Letter dated 18 July 2008 from the Chairman of the 
Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism addressed to the President of the Security Council


	The work programme for the Committee established pursuant to paragraph 6 of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), covering the period from 1 July to 31 December 2008 is annexed hereto (see annex). 
	The activities of the Committee will proceed pursuant to the provisions of Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001), 1535 (2004), 1566 (2004), 1624 (2005) and 1805 (2008).
	The Committee will continue to work with Member States on the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), guided by the principles of cooperation, transparency, even-handedness and consistency in approach. The Committee will remain focused on monitoring and promoting the implementation by Member States of resolution 1373 (2001) and on taking practical measures to enhance the counterterrorism capacity of States, including measures aimed at facilitating technical assistance. Furthermore, the Committee will maintain dialogue with States on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1624 (2005), and it will continue to discuss its contribution to the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
	The Counter-Terrorism Committee welcomes the support it has received from Member States, the United Nations Secretariat and international, regional and subregional organizations and appreciates the assistance of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate.
	I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex circulated as a document of the Security Council.


(Signed) Neven Jurica
Chairman
Security Council Committee established pursuant to
resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism
	Annex
		Work programme of the Counter-Terrorism Committee for the period from 1 July to 31 December 2008


	I.	Introduction


1.	The Counter-Terrorism Committee is required to monitor and promote implementation by Member States of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), in accordance with the provisions of the resolution. The Committee is further directed to include in its dialogue with Member States their efforts to implement Security Council resolution 1624 (2005).
2.	In December 2006, in accordance with its decision of 21 December 2005 (S/PRST/2005/64), the Security Council conducted a comprehensive review of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and endorsed the review report of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (S/2006/989). Together with the statement by the President of the Security Council of 20 December 2006 (S/PRST/2006/56), the review report constitutes guidance for the future work of the Committee and the Executive Directorate, notably providing the following:
	(a)	The guiding principles of the Committee’s work shall be cooperation, transparency and even-handedness, as well as consistency in approach;
	(b)	The Committee shall continue to strengthen its relations with international, regional and subregional organizations in assisting States in their implementation of resolution 1373 (2001);
	(c)	The Committee shall work on identifying and promoting best practices in all key areas of resolution 1373 (2001);
	(d)	The Committee shall ensure that any measures taken by Member States to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law;
	(e)	The Committee shall attach great importance to coordination with experts from other counter-terrorism-related subsidiary bodies of the Security Council in preparing visits and in streamlining reporting;
	(f)	In the fulfilment of its mandate, the Committee shall be assisted by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, under the policy guidance of the plenary. In this regard, the Executive Directorate will implement the policy guidance of the Committee through its ninth work programme (see appendix).
3.	On 20 March 2008, the Security Council adopted resolution 1805 (2008), which constitutes further guidance for the work of the Committee and the Executive Directorate. In the resolution, the Security Council:
	(a)	Underlined that the overarching goal of the Committee is to ensure the full implementation of resolution 1373 (2001);
	(b)	Affirmed the endorsement by the Committee of the recommendations contained in the revised “Organizational plan for the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (S/2008/80)”;
	(c)	Decided that the Executive Directorate will continue to operate as a special political mission under the policy guidance of the Committee for the period ending 31 December 2010 and further decided to conduct an interim review by 30 June 2009, and a comprehensive consideration of the work of the Executive Directorate prior to the expiration of its mandate;
	(d)	Directed the Committee to submit an annual report on the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), with its observations and recommendations;
	(e)	Requested the Committee to report orally, through its Chairman, at least every 180 days to the Council on the overall work of the Committee and the Executive Directorate;
	(f)	Welcomed and emphasized the importance of the Executive Directorate’s readiness to participate actively in and support all relevant activities under the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, including within the CounterTerrorism Implementation Task Force, established to ensure overall coordination and coherence in the counter-terrorism efforts of the United Nations system.


