Latest news with #UNOCT
Ya Biladi
5 days ago
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Agadir hosts fourth edition of Marrakech counter-terrorism platform
The fourth edition of the high-level meeting of Heads of Counter-Terrorism and Security Agencies in Africa, known as the «Marrakech Platform», opened on Tuesday in Agadir. The event is co-chaired by the Kingdom of Morocco and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). Held over two days, the meeting brings together around forty African intelligence and security services, along with some thirty delegations from the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Asia attending as observers. Representatives from regional United Nations institutions are also taking part in the high-level discussions. Taking place in a security context marked by the persistence and evolution of terrorist threats across the continent, this year's meeting builds on the momentum of previous editions held in Marrakech (2022), Tangier (2023), and Fez (2024). The strong interest shown by both African countries and international partners underscores the Platform's growing importance. The Marrakech Platform has firmly established itself as a key forum for exchanging expertise, strengthening regional cooperation, and identifying capacity-building priorities in the fight against terrorism in Africa.
Maroc
5 days ago
- Politics
- Maroc
Agadir Hosts 4th High-Level Meeting of Heads of Counter-Terrorism and Security Agencies in Africa
The 4th high-level meeting of heads of counter-terrorism and security agencies in Africa "Marrakech Platform" opened on Tuesday in Agadir, under the co-presidency of Morocco and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). Some forty African intelligence and security services are taking part in the two-day event, along with some thirty delegations from the Middle East, Europe, America and Asia, as observers, in addition to representatives of United Nations regional institutions. This high-level meeting follows on from previous editions held in Marrakech (2022), Tangiers (2023) and Fez (2024), amid the persistence and mutation of terrorist threats on the continent. The interest shown in this edition of the "Marrakech Platform" by both African countries and international partners reaffirms its central role. The platform positions itself as an essential space for exchanging expertise, consolidating regional cooperation and identifying priorities for capacity-building in the fight against terrorism in Africa. MAP: 17 June 2025
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Amid push for terror tag for TRF, Indian team meets top UN counter-terror officials
An Indian delegation in New York discussed countering terrorist travel and financing with officials from United Nations anti-terror agencies amid New Delhi's efforts to get The Resistance Front, suspected of carrying out the Pahalgam terror attack, designated as a UN-listed terror group. A readout from UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) said: 'The discussions with the Indian delegation focused on ongoing collaboration with CTED and UNOCT within their respective mandates, particularly in support of implementing key Security Council counter-terrorism resolutions and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.' Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov of the UNOCT and Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman of the CTED, who met with the Indian delegation, expressed condolences over the April 22 attack. It added that key areas of cooperation include UNOCT-led technical capacity-building initiatives supported by India—such as cybersecurity, countering terrorist travel, supporting victims of terrorism, and countering the financing of terrorism. The participants also discussed efforts to counter the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, in line with the 2022 Delhi Declaration adopted by the Counter-Terrorism Committee under the Chairmanship of India. This includes the development of non-binding guiding principles — prepared with CTED's support — on threats posed by unmanned aircraft systems and the use of emerging financial technologies for terrorist activities. The delegation also met the Monitoring Team of the 1267 Sanctions Committee and other UN partner countries. Indian officials, including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, have said that it was the TRF which carried out the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. They have called the group a 'known front' for the UN-proscribed Pakistan-based terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba. This is the first time since Operation Sindoor that New Delhi has raised TRF with the UN and its anti-terror bodies. This comes after Pakistan managed to get TRF's name removed from the April 25 Security Council statement on the terror attack. TRF claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack twice — within a few hours after the incident on April 22 and then again on the morning of April 23. Misri had said that TRF later backed off from the claim, perhaps only after the outfit's leaders and handlers across the border realised the gravity of the attack. 'Obviously that retraction doesn't convince anybody,' Misri had said after India conducted strikes at nine terror locations in Pakistan, including LeT's headquarters in Muridke. India had given inputs about TRF in the half-yearly report to the Monitoring Team of the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024, detailing its role as a cover for Pakistan-based terrorist groups. In December 2023, too, India had informed the monitoring team about the LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad operating through small terror groups such as the TRF. Pakistan's pressure to remove references to TRF in the Security Council statement was perceived as a giveaway that the country's establishment was behind the attack. Indian officials have said that investigations into the Pahalgam terror attack have brought out the communication nodes of terrorists with Pakistan. They have also said that the claims made by TRF and their reposting by known social media handles of the LeT speak for themselves. Indian officials have time and again referred to the Security Council's April 25 statement that talks of 'the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors' accountable, and said that India's actions should be seen in this context. (With PTI inputs from New York)
