18 January 2024
Terrorist groups exploit porous and lengthy borders to facilitate terrorist travel, financing, and other illicit activities. Challenges arise from several hindrances such as inadequate watchlists, border surveillance and security screening systems, as well as ineffective internal and regional information-sharing mechanisms. Although the international community has made significant progress to strengthen border security and management operations and practices, the dynamic and complex nature of known or suspected terrorist flows requires a comprehensive and holistic approach involving various stakeholders.
Building upon existing initiatives, Jordan and the United States, as GCTF FTF Working Group Co-Chairs, together with United Nations Office of Counterterrorism (UNOCT) as the Border and Security Management (BSM) Initiative Leads, are hosting a series of Exploratory Dialogues. The aim is to bring together subject matter experts from national governments and law enforcement agencies, international and civil society organizations, academic institutions, and private sector partners to garner expertise and to share knowledge. The second BSM exploratory dialogue held 18 January 2023, explored the benefits and challenges new and emerging technologies impacting Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS or drones), Biometrics, 3D printing, and other related technologies.
These dialogues build on the foundation of the GCTF Border Security Initiative (BSI) and the 2016 GCTF Good Practices in the Area of Border Security and Management in the Context of Counterterrorism and Stemming the Flow of Foreign Terrorist Fighters. The 2016 GCTF Good Practices document offers guidance to governments, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector as they develop policies, guidelines, programs, and approaches to enhance BSM practices.
The Border Security and Management (BSM) Initiative seeks to review the current good practices, update and strengthen the existing GCTF Border Security Initiative (BSI) outlined in the 2016 Good Practices document, and develop a comprehensive Training-of-Trainers Manual. It also acknowledges the evolving FTF travel threat landscape since its adoption. Efforts under this BSM Initiative will promote human rights and rule-of-law-based, whole-of-society counterterrorism approaches.
Through its Border Security and Management Programme launched in 2019, UNOCT strengthens Member States’ capacities to prevent the cross-border movement of terrorists and stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).