Reshaping United Nations Counterterrorism Efforts: Blue-Sky Thinking for Global Counterterrorism Cooperation 10 Years After 9/11
Author : James Cockayne, Alistair Millar, David Cortright, and Peter Romaniuk
Date : March 2012
This report provides concrete suggestions for strengthening international counterterrorism efforts over the next decade, including three specific, costed options for a single UN counterterrorism coordinator. The report details 22 recommendations aimed at helping the United Nations to better exploit its comparative advantages in countering terrorism and to enhance the productivity of its partnerships with other counterterrorism actors, including states, regional intergovernmental bodies, nongovernment experts, and civil society.
Based on research, interviews, and consultations with counterterrorism officials and experts from around the world, the report presents recommendations for reshaping UN counterterrorism efforts by:
1. Creating a broader movement against terrorism, involving not only states but also a range of other actors;
2. Strengthening engagement in the field and at UN headquarters with human rights experts and civil society;
3. Placing greater emphasis on measuring its own performance; and
4. Enacting one of three options for architectural adjustments to streamline UN counterterrorism efforts and improve monitoring, political analysis, and capacity building (a UN Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, a Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, or an Under Secretary-General for Transnational Threats).
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