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
India ramps up efforts for UN listing of LeT front TRF, meets top officials
An Indian delegation met top officials of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate here even as New Delhi stepped up efforts to designate The Resistance Front, an LeT proxy, as a UN-listed terror outfit. The Resistance Front (TRF), a front for Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. An Indian technical team, which is in New York, interacted today (Wednesday) with the Monitoring Team of the 1267 Sanctions Committee and other partner countries in the UN. They also met with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), sources told PTI. A readout from UNOCT and CTED of the meeting with the Indian team Wednesday, provided to PTI, said that United Nations Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov of the Office of Counter-Terrorism and Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate met with a delegation of the Government of the Republic of India. The development comes in the wake of the horrific April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam and the retaliatory Operation Sindoor launched by India targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India's push at the UN also comes after the UN Security Council issued a Press Statement in which the members had condemned the Pahalgam attack in the strongest terms but did not mention TRF as the group responsible for the attack. Voronkov and Gherman expressed condolences for the April 22 attack. The discussions with the Indian delegation focused on ongoing collaboration with CTED and UNOCT within their respective mandates, particularly in support of implementing key Security Council counter-terrorism resolutions and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the readout said. It added that key areas of cooperation include UNOCT-led technical capacity-building initiatives supported by Indiasuch as cybersecurity, countering terrorist travel, supporting victims of terrorism, and countering the financing of terrorism. The participants also discussed efforts to counter the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, in line with the 2022 Delhi Declaration adopted by the Counter-Terrorism Committee under the Chairmanship of India. This includes the development of non-binding guiding principlesprepared with CTED's supporton threats posed by unmanned aircraft systems and the use of emerging financial technologies for terrorist activities. Pakistan is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council and will preside over the powerful 15-nation body in July. Several Pakistan-based terror entities and individuals are listed under the 1267 Al Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council and are subject to an assets freeze, arms embargo and travel ban. In the past, veto-wielding permanent UNSC member China, a fair weather friend of Pakistan, has often put holds and blocks on proposals submitted by India and its partners like the US to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists at the UN. The 1267 ISIL (Da'esh) Al-Qaida Committee oversees the sanctions imposed by the Security Council. The Committee comprises all 15 members of the Security Council and makes its decision by consensus. The Committee is mandated, among other things, to oversee the implementation of the sanctions measures and designate individuals and entities who meet the listing criteria set out in the relevant resolutions. Following the Pahalgam attack, the UN Security Council had on April 25 issued a Press Statement on terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir' in which the members had condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack. The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, the press statement had said. However, the press statement did not mention TRF as the group responsible for the attack after Pakistan managed to get the name removed. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, during a briefing on Operation Sindoor last week, had said that The Resistance Front (TRF) had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. This group is a front for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba. It is notable that India had given inputs about the TRF in the half-yearly report to the Monitoring Team of the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024, bringing out its role as a cover for Pakistan-based terrorist groups. Earlier too, in December 2023, India had informed the monitoring team about LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad operating through small terror groups such as the TRF, Misri had said. Misri had underlined that Pakistan's pressure to remove references to TRF in the April 25 UN Security Council Press Statement is notable in this regard. UNOCT was established in June 2017 and its main functions include enhancing coordination and coherence across the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities; strengthening the delivery of United Nations counter-terrorism capacity-building assistance to Member States and improving visibility, advocacy and resource mobilisation for United Nations counter-terrorism efforts. The Security Council established the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) to assist the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), which was established by Security Council resolution 1372 (2001), adopted unanimously in September 2001 in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Economic Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
