Summer Interns Attend the 2023 United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week

2023 Summer Interns at the UN Counter-Terrorism Meeting (top, clockwise): Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos, Jeanne Aublin, Ryan Rowe, and Vasilije Dragović

This past week, our summer interns attended the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week, a biennial gathering of Member States and international counter-terrorism partners. The Third Counter-Terrorism Week (CT Week) was comprised of the following meetings:

• The Third United Nations High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States held on Monday, June 19 and Tuesday, June 20 on the overarching theme of “Addressing Terrorism through Reinvigorated Multilateralism and Institutional Cooperation.”
• The Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, which adopted the eighth biennial review resolution of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
• 40 side events jointly organized by Member States, United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Compact entities, intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, academia and the private sector

States exchanged experiences and knowledge on counter-terrorism strategies, exploring themes of prevention of violent extremism, rehabilitation and reintegration of foreign fighters, defense of human rights while countering terrorism, and adaptation of strategies to the evolution of terrorism. In their discussions, states and organizations highlighted the importance of civil society and youth empowerment in tackling the issues of radicalization and terrorism.