“Our Common Agenda” and the UN’s Counterterrorism Efforts

Co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Norway and the United Arab Emirates in partnership with INTERPOL and the Global Center on Cooperative Security

In September 2021, Secretary-General António Guterres presented his report ‘Our Common Agenda’ to the General Assembly, outlining his vision for the future of global cooperation and reinvigorating inclusive and effective multilateralism. Our Common Agenda holds the potential to significantly enhance the United Nations’ peace and security actions, including its counterterrorism efforts. It can help ensure they address factors conducive to the spread of violent extremism and terrorism, promote and protect human rights and the rule of law, involve critical stakeholders including women and youth, are bottom-up led, coordinated between headquarters and the regional offices, and are based on local priorities and community engagement. The agenda will also allow for better integration of these actions across the United Nation’s three pillars of human rights, peace and security, and development, rather than as standalone efforts.

The meeting brought together representatives from the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations, Member States, and civil society actors to allow for reflections on both the strategic and operational implications and opportunities of the Agenda for United Nations counterterrorism efforts.