- Check against delivery -

I am honoured to deliver remarks on behalf of the European Union and its Member States on the occasion of the seventh review of the UN Global Counter terrorism Strategy.

The Candidate Countries the Republic of North Macedonia*, Montenegro^* and Albania^*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EFTA country Liechtenstein, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.

Let me start at the outset by welcoming the consensual adoption of the GCTS Review resolution and by thanking the co-facilitators, Spain and Oman for their tireless efforts in this process and for ensuring that the Global Counter-Terrorism strategy is reviewed and updated to reflect the threat and the challenges we face today.

Counter terrorism remains on the top of the EU’s agenda. In light of the constantly evolving nature of the threat from terrorism and violent extremism, we must continue to work together to build upon progress achieved, while prioritising better. We must adapt and improve the tools required to address the threat, in particular at this time when we are all working on the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The biennial review of the Global Counterterrorism Strategy that is before us gives us the opportunity to refocus our attention in that regard.

As requested and in the interest of time, we refrained from delivering an additional Explanation of Position after adoption of the resolution. We, therefore, want to emphasize that this statement includes an explanation of the EU’s and its Member States’ position on certain provisions in the resolution, and should be understood as such.

In the face of terrorist attacks, we - the European Union and its Member States - uphold the common values that underpin our pluralist societies and continue to pursue with determination efforts to defend them.

Respect for human rights and the rule of law, including due process and fair trial guarantees, must be the bedrock of the fight against terrorism.

Respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law are complementary and mutually reinforcing with effective counter-terrorism measures, and are an essential part of a successful counter-terrorism effort. Efforts to combat terrorism must never serve as a pretext for human rights violations – it must go without saying that nothing can justify human rights violations by States.

We want to specifically mention the new language included in PP8 which might be interpreted by some as seeking to reverse responsibilities in the “counter-terrorism - human rights” debate. We continue to insist that Member States must ensure that any measures taken to counter terrorism comply with the rule of law, and all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law, and international humanitarian law.

We interpret the reference to the right to life, liberty and security in PP8 as implying the duty for States to refrain from engaging in conduct resulting in arbitrary deprivation of life, torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; and that States must exercise due diligence to protect the lives of individuals against deprivations caused by persons or entities, whose conduct is not attributable to the State.

The EU takes this opportunity to reaffirm the importance to redouble efforts to pay equal attention to each of the four pillars. In order to achieve this we must particularly strengthen the fourth pillar on human rights and the rule of law.

While the resolution we just adopted represents a hard won consensus, - and we very much welcome the advances in the language regarding these issues - we must acknowledge persistent differences between Member States on the role civil society plays in countering and preventing terrorism and violent extremism. This includes a lack of recognition of the problems we encounter as a result of a continued shrinking of the civic space, as well as the importance of paying due attention to the gender dimension. In our collective efforts to implement the Global Strategy over the coming biennium, we must seek to bridge these divides. In this respect, the EU looks to the leadership of Under-Secretary General Voronkov and the UN Office for Counterterrorism; the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; UN Women; and other Global Compact entities.

We continue to express concern that counter-terrorism is invoked, and counter-terrorism measures are being misused by some Governments to repress perceived dissent and human rights defenders, including instances of reprisal for engagement with the United Nations, and emphasize that efforts to combat terrorism must not compromise human rights under any circumstance.

The EU and its Member States fully support a "whole-of-society" approach to implementing this Global Strategy, and calls on strengthened collaboration and cooperation between governments and civil society. Only by embracing human rights and rule of law, governments can create an enabling environment for local authorities and civil society to counter radicalisation and violent extremism and welcome language in this regard in the Strategy we just adopted.

In addition, we cannot insist enough on the importance of the full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership of women in efforts to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism.

We need to provide a voice and support to victims of terrorism. The fight against terrorism requires putting victims at the centre and ensuring that their rights are protected and promoted. These elements must be substantially integrated in all programmes and counter-terrorism measures, and we strongly welcome new the language of the Resolution in this regard.

In addition, we cannot insist enough that the ‘humanitarian space’ must be protected. Countering terrorism and providing humanitarian assistance are mutually inclusive objectives – we must implement robust CT measures and we must ensure the protection of the humanitarian space. We have heard ample evidence of the unintended impact of Counter-Terrorism measures on humanitarian actors. We must work harder to ensure that Counter-Terrorism measures do not impede humanitarian action – we continue to regret that not all delegations are yet ready to ensure that humanitarian assistance is prioritised, but very much welcome the improved language in the resolution.

