Terrorism has become a significant threat to global peace and security.' Evaluate the effectiveness of the…

Question

Terrorism has become a significant threat to global peace and security.' Evaluate the effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) and its associated bodies in addressing and mitigating this threat at the international level.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

The UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee and its associated bodies have been effective in setting binding global norms and sanctions but only partly effective as enforcers, because listings are politicised and terrorism remains undefined. China blocked the listing of 26/11 plotter Sajid Mir in 2023.

**Introduction**

The Global Terrorism Index 2025 records the Islamic State active in 22 countries in 2024. The Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), created by Resolution 1373 after 9/11, is strong on norms but weak on enforcement.

**Where the CTC Architecture Has Delivered**

SKETCH: tree | UNSC Counter-Terrorism Architecture
- UN Security Council
  - CTC (Res 1373)
    - CTED (Res 1535)
  - 1267 Sanctions Committee
    - Monitoring Team
  - 1540 Committee

1. **Binding norms**: Resolution 1373, under Chapter VII, obliged states to criminalise terror financing and deny safe haven, and CTED checks compliance through country visits.
2. **Sanctions with teeth**: The 1267 regime's listings of Masood Azhar (2019) and Abdul Rehman Makki (2023) backed India's case against Pakistan-based groups.
3. **Adapting to threats**: Resolutions on foreign terrorist fighters (2178, 2014) and terror financing (2462, 2019), and the CTC's Delhi Declaration (2022) on drones and virtual assets, kept pace with new threats.

**Where Its Effectiveness Falls Short**

1. **No agreed definition**: India's Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (1996) remains stalled, allowing "good" versus "bad" terrorist distinctions.
2. **Politicised listings**: China's anonymous technical holds blocked Masood Azhar four times and Sajid Mir of 26/11 in 2023, and the April 2025 Pahalgam statement omitted The Resistance Front.
3. **No enforcement**: The CTC assesses but cannot compel, so Pakistan moved more under FATF's grey-listing (2018-2022) than under years of UN reporting, while overlapping UN bodies lean on voluntary donor funds.

**Conclusion**

The CTC has succeeded as a norm-setter but only partly as an enforcer, because great-power politics decides who gets named. Adopting the CCIT, ending anonymous holds and linking CTC reviews to FATF would turn India's call for zero tolerance into practice.

Terrorism has become a significant threat to global peace and security.' Evaluate the effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) and its associated bodies in addressing and mitigating this threat at the international level.

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