	II.	Work programme


4.	The Committee will focus its work on the following priority objectives:

	A.	Monitoring and promoting the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001)

5.	The Committee and its Executive Directorate will collaborate actively with Member States to facilitate implementation of resolution 1373 (2001).
6.	The Committee, on the basis of initial assessments by its subcommittees, will continue to consider the outstanding preliminary implementation assessments and to approve, where appropriate, recommendations prepared by the Executive Directorate. It will then send the preliminary implementation assessments and the recommendations to the Member States concerned, for the appropriate action, in accordance with the procedures for the updated working methods of the Committee.
7.	The Committee will discuss the modalities for conducting the stocktaking exercise of progress made by Member States in the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), on the basis of updated preliminary implementation assessments. The Committee will take stock of this progress on the basis of an existing tool, developed by the Executive Directorate, to track the sequence in which it will review the status of Member States’ implementation.
8.	On the basis of the “Survey of implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) by Member States”, adopted by the Committee and discussed by the Security Council, the Committee will initiate discussions on detected gaps and thematic issues, as well as elaborate possible additional practical proposals, in order to facilitate the implementation of the priority recommendations for Committee’s future action.
9.	The Committee will consider a technical guide, prepared by the Executive Directorate on the basis of the work of five technical groups, that sets out the requirements and steps for implementing the provisions of resolution 1373 (2001) and contributes to ensuring consistency and even-handedness in the work of the Committee.
10.	In close cooperation with the Committees established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1540 (2004) and in accordance with its mandate, the Committee will pay special attention to States for which information on implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) is lacking, and discuss how best to address the issue.
11.	The Committee will also continue to reflect on additional ways to address the cases of States that do not meet the requirements of resolution 1373 (2001).
12.	The Committee will continue to follow the status of preparation of visits to be undertaken in the period from July 2008 to December 2010.
13.	The Committee will take steps to ensure that visits conducted to States with their consent have the effect of enhancing their implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), assess the results of such visits, and consider the appropriate follow-up action.
14.	In order to enhance transparency, the Chairman of the Committee will hold periodic informal briefings for Member States, as appropriate, on the work of the Committee.
15.	The Committee continues to call for the closest cooperation between the expert groups of the three Security Council Committees established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001) and 1540 (2004), including, as appropriate, on information-sharing and visits.

	B.	Facilitating technical assistance to States

16.	The Committee will continue to pay close attention to facilitating technical assistance. In this context, the Committee will continue to look for opportunities to match current and potential donors/providers with recipients in order to enhance the dialogue between the donor community and recipient countries and to further the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001).
17.	The Committee, including through the Executive Directorate, will intensify cooperation with relevant international, regional and subregional organizations with a view to enhancing Member States’ capacity to fully implement resolution 1373 (2001) and to facilitate the provision of technical assistance.

	C.	Maintaining dialogue with States on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1624 (2005)

18.	The Committee will continue to encourage States that have not yet submitted a report on their implementation of resolution 1624 (2005) to do so.
19.	On the basis of the reports received from States and the information gathered during its on-site visits, the Committee will initiate a discussion to explore the needs of States for technical assistance in implementing resolution 1624 (2005) and facilitate the provision of such assistance, as appropriate.

	D.	Implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy

20.	The Committee, also on the basis of the Executive Directorate’s regular inputs on its participation in the activities of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, will continue to contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and to its review in September 2008.
21.	The Committee will continue its discussions on issues related to the implementation of the Global Strategy and to its review.


	III.	Next work programme


22.	By the end of December 2008, the Committee will formulate and agree on an updated work programme for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2009.
	Appendix
		Work programme of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate for the period from 1 July to 31 December 2008


	I.	Introduction


1.	The work programme of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, that covers the period from 1 July to 31 December 2008, has been prepared in accordance with the relevant provisions of the report of the Counter-Terrorism Committee on its revitalization (S/2004/124), and takes into account the work programme of the Committee for the same period. 
2.	The Executive Directorate will continue to help the Committee to achieve its objectives in the areas defined in the Committee’s work programme; report regularly to the Committee on its work, including in its semi-annual report; and respond to any additional requests made during the reporting period.


	II.	Monitoring and promoting implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001)


3.	The Executive Directorate will submit to the subcommittees, for consideration and further submission to the Committee, the outstanding files of Member States, including cover notes, draft letters and preliminary implementation assessments. The Executive Directorate will assist the Committee in its discussions on the modalities for the stocktaking exercise and continue to update the preliminary implementation assessments already sent to Member States and prepare the necessary files for this exercise. The Executive Directorate will also continue to hold meetings with Member States in order to discuss issues relating to the preliminary implementation assessments, the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), and technical assistance.
4.	In close cooperation with the relevant international, regional and subregional organizations, the Executive Directorate will prepare and conduct visits to Member States, with their consent, as approved by the Committee. It will continue to update the Committee on a regular basis regarding follow-up to its previous visits to Member States.
5.	The Executive Directorate will continue preparation of a technical guide to resolution 1373 (2001), which will set out the requirements and steps for implementing the provisions of the resolution and help to ensure full consistency and even-handedness in the work of the Committee.
6.	The Executive Directorate will enhance its cooperation with the relevant United Nations bodies, including the Monitoring Team of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) and the Expert Group of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004), as well as with various international, regional and subregional organizations, including in the context of the Committee’s visits to Member States.
7.	The Executive Directorate will continue to implement the common strategy for non-reporting/late-reporting States, jointly developed with the Monitoring Team of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) and the Expert Group of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004). In cooperation with these bodies and with the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Directorate will develop a proposal for a workshop for northern and eastern African countries on the drafting of responses to the three Security Council Committees dealing with counter-terrorism. It is envisaged that the workshop will be similar to the two previous workshops, held in Senegal and Botswana in 2007. 
8.	Under the guidance of the Committee, the Executive Directorate will contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (General Assembly resolution 60/288) through active participation in the work of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force. In particular, it will help to prepare and follow-up to the review of the implementation of the Global Strategy, to be conducted by the General Assembly in September 2008.


