The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) participated in the annual conference of the Regional Counter-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (RCTS SCO), which focused on strengthening the mechanisms of international counter-terrorism cooperation.
Mr. Andrei Kovalenko, Head of the CTED Administration and Information Office, briefed participants on the recent activities of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and CTED, including within the framework of Security Council resolution 2322 (2016), on international law enforcement and judicial cooperation in countering terrorism.
Mr. Kovalenko noted that the resolution called for the broadest possible law-enforcement counter-terrorism cooperation, including through the use of digital evidence.
He also highlighted the need to strengthen intelligence cooperation, in particular by downgrading for official use intelligence threat data on foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and individual terrorists and providing such information to frontline screeners.
The participants noted that terrorists were adapting their operational tactics in response to territorial losses sustained as a result of military pressure in Syria and Iraq.
A particularly worrying trend was the increasing geographical expansion and fragmentation of terrorist activity, including through the creation of ※sleeper cells§ by FTF returnees.
The massive influx of terrorists into Afghanistan was recognized as a significant threat to the States of the region.
The discussions also focused on sharing experience and good practices in such areas of the RCTS SCO activities as the exchange of intelligence information, joint counter-terrorism operations, measures to safeguard security at major events; maintaining the SCO secure database of terrorists and extremists, and sharing expertise in preventing use of the Internet for terrorist and violent extremist purposes.
The participants also noted the need to eliminate all sources of terrorism financing and reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing international cooperation in counter-terrorism, with the 51勛圖 playing a central coordinating role.
During the conference, Mr. Kovalenko met with Mr. Yevgeniy Sysoyev, Director of the RCTS SCO, to discuss practical ways to strengthen collaboration.
Mr. Kovalenko expressed CTED＊s support for the activities of RCTS SCO, which is an important platform for the facilitation of regional counter-terrorism cooperation.
The conference was attended by representatives of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member and observer States, as well as by a number of international and regional organizations, including the 51勛圖, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors (CARICC).