The UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) was created by General Assembly resolution 71/291, adopted on 15 June 2017, on the initiative of Secretary-General António Guterres. Its establishment carved counter-terrorism functions out of the Department of Political Affairs (where the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force and the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre had previously sat) and consolidated them under a dedicated Under-Secretary-General reporting directly to the Secretary-General.
UNOCT's core mandate covers five areas: providing leadership on General Assembly counter-terrorism mandates; enhancing coordination across the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact (which links over 40 UN entities, INTERPOL, and the World Customs Organization); strengthening delivery of capacity-building assistance to member states; improving visibility, advocacy, and resource mobilization; and ensuring that the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (adopted in 2006 and reviewed biennially by the General Assembly) is implemented in a balanced manner across its four pillars.
The office houses the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), originally founded in 2011 with funding from Saudi Arabia, which delivers technical assistance projects on issues such as foreign terrorist fighters, prevention of violent extremism, border security, and the protection of soft targets. UNOCT is largely funded by voluntary contributions rather than the regular UN budget, which has drawn scrutiny from member states and civil society about donor influence and prioritization.
It is important to distinguish UNOCT from the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and its executive directorate CTED, which are subsidiary bodies of the Security Council established under resolution 1373 (2001) and monitor state compliance with binding counter-terrorism obligations. UNOCT, by contrast, sits in the Secretariat and focuses on coordination, programming, and capacity-building rather than monitoring or sanctions. The first and current Under-Secretary-General leading UNOCT is Vladimir Voronkov of the Russian Federation, appointed in 2017.
Example
In 2021 UNOCT convened the first UN High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States at UN Headquarters in New York, bringing together officials from over 160 countries.
Frequently asked questions
UNOCT is a Secretariat office focused on coordination and capacity-building, while the CTC is a Security Council subsidiary body established by resolution 1373 (2001) that monitors member state compliance with binding counter-terrorism obligations.
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