Strategy and CTED were last reviewed.

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Implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in West Africa

By Jason Ipe, James Cockayne, and Alistair Millar

Report — September 2010

This report makes the case for West African states and partners to develop counterterrorism capacities and cooperation in the subregion, using the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy as their point of departure and working closely with and through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The report is based on recommendations that emerged from a large stakeholder meeting cohosted with the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja and a series of smaller consultations in Brussels and New York.

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