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 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

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

3-4 December 2015

The workshop built on the 2013 Rabat Conference on border control cooperation in the Sahel and Maghreb and the Inaugural Conference of the BSI, held on 21-22 July 2105 in El Jadida, Morocco, as well as good practices compiled at events in Cairns, Australia in August and Vienna, Austria in September.

The objective of the workshop was to bring border officials from countries in the region and international border security and management experts together to further discuss identified challenges and potential good practices in the area of cross-border cooperation.

Key themes of discussion included:

The level of stability and security in a country or a border area is critically important for the overall success of border security and management policies.
High-ranking officials in national agencies dealing with border security and management may not necessarily be as effective as presumed in inter-agency cooperation.
Inter-agency coordination process in border security should be inclusive.
Mandates and working methods of border security and management agencies need to be revised and up-dated in order to address new risks connected to terrorism.
Border demarcation issues affect overall border security and management.
Countries need to develop robust social and economic policies that integrate remote border communities into society, aiming to increase inclusiveness.
Engagement with border communities is a key contributor to border security and management.
The gap between de facto and officially registered refugees is a common challenge in the countries of the HOA region.
The countries in the HOA region should be able to benefit from the international databases to enhance their border management.
Improved capacities are crucial for a robust border security and management.

Tags: United Nations UN Counter-Terrorism Centre UNCCT Kenya Nairobi Horn of Africa HOA cross-border cooperation transnational challenges First Regional Workshop Border Security Initiative BSI

Horn of Africa Capacity Building Working Group - Plenary Meeting

DJIBOUTI CITY - Djibouti - The GCTF’s Horn of Africa (HOA) Capacity Building Working Group’s Fifth Plenary Meeting convened in Djibouti City, Djibouti, on 2 June 2016.

Sahel Region Moving Forward on Border Security

DAKAR - Senegal - Under the auspices of the joint United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) – Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) Border Security Initiative (BSI), the Government of Senegal hosted the UNCCT-GCTF BSI Regional Workshop on the Sahel, on 11-12 May 2016, in Dakar.

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).

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...