Since January 2023, over 40 terrorist attacks have happened against ‘soft’ targets impacting public and private facilities around the world, mostly in Africa and Asia. Building on the previous briefings, this expert briefing focused on assessing the adoption of the good practices of the GCTF Antalya Memorandum six years on. 

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have become a weapon of choice for terrorist groups in West Africa. They are simple to design, and their components remain cheap and easily accessible. The consequence is a steadily increasing number of IED attacks, harming innocent civilians. For regional governments, effectively responding to IED attacks is challenging due to their complex networks and illicit supply chains. To encourage dialogue and best practice sharing, a regional, three-day, in-person meeting, ‘Preventing and Countering the Acquisition and Use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by Terrorist Groups in West Africa’ was held, led by the West Africa Working Group Co-Chairs, Algeria, and Germany.

Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism (REMVE) conducive to terrorism is rising. These threats are in the name of defending perceived threats to racial or ethnic identity, and target those that are viewed as “enemies” or are “to blame” for perceived grievances. To empower practitioners and policymakers currently implementing counter-REMVE strategies and policies, virtual tabletop exercises were held to support the use of the GCTF REMVE Toolkit. The exercises were part of the Awareness Raising and Operationalizing the GCTF REMVE Toolkit Initiative.

The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Working Group hosted its sixth workshop under its Initiative on Funding and Enabling P/CVE initiatives at the Community Level, supported by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) as implementing partner. This session builds on the previous workshop, highlighting knowledge and best practice sharing in funding and enabling local P/CVE initiatives, while working towards the drafting of the framework document of recommendations.

On 4 May, the  21^st GCTF Coordinating Committee Meeting was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was the first Coordinating Committee Meeting co-chaired by Egypt and the European Union. The event was opened by H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, and H.E. Ambassador Charles Fries, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service. Over 150 senior counterterrorism and criminal justice officials and practitioners from more than thirty countries discussed future action to counter global terrorism threats. At the meeting, Co-Chairs presented their vision for the GCTF during their tenure (2023-2025). On the margins of the meeting, two successful side events were held. On 2 May the GCTF FTF and CVE working group leads held ‘Addressing the Challenges Related to the Reintegration and Rehabilitation of FTFs and their Associated Family Members’, and on 3 May, the GCTF Co-Chairs, with the support of the CCCPA and IIJ, held an in-person session on the evolving terrorist landscape on the African continent.