Security Council extends UN counter-terrorism office until 31 March 2008

The Security Council today extended until 31 March 2008 the mandate of the main office tasked with monitoring the efforts of countries to combat the global scourge of terrorism.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member Council extended the initial period of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), which was due to expire on 31 December, “reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and security.”

Established as a special political mission in 2004, the CTED assists the Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee in monitoring the implementation of resolution 1373, adopted in the wake of the September 2001 attacks on the United States.

That resolution calls on countries to adopt a number of measures to enhance their ability to counter terrorist activities nationally, regionally and globally.

By today’s resolution, the Council also requested CTED Executive Director Mike Smith to recommend, within 60 days, any changes he deemed appropriate to the body’s organizational plan and to submit them to the Counter-Terrorism Committee for its endorsement before the end of next March.