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. 

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What is the GCTF?

News

Facilitating understanding and dialogue around climate change and violent extremism conducive to terrorism

Facilitating understanding and dialogue around climate change and violent extremism conducive to terrorism

9 June 2026

Led by Germany and Kenya, the Initiative on Addressing the Nexus Between Climate Change and Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism held a side event on the margins of the 26th Coordinating Committee Meeting to launch and present a new GCTF toolkit.

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GCTF Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group Plenary Meeting

GCTF Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group Plenary Meeting

9 June 2026

Under the mandate of the Co-Chairs, Italy and Nigeria, the Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group held its annual plenary meeting on the margins of the 26th Coordinating Committee Meeting to discuss recent developments and upcoming priorities, including ethical and human rights-compliant use of AI in criminal justice and counterterrorism. Read more »
Curtailing terrorist financing through context-specific approaches in West Africa

Curtailing terrorist financing through context-specific approaches in West Africa

30 April 2026

The West Africa Capacity-Building Working Group led a regional meeting addressing the exploitation of informal economies and emerging financial technologies in the region.

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Bolstering a coordinated regional approach to strengthen community resilience against IEDs in East Africa

Bolstering a coordinated regional approach to strengthen community resilience against IEDs in East Africa

1 April 2026

Under the Kenya-Kuwait mandate, the East Africa Capacity-Building Working Group led an expert meeting on strengthening community resilience against IEDs in the region. Read more »
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Activities

Expert Workshop on the Implementation of Rabat Good Practices 12-15 in the Sahel Region

Expert Workshop on the Implementation of Rabat Good Practices 12-15 in the Sahel Region

30-31 March 2016

The objectives of the workshop were to bring together criminal justice stakeholders, international experts and representatives from regional and multilateral organizations in order to raise awareness of and further advance the implementation of the Rabat Memo’s good practices relevant to the criminalization of terrorist activities (Good Practices 12-15). The meeting included discussions on best practices and lessons learned regarding the criminalization of preparatory acts and lead Sahel states to identify any outstanding needs they may have regarding legal frameworks and developing plans of actions to address these gaps.

Key themes of discussion included:

  • Progress in developing national counterterrorism legal frameworks across the Sahel region.
  • The challenge of better trained and specialized law enforcement personnel.
  • Effective regional cooperation to enable prosecution and criminalization of terrorist acts.
  • Harmonized legal frameworks within the Sahel region to help foster regional cooperation.

Documents to download

More links

Sahel Region Moving Forward on Border Security

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.

Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group - Plenary Meeting

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. 

 GCTF Insights

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