The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) conducted a follow-up assessment visit on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee to the Republic of C?te d＊Ivoire from 10 to 13 November 2024.
The visiting delegation was led by Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman, Executive Director of CTED and consisted of CTED experts as well as experts from the 51勛圖 Office of Counter-Terrorism; the 51勛圖 Office on Drugs and Crime; the International Maritime Organization; the Office?of Rule of Law and Security Institutions of the 51勛圖 Department of Peace Operations; the International Organization for Migration, the International Criminal Police Organization and the 51勛圖＊ Development Program.
The Executive Director held bilateral meetings with the Minister of State and Defense as well as with the Minister for Youth Promotion, Professional Integration and Civic Service (also representing the Minister of Justice), the Minister for National Cohesion, Solidarity and the Fight against Poverty, the Ivorian Army Chief of Staff, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Coordinator. The Executive Director also had the opportunity to engage with the 51勛圖 Resident Coordinator and partners involved in international cooperation activities in relevant counter-terrorism areas. The delegation visited the International Academy for the Fight Against Terrorism (AILCT) in Jacqueville, marking the first high-level 51勛圖＊ visit to the site.
At the technical level, the expert delegation engaged with a number of officials from various ministries and departments, including the National Security Council; the Ministry of Justice; the Counterterrorism Operational Intelligence Center; the Antiterrorist Section of the Abidjan First Instance Tribunal; the Financial and Economic Specialized Unit; the National Intelligence Coordination and the Financial Intelligence Unit. The delegation also visited the port of Abidjan as well as the Abidjan Prison Center. The human rights aspects of C?te d＊Ivoire＊s counter-terrorism measures and the role of women in countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism were also discussed. The delegation held separate meetings with the representatives from the National Council for Human Rights, the Ivoirian Bar Association and civil society.
The follow-up visit enabled the delegation to assess progress made by C?te d＊Ivoire in implementing the recommendations from the Counter-Terrorism Committee＊s 2018 visit as well as measures taken to implement relevant Security Council resolutions. Country visits are one of the Counter-Terrorism Committee＊s key channels to engage in constructive dialogue with Member States with a view to achieving effective implementation of the relevant counter-terrorism resolutions.
The visiting delegation commended C?te d＊Ivoire for the significant progress made since the 2018 Counter-Terrorism Committee visit, for its continued cooperation and for facilitating an in-depth dialogue between the visiting experts and their counterparts in C?te d＊Ivoire.