India ramps up efforts for UN listing of LeT proxy The Resistance Front; Indian team meets top UN counter-terror officials
An Indian delegation met top officials of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate here even as New Delhi stepped up efforts to designate The Resistance Front, an LeT proxy, as a UN-listed terror outfit. The Resistance Front (TRF), a front for Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. ADVERTISEMENT "An Indian technical team, which is in New York, interacted today (Wednesday) with the Monitoring Team of the 1267 Sanctions Committee and other partner countries in the UN. They also met with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)," sources told PTI. A readout from UNOCT and CTED of the meeting with the Indian team Wednesday, provided to PTI, said that United Nations Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov of the Office of Counter-Terrorism and Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate "met with a delegation of the Government of the Republic of India." The development comes in the wake of the horrific April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam and the retaliatory Operation Sindoor launched by India targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India's push at the UN also comes after the UN Security Council issued a Press Statement in which the members had condemned the Pahalgam attack "in the strongest terms" but did not mention TRF as the group responsible for the attack. Voronkov and Gherman expressed condolences for the April 22 attack. ADVERTISEMENT "The discussions with the Indian delegation focused on ongoing collaboration with CTED and UNOCT within their respective mandates, particularly in support of implementing key Security Council counter-terrorism resolutions and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy," the readout added that key areas of cooperation include UNOCT-led technical capacity-building initiatives supported by India-such as cybersecurity, countering terrorist travel, supporting victims of terrorism, and countering the financing of terrorism. ADVERTISEMENT The participants also discussed efforts to counter the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, in line with the 2022 Delhi Declaration adopted by the Counter-Terrorism Committee under the Chairmanship of includes the development of non-binding guiding principles-prepared with CTED's support-on threats posed by unmanned aircraft systems and the use of emerging financial technologies for terrorist activities. ADVERTISEMENT Pakistan is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council and will preside over the powerful 15-nation body in Pakistan-based terror entities and individuals are listed under the 1267 Al Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council and are subject to an assets freeze, arms embargo and travel ban. ADVERTISEMENT In the past, veto-wielding permanent UNSC member China, a fair weather friend of Pakistan, has often put holds and blocks on proposals submitted by India and its partners like the US to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists at the 1267 ISIL (Da'esh) Al-Qaida Committee oversees the sanctions imposed by the Security Committee comprises all 15 members of the Security Council and makes its decision by consensus. The Committee is mandated, among other things, to oversee the implementation of the sanctions measures and designate individuals and entities who meet the listing criteria set out in the relevant the Pahalgam attack, the UN Security Council had on April 25 issued a Press Statement on 'terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir' in which the members had "condemned in the strongest terms" the terrorist attack."The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice," the press statement had the press statement did not mention TRF as the group responsible for the attack after Pakistan managed to get the name Secretary Vikram Misri, during a briefing on Operation Sindoor last week, had said that The Resistance Front (TRF) had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. This group is a front for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba."It is notable that India had given inputs about the TRF in the half-yearly report to the Monitoring Team of the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024, bringing out its role as a cover for Pakistan-based terrorist groups."Earlier too, in December 2023, India had informed the monitoring team about LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad operating through small terror groups such as the TRF," Misri had had underlined that Pakistan's pressure to remove references to TRF in the April 25 UN Security Council Press Statement is "notable" in this regard. UNOCT was established in June 2017 and its main functions include enhancing coordination and coherence across the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities; strengthening the delivery of United Nations counter-terrorism capacity-building assistance to Member States and improving visibility, advocacy and resource mobilisation for United Nations counter-terrorism efforts. The Security Council established the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) to assist the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), which was established by Security Council resolution 1372 (2001), adopted unanimously in September 2001 in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
