25 September 2024
The GCTF Coordinating Committee, co-chaired by Egypt and the EU, held its 24th Meeting to address emerging terrorism threats, particularly in Africa, and to outline priorities for the next two years. By consensus, Members endorsed new GCTF Framework Documents on oversight and accountability mechanisms, and border security.
Emerging trends and the GCTF working groups’ priorities
As terrorism rises in Africa, the Co-Chairs of the GCTF’s East Africa Capacity-Building Working Group, Kenya and Kuwait, and the West Africa Capacity-Building Working Group, Algeria and Germany, presented comprehensive plans for the coming two years to address border security, terrorism financing, use of improvised explosive devices, violent extremism conducive to terrorism, strategic communications, and disengagement and deradicalization.
Prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration (PRR) of former terrorist fighters are crucial, with four out of the five GCTF working groups including PRR in their upcoming priorities: the East Africa Working Group, the Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) Working Group, the Criminal Justice and Rule of Law (CJ-RoL) Working Group, and the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Working Group.
In addition to their focus on PRR, the FTF Working Group, co-chaired by Jordan and the US, will also focus on counterterrorism watchlisting and border security. The CJ-RoL Working Group, co-chaired by Italy and Nigeria, will tackle cooperative investigations and witness protection while exploring ethical AI use in counterterrorism. The CVE Working Group, co-chaired by Australia and Indonesia, will concentrate on countering violent extremism conducive to terrorism online and in prisons.
New GCTF Resources Endorsed
The Brussels Memorandum on Good Practices for Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms in Counterterrorism was presented by the EU. It comprises 15 good practices for improving the roles, responsibilities, independence, and effectiveness of oversight and accountability mechanisms. Read more about the Brussels Memorandum here.
An Addendum and Training-of-Trainers Curriculum were presented by Jordan, the US, and UNOCT to serve as practical accompaniments to the GCTF’s Good Practices in the Area of Border Security and Management. Read more about these resources here.
*GCTF Recommendations, Memoranda, Good Practices and other guiding documents are non-binding, and their implementation should always respect national sovereignty and consider countries' varied histories, cultures, legal systems, and norms.