Statement by the delegation of Ukraine at UNSC briefing on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts

As prepared. Check against delivery.

Mr. President,

I thank Under-Secretary-General Voronkov and other briefers for their inputs to today’s discussion.

Latest decades were marked by the spread of violent extremist ideologies and the emergence of terrorist groups fueled by them. ISIL, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and others rose from a regional menace to a global threat to international peace and security. Over the past years, Ukraine has also acquired bitter experience of countering terrorist threat that has been fueled by external support for terrorist groups and organizations in the east of the country.

The fight against terrorism has now firmly become a key priority of the United Nations, leading to the adoption of 1373 and subsequent fundamental UNSC resolutions, as well as 2006 UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

This also resulted in the establishment of key UN Security Council and UN General Assembly bodies, like the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate, as well as Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force.

Though initially they had different mandates, later developments of the UN counter-terrorism norms led to an overlap in these organs’ activities, as well as a competition for resources, influence, and project ownership.

Therefore, ensuring mutually re-enforcing cooperation and avoiding duplication of efforts of UN bodies that work on counter-terrorism-related issues remains an ongoing challenge for the UN.

Mr. President,

Ukraine consistently supported the need to enhance coherence and leadership of the UN system in dealing with terrorism threats, including by conducting a reform of the UN counter-terrorism architecture.

The creation of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism is, therefore, a welcome step in this direction. We expect that it will mainstream counter-terrorism efforts within the UN system and contribute to the proper implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy as well as the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism.

In particular, to ensure that the United Nations’ stance on countering terrorism remains strong we expect the OCT to:

— show strategic leadership and commitment to action, addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism on a basis of all-of-UN approach;

— ensure appropriate resources and expertise to provide policy advice on Counter-Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism;

— strengthen its strategic policy and programme guidance to Member States through close cooperation with relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations and forums;

— enhance collaboration among all UN entities operating in the field, as well conduct outreach to civil society actors.

Mr. President,

We recognize the central role of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in overseeing implementation of specific counter terrorism measures established by the Security Council, monitoring states’ compliance with respective obligations and promoting international cooperation in this field.

We would like to commend the work of the CTED that conducts country visits on behalf of the Committee to assess the implementation of resolutions 1373, 1624 and 2178, detects possible gaps in the existing regulations using a detailed survey tool, identifies states’ assistance needs and facilitates the delivery of respective aid by engaging in a dialogue with prospective multilateral and bilateral donors. In particular, we take positive note of the recent update of the Technical Guide to assist countries in their implementation efforts.

This work is vital for fostering the development of states legislation and practice in criminal justice matters and international cooperation, financial intelligence, border security and law enforcement.

We have a very good experience of cooperation with the Executive Directorate, which visited Ukraine in 2013. Using this opportunity I would like to underline that we expect the CTED to conduct a follow-up mission to Ukraine this November, based on the CTC approved plan of visits for the period 2014–2017. On our side, we are keen to provide any necessary assistance in its preparation.

Let me also touch upon an issue of the upcoming revision of the CTED’s mandate.

We are pleased that the CTED’s programme of work duly reflects all new topics identified by the Council in its recent resolutions. The aviation security that we discussed just yesterday, international judicial cooperation, protection of critical infrastructure and cultural property, countering terrorist narratives, curbing weapons supply to terrorists — all of them are of particular importance to international counter-terrorism efforts. New challenges may also arise that will require Council’s close attention.

However, given the drastic expansion of the CTED’s mandate there is a need to ensure that its planned activities are performed timely, and Member States can have full benefit of its expertise. Thus, the CTED should be provided with adequate capacity and resources. In this regard, Ukaine is ready to provide its own contribution to the improvement of functioning of CTED in partular through nomination of qualified experts for professional posts of the enlarged entity.

My delegation stands ready to engage constructively in the process of the renewal of the Directorate’s mandate this December and supports strengthening the CTED capabilities.

I thank you.