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

Workshop on the Life Cycle Toolkit

Workshop on the Life Cycle Toolkit

12 May 2017

WASHINGTON DC - United States - On 12 May 2017, the GCTF Initiative to Address the Life Cycle of Radicalization to Violence (Life Cycle Initiative) co-leads, Turkey and the United States, and George Washington University’s Program on Extremism hosted a practitioner-level workshop to introduce the Life Cycle Initiative and its web-based Toolkit to a wide range of practitioners and implementers.

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Detention and Reintegration Working Group - Workshop on Integrating Prisons into National Counter-Terrorism Arrangements

Detention and Reintegration Working Group - Workshop on Integrating Prisons into National Counter-Terrorism Arrangements

11-12 April 2017

SEMARANG - Indonesia - The GCTF Detention and Reintegration Working Group’s Workshop on “Integrating Prisons into National Counter-Terrorism Arrangements” was hosted by the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) on 11-12 April 2017, in Semarang, Indonesia.

 
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Horn of Africa Capacity-Building Working Group - Sixth Plenary Meeting

Horn of Africa Capacity-Building Working Group - Sixth Plenary Meeting

6 April 2017

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia - GCTF Horn of Africa (HOA) Working Group (WG) Co-Chairs, the European Union and Turkey, convened the Sixth Plenary Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 6 April 2017.

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Protection of Soft Targets in a Counterterrorism Context Initiative - Workshop

Protection of Soft Targets in a Counterterrorism Context Initiative - Workshop

30-31 March 2017

SINGAPORE - Singapore - Following the Inaugural Meeting of the GCTF Soft Targets Initiative (STI), held in Turkey in December 2016, the First Regional Workshop was convened in Singapore on 30-31 March 2017. 

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Activities

Sahel Region Moving Forward on Border Security

Sahel Region Moving Forward on Border Security

11-12 May 2016

The workshop built on the UNCCT-UNCTED 2013 Rabat Conference, the Inaugural Conference of the UNCCT-GCTF BSI in El Jadida (July 2105), as well as good practices compiled at the experts meeting in Cairns, Australia (August 2015), in Vienna, Austria (September 2015) and the UNCCT-GCTF BSI First Regional Workshop on the Horn of Africa in Nairobi, Kenya (December 2015). 

The objective of the workshop was to bring together border officials from countries in the region and international border security and management experts to further discuss identified challenges and potential good practices in the area of cross-border cooperation. The discussions helped the development of a global non-binding good practices document. These good practices will be presented and adopted at the Tenth GCTF Coordinating Committee Meeting and the Seventh Ministerial Plenary Meeting in New York in September 2016. 

Key themes of discussion included:

  • Improved border security and management will impact the national security of countries in the Sahel region. 

  • Interagency and cross-border cooperation is key for an effective BSM policy. 

  • There is need for improved capacities and coordination of capacity-building programs in the field of BSM in the Sahel region.

  • Improved emphasis on legal framework and administrative mechanisms at national level is key for a structured national BSM approach. 

  • Border demarcation issues affect overall border security and management measures. 

  • Engagement with border communities is a key contributor to effective border security and management.

More links

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

ALGIERS - Algeria - The Co-Chairs of the Sahel Capacity Building (Sahel) Working Group, Algeria and Canada, in collaboration with the Co-Chairs of the Criminal Justice and Rule of Law (CJ-ROL) Working Group, Egypt and the United States (US), organized a workshop focusing on the Rabat Memorandum’s good practices related to legal frameworks as a way to promote rule of law-compliant responses to terrorism in the Sahel region. 

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

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.

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