51Ó°Ôº

2020 Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week

2020 Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week, July 6-10

 

The Second Counter-Terrorism Week at the 51Ó°Ôº was anticipated to take place from 29 June to 3 July 2020 at the UN Headquarters, New York. This 2020 Counter-Terrorism Week was planned to include the Seventh Biennial Review of the 51Ó°Ôº Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the first ever 51Ó°Ôº Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism, as well as the Second 51Ó°Ôº High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis and following the decision of the General Assembly to postpone the review of the 51Ó°Ôº Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy to its 75th session, the entire 2020 Counter-Terrorism Week is postponed.

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Countering Terrorism in a Global Pandemic Environment

The Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week will be held from 6-10 July and convened under the overarching theme of ¡°Strategic and Practical Challenges of Countering Terrorism in a Global Pandemic Environment¡±.?

The event will be launched on Monday 6 July 2020 at 10:00 am (New York time) with an opening two-hour high-level session titled ¡°Post COVID-19 World: Contours and Pivot Points and Benefits of Multilateral Collaboration.¡±

Thereafter, the Week will include nine additional webinars and interactive discussions focusing on priorities such as bio and cyber terrorism, high-risk threats and trends, addressing the plight of victims of terrorism, flagship UN counter-terrorism programmes, human rights and counter-terrorism, countering the financing of terrorism, youth-led initiatives to build resilient societies, and civil society and media perspectives to prevent violent extremism, among others.?

The event will provide an opportunity to bring Member States, 51Ó°Ôº entities, thought leaders, civil society representatives and other stakeholders together to exchange views, through strategic and expert-level online events, on what the new circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic mean for the counter-terrorism landscape.

The Opening, UNCCT Expo Launch and Closing sessions?will be webcast live on:?

The full programme is also available?here.

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Conference sessions 

The 2020 Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week will consist of ten (10) webinars and interactive discussions, including: 

Date Session

Monday, 06 July
10 AM ¨C 12 PM

The Opening Session  
Post COVID-19 World: Contours, Pivot Points and Benefits of Multilateral Collaboration 

Watch the recap on


Key Note Address:


Distinguished Speakers

  • Mr. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, EU Commission Vice President (statement)
  • Mr. Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations 
  • Mr. Kais Kabtani, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tunisia to the 51Ó°Ôº, Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (statement)
  • Ms. Ghada Fathi Waly, Executive Director of the 51Ó°Ôº Office on Drugs and Crime (statement)
  • Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond, Head of Digital Cooperation and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Commemoration of the 51Ó°Ôº¡¯ 75th Anniversary (statement)
  • Ms. ?sa Regn¨¦r, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women; and
  • Mr. John Frank, Vicepresident for UN Affairs, Microsoft

Co-Moderators:

  • Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, 51Ó°Ôº Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) (opening statement) 
  • Ms. Sarah Franck, Junior Professional Officer/Associate Expert, UNOCT 
Monday, 6 July
12:30 PM ¨C 2 PM  

Interactive Discussion I
Emerging Threats: Responding to the Threat of Bio and Cyber Terrorism  

Tuesday, 7 July
9 AM ¨C 11 AM

Webinar II
The Global Scourge of Terrorism: Assessment of High-Risk Threats and Trends, including the rise of Violent Extremism and Hate Speech in a Pandemic Environment (by Invitation only).

Tuesday, 7 July
11:30 AM ¨C 12:15 PM 

UNCCT Virtual Expo Launch  

Distinguished Speakers

  • H.E. Mr. Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the 51Ó°Ôº and Chair of the UNCCT Advisory Board  
  • Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, UNOCT, and Executive Director of the 51Ó°Ôº Counter-Terrorism Centre, UNCCT

Interview

  • The distinguished speakers
  • Dr. Jehangir Khan, Director, 51Ó°Ôº Counter-Terrorism Centre

Moderator: 

  • Ms. Amani Alkhiami, Associate Expert ¨C Strategic Communications, 51Ó°Ôº Counter-Terrorism Centre 

 

Watch the

Explore the Virtual Expo

Wednesday, 8 July
9 AM ¨C 11 AM 

Webinar III
Addressing the Plight of Victims of Terrorism in a Challenging Environment 

Wednesday, 8 July
11:30 AM ¨C 1 PM

Interactive Discussion III 
Global programmes on Countering Terrorist Travel, Returning Foreign Terrorists Fighters (FTFs), including their Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration 

Thursday, 9 July
9 AM ¨C 11 AM 

Webinar IV 
Protecting and promoting Human Rights as a cornerstone of building resilience against terrorism  

Thursday, 9 July
11:30 AM ¨C 1 PM

Interactive Discussion IV 
Prevention of Violent Extremism and Strengthening Social Cohesion: Investing in Youth-led and Youth-driven Initiatives to build Resilient Societies  

Friday, 10 July
9 AM ¨C 11 AM 

Webinar V 
Civil Society and Media Perspectives on Preventing and Countering Terrorism in a Pandemic 

Friday, 10 July
11:30 AM ¨C 1:30 PM 

The Closing Session 
Member States¡¯ Counter-Terrorism Priorities in the Post COVID-19 Environment ¨C Synergies and Complementarities between the COVID-19 and Counter-Terrorism Agendas 

Watch the recap on


Moderator:

  • Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, UNOCT (closing statement)

Speakers:  

  • Hon. Mr. Nathan Sales, Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State (statement)
  • H.E. Ms. Gabriela Cuevas Barron, President, Inter-Parliamentary Union (statement)
  • H.E. Thomas Greminger, Secretary General, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (statement)
  • H.E. Mr. Smail Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security, African Union
  • H.E. Mr. Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the 51Ó°Ôº (ASEAN Chair) (statement)
  • Ms. Alison August Treppel, Executive Secretary, Inter-American Committee against Terrorism, Organization of American States (statement)
  • Mr. Gilles de Kerchove, European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator (statement)

Commentary:  

  • H.E. Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the 51Ó°Ôº (statement)
  • H.E. Mr. Zhang Jun, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the People¡¯s Republic of China to the 51Ó°Ôº (statement)

 

2020 Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week Expo

launched its 1st Virtual Exposition on 7 July 2020 during . The takes visitors on an interactive digital journey, exploring the Centre's history and its capacity-building efforts. 
 

  • Explore and interact with the Virtual Expo!
  • Watch the Launch (recap) on 

 

2018 Counter-Terrorism Week

The UN Secretary-General convened the first UN High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States, on 28 and 29 June 2018 at 51Ó°Ôº Headquarters. The overarching theme for this Conference is ¡°Strengthening international cooperation to combat the evolving threat of terrorism¡±.?

UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy

The UN General Assembly adopted by consensus the  on 8 September 2006. The strategy is a unique global instrument to enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism. The General Assembly reviews the Strategy every two years, making it a living document attuned to Member States¡¯ counter-terrorism priorities.