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

Consolidating stakeholder input and insights to increase understanding of the links between climate change and insecurity

3 June 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 seeking stakeholder input and insights on the links between climate change and insecurity.

Training practitioners on motivational disengagement for the East Africa Capacity-Building Working Group

30 May 2025

Under the mandate of Kenya and Kuwait, the East Africa Capacity-Building Working Group held a training workshop in motivational disengagement for security officers.

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.

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Activities

Horn of Africa Capacity Building Working Group - Plenary Meeting

2 June 2016

The meeting, Co-Chaired by Turkey and the European Union, brought together 70 representatives from GCTF Members, non-members such as Norway and Israel, HOA countries including Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen, United Nations bodies, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the three GCTF-inspired institutions GCERF, Hedayah and IIJ.

Participants discussed the current state of counterterrorism (CT) and countering violent extremism (CVE) initiatives in the region and exchanged views on preventing violent extremism (PVE) and CVE initiatives, taking into account the UN Plan of Action on PVE that the UN briefly presented.

Key themes of the discussion included:

Terrorism threat faced by the region.
The continued need for coordination of CVE and CT activities and capacity-building programs.
Further linking of the GCTF initiatives with the HOA region.

Tags: International Institute for Justice and the Rule o Horn of Africa HOA Initiative to Address the Life Cycle of Radicaliza International Counterterrorism and CVE Capacity-Bu ICCM Hedayah Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund GCTF inspired institutions Work Plan

Seventh GCTF Ministerial Plenary Meeting

NEW YORK - United States - 2016 marks the fifth anniversary of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). On 21 September 2016, the Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco, Mr Nasser Bourita, and Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Mr Bert Koenders, co-chaired the Seventh Ministerial Plenary Meeting of the GCTF in New York. The Ministerial Plenary Meeting showcased the action-oriented and strategic nature of the GCTF and provided an opportunity to take stock of the progress achieved since the launch of the Forum, five years ago.

Countering Violent Extremism Working Group - The Role of Family is Critical in Preventing Violent Extremism

ABU DHABI - United Arab Emirates – On 23-25 May 2016, under the auspices of the GCTF’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Working Group, Hedayah, the International Center of Excellence for CVE, hosted a workshop on the P/CVE roles of families.

Ninth GCTF Coordinating Committee Meeting

THE HAGUE - the Netherlands - The GCTF Coordinating Committee convened for its ninth meeting on 12-13 April 2016. Member States and representatives of the GCTF partner organizations reviewed the Forum’s strategic priorities, considered the ongoing and planned initiatives, and reviewed activities since the previous Coordinating Committee Meeting in New York, held on 25 September 2015.

UN Counter-Terrorism Centre – GCTF Border Security Initiative Regional Workshop on the Horn of Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – Under the auspices of the joint United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) – GCTF Border Security Initiative (BSI), the Government of Kenya hosted the first Regional Workshop on the Horn of Africa (HOA), on 3-4 December 2015, in Nairobi.

Eighth GCTF Coordinating Committee Meeting

NEW YORK - United States - On 26 September 2015, the GCTF Coordinating Committee convened in New York for its eighth meeting. Members reviewed the Forum’s strategic priorities, considered ongoing and planned initiatives, and reviewed activities since the previous GCTF Coordinating Committee meeting held on 6-7 May 2015 in Doha, Qatar.

Consolidating stakeholder input and insights to...

Training practitioners on motivational...

Rehabilitating and reintegrating violent extremist...

Consolidating efforts to prevent and counter...

Understanding the risks of climate change’s...