11 December 2025
At the 24th GCTF Coordinating Committee Meeting held on 25 September 2024 in New York City, the Forum endorsed the GCTF Brussels Memorandum on Good Practices for Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms in Counterterrorism (the Brussels Memorandum). Created by the GCTF Oversight and Accountability in Counterterrorism Initiative – led by the European Union (EU) and supported by its Counter-Terrorism Platform for Human Rights Engagement Facility (CT PHARE), a facility managed by the International Institute of Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) – the practical and publicly available Framework Document outlines a set of non-binding good practices aimed at strengthening oversight and accountability mechanisms in counterterrorism operations.
The EU convened a two-day meeting in Brussels, Belgium to mark the official launch of the Brussels Memorandum, bringing together key experts and stakeholders from regions including the Middle East and North Africa, East and West Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. A key step in the operationalization of the good practices, the meeting highlighted their significance in promoting efforts in oversight and accountability in counterterrorism and served as a coordination platform to discuss their implementation within various national and regional contexts.
Additionally, the meeting established a Transregional Network to foster collaboration among oversight and accountability experts and practitioners. Made up of three thematic working groups that will focus on national/regional needs and peer-to-peer exchanges, the Transregional Network will guide the design of tailored, in-person technical assistance programs to address specific oversight and accountability challenges in line with the Brussels Memorandum and its operationalization.
Under the EU mandate, supported by CT-PHARE and the IIJ, the GCTF Oversight and Accountability in Counterterrorism Initiative will continue seeking greater collaboration, the sharing of resources, and continuous peer engagement across governments and organizations to strengthen internal oversight efforts