Because our enemies have demonstrated a formidable capacity for adaptation, we must strengthen our response to terrorist organisations and their acts: 

• We must step up our efforts to isolate terrorists by drying up all their sources of financing – this requires financial and non-financial oversight mechanisms, while following Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations – an important element which we regret has not been included in the resolution;
• We need to develop guidance, share best practices and facilitate networks to protect public spaces, critical infrastructure and aviation from terrorist threats;
• We must address all forms of violent extremism. This includes politically motivated violent extremism and terrorism, including the threat from the far-right and far-left. We regret that there was such a strong opposition to the inclusion of this phenomenon in the resolution. By leaving this out, we fail to address one of the most significant emerging threats in many countries, as well as to accept a terminology that describes the full spectrum of this threat and which is widely used and well understood.
• We must tackle the misuse of information and communication technologies, through a multi-stakeholder approach, including working with civil society and in close cooperation with the private sector, as successfully emphasised by the Christchurch Call and in the strategic calls of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT); and through the removal of terrorist content online, while providing alternative narratives. We, therefore, strongly welcome new language in this regard in the resolution.

The resolution introduces new paragraphs on hard security measures - weapons, new technologies, criminalization, punishment - elements that move the strategy away from the prevention agenda. We continue to believe that only through prevention we can be successful in fighting the scourge of terrorism in the long-term.

In this regard, we welcome the improved language in the resolution that seeks to enhance the exchange of best practices on assessing and addressing radicalisation which leads to violent extremism in prisons; and support prevention projects that seek to establish tools to detect and combat such radicalisation.

We need to tackle the root causes of extremism and radicalization. We need to build inclusive societies, in which civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights, are guaranteed. It is fundamental to address socio-economic inequalities, gender inequalities, and other forms of discrimination. It is crucial to invest in education, to foster intercultural and interfaith dialogue, to build well-integrated societies and to develop programs aimed at preventing radicalization.

The text introduces language that risks undermining the universality of our endeavors, by focusing on specific forms of discrimination. Our fight against terrorism is global - and the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy needs to continue to reflect that.

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President,

Let me now turn to the institutional perspective. The EU and its Member States strive to ensure that space for human rights checks and balances within the UN counter-terrorism institutional structures are well in place; that engagement with civil society is strengthened at all levels; while ensuring a gender-responsive approach.

We appreciate that the resolution calls for better mainstreaming of human rights and gender as cross-cutting issues across the strategy, as well as for all CT activities. However, there is still a lack of credible and independent oversight within the system, in particular UNOCT. We call on the Secretary-General, when conducting the assessment he has been tasked with, to do so in meaningful cooperation with all relevant UN compact Entities, in particular with the Compact Working Group on promoting and protecting human rights and the rule of law while countering terrorism and supporting victims of terrorism.

We would also like to refer to the important discussions that have taken place regarding the future financial balance of the UN Counter-terrorism architecture. We think it is a crucial question, with not only merely financial, but also political and institutional implications. Therefore, we welcome the discussion that has taken place, and we think this discussion has to continue, in order to deepen the clarity and transparency on this issue.

By strengthening due process, we foster positive narratives and address underlying conditions such as political, economic, social and other grievances. The Ombudsperson of the ISIL/Al Qaida Sanctions Committee is a primary example in this regard and we very much regret that consensus could not be reached to welcome the indispensable work of the office and to call for improving the conditions of the functioning of the Office; and to stress the need to extend efforts to ensure that procedures are fair and clear for all sanctions regimes.

We also want to insist that in the field, it is quintessential that the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism and the Global Compact enhance its coordination and coherence through consultative, inter-agency efforts, and integrating its field level engagement within country team presences, including the Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams, to support broader UN peace and security and development agendas such as the Secretary General’s reforms and Prevention Agenda.

We continue to call for developing a meaningful monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the overall impact and comprehensive, integrated implementation of the strategy. M&E standards are a widely recognized concept for quality assurance, which we should aim for in the UN counter-terrorism efforts. A lack of appropriate monitoring and evaluation can make it difficult for donors to consider voluntary contributions to UNOCT and other entities.

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President,

The EU and its MS remain committed to multilateralism and support global efforts to fight terrorism and violent extremism in support of the UN, including through the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). We welcome ongoing efforts to strengthening further the cooperation between the GCTF and the UN in implementing the Global Strategy.

As a strong testimony to our commitment to effectively counter the threat from global terrorism, we devote considerable financial resources to counter-terrorism capacity-building partnerships underpinning implementation of the UN strategy. Looking at the EU alone, the funding for CT/PVE specific engagements outside of the EU has increased to approximately 500 million EUR (on-going) at the end of 2020.

To conclude, the EU and its member States welcome the adoption of the Review resolution and commend the co-facilitators for their strong and successful leadership in ensuring that, at this year of important commemoration, we have a renewed strategy that seeks to respond to today’s challenges. We also want to recognise the co-facilitators proactive engagement with civil society, which should serve as a model for future reviews.

For our part, the EU and its Member States would like to thank civil society for their constructive partnership and cooperation throughout this process. We will continue our steadfast support to and collaboration with the United Nations, the UN Office of Counterterrorism and all the Compact Entities, as well as the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, towards realising full implementation of the Global Counter -Terrorism Strategy.

Countering terrorism is a priority we all share. Together – the United Nations, the European Union, the Member States - we have been committed tirelessly to mitigate this scourge. Only together, we can put a stop to terrorists and their backers.

Thank you.

* The Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.