About the GCTF

The Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) is an informal, apolitical, multilateral counterterrorism platform. It is small, nimble, inclusive, and consensus-based. Its overarching mission is to reduce the vulnerability of people worldwide to terrorism by mobilizing expertise and resources to prevent, combat, and prosecute terrorist acts and counter incitement and recruitment to terrorism.

The Forum brings together policymakers and practitioners from around the world to share experiences and expertise, and to develop practical, publicly available tools and strategies on how to prevent and counter the evolving terrorist threat. The GCTF is currently co-chaired by Egypt and the European Union.

News

Rehabilitating and reintegrating violent extremist terrorists in prison – best practices and early intervention approaches

23 May 2025

Led by co-chairs Australia and Indonesia, the Countering Violent Extremism Working Group held an in-person workshop to discuss good practice approaches for rehabilitating violent extremist terrorist prisoners and managing their reintegration into the community upon release.

Consolidating efforts to prevent and counter terrorist use of improvised explosive devices in West Africa

8 May 2025

Under the mandate of the Co-Chairs, Algeria and Germany, the West Africa Capacity-Building Working Group held an in-person regional meeting to discuss strengthening collaborative efforts to prevent and counter the acquisition and use of IEDs by terrorist groups in the region.

Understanding the risks of climate change’s relationship with violent extremism conducive to terrorism and building solutions

15 April 2025

Led by Germany and Kenya, the Initiative on Addressing the Nexus Between Climate Change and Violent Extremism conducive to terrorism held a virtual workshop exploring solutions and recommendations to consider when addressing the links between climate change and insecurity.

Examining current evidence and approaches to the relationship between climate change and violent extremism conducive to terrorism

4 March 2025

Led by Germany and Kenya, the Initiative on Addressing the Nexus Between Climate Change and Violent Extremism conducive to terrorism held a virtual workshop exploring the links between climate change and insecurity, with a focus on the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa.

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Activities

Workshop on Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters (RFTFs)

26 May 2016

In order to increase the awareness of legal implications and considerations regarding the rehabilitation and reintegration of returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters (RFTFs) and Violent Extremist Offenders (VEOs), the GCTF’s Detention and Reintegration (DR) Working Group and the Criminal Justice and Rule of Law (CJ-ROL) Working Group convened a joint meeting, together with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in Turin. The meeting aimed to develop an addendum to the Rome Memorandum on Good Practices for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Violent Extremist Offenders.

During this expert-level meeting, criminal justice practitioners as well as rehabilitation and reintegration experts reviewed and discussed specific legal framework issues regarding rehabilitation and reintegration efforts in custodial and non-custodial settings.Based on the outcomes of the meeting, a draft addendum to the Rome Memorandum will be prepared and adopted at the Tenth GCTF Coordinating Committee Meeting and the Seventh Ministerial Plenary Meeting in New York in September 2016.

Tags: Detention and Reintegration Working Group DRWG Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law Working Group United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Res UNICRI

Documents to download

Download the full Rome Memorandum on Good Practices for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Violent Extremist OffendersPlease visit the section 'Key GCTF Documents' on the 'About us' page for more information

Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group - Plenary Meeting

NEUCHÂTEL - Switzerland - The Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group (CJ-ROL) will focus on further implementation of good practices highlighted in the Rabat Memorandum. That is one of the strategic outcomes of the Plenary Meeting of this Working Group, held on 3-4 May 2016.

Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group - Workshop on Identifying and Countering Terrorist Recruiters and Facilitators

WASHINGTON D.C. - United States - The Criminal Justice and Rule of Law (CJ-ROL) Working Group convened an expert meeting in Washington on 25-26 April to discuss ways to identify and counter terrorist recruiters and facilitators.

Juvenile Justice in a Counterterrorism Context

NAXXAR - Malta - Under the auspices of the GCTF’s Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), the Government of Switzerland and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) hosted an expert meeting on Juvenile Justice in a Counterterrorism Context on 10-12 November 2015, in Naxxar, Malta.

Second Detention and Reintegration Working Group - Plenary Meeting

SYDNEY - Australia - On 2-3 November 2015, Australia hosted the GCTF’s Detention and Reintegration Working Group second plenary meeting in Sydney.

Detention and Reintegration Working Group - Workshop on Education, Life Skill Courses and Vocational Training for Incarcerated Violent Extremist Offenders

NAIROBI - Kenya - On 7-8 October 2015, the government of Kenya hosted the GCTF’s Detention and Reintegration (DR) Working Group’s “Workshop on Education, Life Skill Courses and Vocational Training for Incarcerated Violent Extremist Offenders.” The workshop was co-chaired by the governments of Australia and Indonesia, and was co-organized by the Global Center on Cooperative Security (Global Center).

Rehabilitating and reintegrating violent extremist...

Consolidating efforts to prevent and counter...

Understanding the risks of climate change’s...

Examining current evidence and approaches to the...

Responding to the challenges emerging from the...