	III.	Facilitating technical assistance to States


9.	The Executive Directorate will redouble its efforts to facilitate the provision of technical assistance to States in which vulnerabilities have been identified, by strengthening its relations with bilateral and multilateral donors and by developing innovative strategies to link recipients and donors. This important work will be driven within the Directorate by the newly formed Technical Assistance Group, under the direction of the Head of the Assessment and Technical Assistance Office.
10.	The Executive Directorate will maintain and regularly update the technical assistance matrix posted on the website, the password protection system for access to different parts of the matrix, and the directory of donors and providers of assistance. 
11.	The Executive Directorate will continue to identify, post on the website, and actively promote best practices in all key areas of resolution 1373 (2001), in accordance with the action plan approved by the Committee.
12.	The Executive Directorate will strengthen its engagement with international, regional and subregional organizations in all parts of the world in order to assist them in preparing and/or implementing relevant counter-terrorism action plans and to involve them more directly in addressing the States’ capacity-building needs, as identified by the Committee through the preliminary implementation assessments and the country visits. 


	IV.	Implementation of Security Council resolution 1624 (2005)


13.	The Executive Directorate will continue to include the issue of implementation of Security Council resolution 1624 (2005) in its dialogue with States, and will actively encourage those States that have not yet submitted a report on their implementation of the resolution to do so. 
14.	The Executive Directorate will prepare a report to the Committee on its work with Member States to build capacity to implement resolution 1624 (2005), including through spreading best legal practices.


	V.	Other activities


15.	The Executive Directorate, working through the newly created Quality Control Unit, will seek to ensure that all documentation and reporting submitted to the Committee is accurate, consistent and in conformity with the Committee’s decisions. The Directorate will also continue to implement a more proactive communications strategy, through its Public Communications and Outreach Unit, so as to facilitate better understanding of the work of the Committee and the Directorate. The Executive Director will participate in briefings to this effect, aimed in particular at the wider United Nations membership. 
16.	The Executive Director will continue to chair regular (weekly) meetings of the entire staff in order to encourage greater communication within the Directorate and to ensure that all staff are fully informed of the priorities and activities of the Committee and the Directorate. Those meetings will also be used to review general issues of relevance to the Committee’s work with the aim of both encouraging a more creative and dynamic approach to the work of the Directorate and generating new ideas on how the Organization might more effectively address the evolving terrorist threat. 
17.	The Information and Administration Office will continue to augment and update the Committee’s website and increase the number of hyperlinks provided to the websites of the United Nations and other entities with counter-terrorism mandates. The Office will also continue to maintain the Committee’s website in all six official languages of the United Nations.
18.	The Executive Directorate will work closely with the Tower Records and Information Management (TRIM) system software vendor to update the structural programme for the preliminary implementation assessments, with a view to reflecting the Committee’s views, the recommendations of the Directorate’s experts, and Member States’ proposals for reorganizing the preliminary implementation assessment in order to store more detailed and complete information on the status of implementation of resolution 1373 (2001).
19.	The Information and Administration Office will continue to review and organize logistical arrangements for the Committee’s visits to Member States, including comprehensive assessment missions. The Executive Directorate will also consider expending travel resources, on a case-by-case basis, on the participation of experts of key international organizations in the Committee’s visits whenever such experts would not otherwise be able to participate.
20.	The Information and Administration Office will prepare the Executive Directorate’s budget proposal for 2009, seeking appropriate resources to conduct the full range of visits as proposed by the Executive Director in document S/2008/80. The travel budget will take into account the proposed list of Member States to be visited during 2009 and beyond, submitted by the Directorate, and will include resources for Directorate staff to participate in a possible sixth special meeting of the Committee. Should the Committee decide to proceed with a sixth special meeting, the Directorate will endeavour to identify one or more extrabudgetary donors to act as host(s).
21.	The 2009 budget will also include a funding request for the creation of two additional junior Professional positions (Associate Political Affairs Officers) within the Executive Directorate. Associate Political Affairs Officers were previously used to support the work of the three clusters relating to the Assessment and Technical Assistance Office, and will now be needed to support the work of the five newly created technical working groups and the two newly created units. The Information and Administration Office will also prepare an end-of-year evaluation for the human resources action plan for 2008-2009, which will focus on the efforts of the Directorate to meet the annual goals and objectives set by the Department of Management.









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 United Nations
S/2008/471
 
 Security Council
Distr.: General
21 July 2008

Original: English


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