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The Â鶹APP Office of Counter?Terrorism (UNOCT) convened its final Quarterly Briefing of the year at the Â鶹APP Headquarters in New York on 15 December 2025. The meeting brought together 146 representatives from Member States, regional organizations, and entities of the Global Counter?Terrorism Coordination Compact to review progress in 2025 and outline strategic and policy priorities for the year ahead.

The briefing was chaired by Mr. Eihab Omaish, Director for Policy and Coordination at UNOCT, who echoed the Secretary?General¡¯s condemnation of the recent terrorist attack in Australia and reaffirmed solidarity with victims. He stressed the persistence of terrorist threats, the misuse of emerging technologies, and the importance of nationally?led, rights?based approaches to counter?terrorism.

Mr. Omaish announced the release of the UNOCT Strategic Plan and Results Framework (2026¨C2028) and provided an update on preparations for the Fourth UN Counter?Terrorism Week, scheduled for 29 June¨C2 July 2026. Participants were briefed on preparations for the Ninth Review of the Global Counter?Terrorism Strategy (GCTS), upcoming Secretary?General¡¯s reports on the implementation of the Strategy and the threat posed by ISIL/Da¡¯esh, and partnerships with regional organizations. Progress under the Global Counter?Terrorism Coordination Compact was presented, alongside UNOCT¡¯s support to 146 Member States and 5,000 participants in capacity-building activities in 2025. These efforts included research on gaming platforms, development of an artificial intelligence curriculum, and the operationalization of the Victims of Terrorism Associations Network (VoTAN).

Panel presentations by UN entities underscored the breadth of UN counter-terrorism support to Member States despite resource constraints. Interventions addressed evolving terrorism threats, including links to organized crime, and the misuse of artificial intelligence, online platforms, and virtual assets. Speakers emphasized the need for adaptive and coordinated responses, strengthened legal and operational frameworks, enhanced cooperation on terrorist travel and financing, and the integration of human rights and gender perspectives across counter-terrorism efforts. Discussions also highlighted rapidly evolving ¡°multipolar¡± threat dynamics and the need for the international community to remain proactive.

Duringdiscussions, Member States reaffirmed strong political support for UNOCT and ongoing counter-terrorism efforts, emphasizing the importance of multilateral cooperation to address evolving and complex threats. Regional organizations highlighted deteriorating security conditions in parts of Africa, rising fatalities linked to terrorism, and concern over the situation in Afghanistan. Participants also emphasized the need for stronger cross-pillar coordination under the Global Counter?Terrorism Strategy and proposed that future quarterly briefings adopt more interactive formats to further enhance engagement and impact.