New York, 15 September 2025 – the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) published a report on “Civil society perspectives on national and regional counter-terrorism strategies” summarizing the findings from five virtual round-table discussions on the engagement of civil society organizations (CSO) in counter-terrorism strategies, held in February 2025. The round tables brought together diverse CSOs from the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, Africa (anglophone and francophone countries), and Asia and the Pacific and provided a platform for CSOs to share their experiences, challenges, and recommendations, deepening the understanding of how national strategies can be strengthened through civil society participation.
Drawing upon the round-table discussions, anonymized survey responses and CTED’s engagements with Member States during assessments and follow-up visits on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, the report provides a snapshot of civil society involvement in national comprehensive and integrated counter-terrorism strategies, relevant good practices, and associated challenges. The views of CSO representatives were presented at the United Nations Conference on National and Regional Counter-Terrorism Strategies, organized by the Government of Malta and CTED in March 2025, and were integrated into the updated non-binding Valletta Principles on National and Regional Counter-Terrorism Strategies.
Findings provided insights on the scope and nature of national counter-terrorism strategies. While some Member States have made progress in integrating civil society into strategy development, others continue to rely exclusively on governmental-sector approaches. In those cases, CSOs are not involved in the design or evaluation of counter-terrorism measures.
In several countries, civil society engagement remains informal and ad hoc, and the report highlighted the need for institutionalized mechanisms that allow for regular and meaningful input from CSOs. While multisectoral coordination has been implemented in some countries, such models are not yet widespread. Many CSOs – especially those working at the grass-roots level – lack access to national strategies or opportunities to contribute to their development.
In some regions, CSOs play a central role in implementing national strategies, offering expertise in community-level interventions, service provision, and rehabilitation programmes for foreign terrorist fighters and their affiliates, further highlighting the importance of involving diverse stakeholders. In conflict-affected regions, CSOs are often viewed as primary service providers, offering education, employment training, and resilience-building programmes. Religious leaders in many countries have also been instrumental in deradicalization efforts.
Implementation challenges persist even in countries with established engagement frameworks. CSOs face obstacles such as limited funding, technical capacity gaps, security risks in conflict zones, and disconnects between national strategies and local realities. In many Member States, counter-terrorism policies are driven by classified security assessments, limiting civil society’s role to prevention and community-focused programmes.
While donor funding has enabled capacity-building and participation in many regions, it often may reflect external priorities rather than local needs. Furthermore, exclusive reliance on external funding for CSO engagement at the national level may raise concerns about the sustainability of civil society engagement, particularly when donor support ends. There is a need for institutionalized frameworks that ensure consistent and structured consultations, independent of funding cycles, while ensuring national ownership in such consultations among national stakeholders.
While several States have developed good practices in engaging civil society, these efforts remain uneven. Misuse of counter-terrorism laws and financing regulations continues to pose challenges. Further efforts are required to ensure that human rights and gender perspectives are effectively integrated into counter-terrorism strategies and measures. As detailed in the report, surveillance, restricted access to funding, and accusations of terrorist affiliations without due process undermine trust and hinder effective collaboration. Diversified engagement mechanisms are important to include smaller CSOs and those without prior consultation experience. Regional bodies can facilitate inclusive approaches by creating structured platforms for civil society input. United Nations-led initiatives were seen as crucial for fostering trust and promoting inclusive policymaking at the national and regional levels.
The round-table discussions and engagements were guided by Security Council resolutions such as 1963 (2010), 2129 (2013), 2395 (2017) and 2617 (2021), in which the Council encouraged Member States to develop national comprehensive and integrated counter-terrorism strategies. In recent resolutions, the Council has also emphasized the importance of engaging civil society – including youth, women, and religious leaders – in counter-terrorism efforts. CTED continues to promote a whole-of-society approach, recognizing that inclusive policymaking is essential to effectively address the evolving threat of terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.
You can access the full report here.