UN General Assembly adopts resolution on ninth review of Counterterrorism Strategy; Pakistan backs

With Pakistan supporting, the UN General Assembly adopted, by a large majority, a resolution for the 9th review of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS)

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jul, 2026) With Pakistan supporting, the UN General Assembly adopted, by a large majority, a resolution for the 9th review of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS).

Breaking from historical consensus, the text faced a vote due to the U.S. and Israel criticizing it as bloated and outdated. But the resolution retains the framework's four foundational pillars and urges member states to finalize a comprehensive convention aimed at closing critical loopholes in existing international law and establish a universally binding legal framework.

The draft resolution titled “The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy: ninth review” was adopted by a recorded vote of 140 in favour to 3 against (Argentina, Israel, United States), with 1 abstention (Japan). Japan’s delegate later stated that the abstention was the result of a technical error; his delegation intended to vote in favour.

Welcoming the resolution's adoption, Pakistan's UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad expressed the hope that this will reinforce efforts to strengthen global counterterrorism endeavors through multilateral cooperation.

"Pakistan has remained at the forefront of global counter terrorism efforts, having played an instrumental role in its success over the years, particularly against Al Qaeda and other groups, and in this process we have also rendered immense sacrifices as a principal victim of terrorism that is supported, sponsored by our adversaries in the region through their support of proxy groups such as the TTP, BLA and its Majeed Brigade as well as other groups including ISIL-K, and their affiliates," the Pakistani envoy told the 193-member Assembly.

Last year alone, he added, more than 1,200 Pakistanis lost their lives—all victims of terrorism.

The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy is described as a unique global instrument adopted by consensus in 2006 to enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism. The Assembly reviews the Strategy — usually every two years — making it a living document attuned to Member States’ counter-terrorism priorities.

Thursday's text details the Strategy’s four pillars: address conditions conducive to terrorism; prevent and combat terrorism; build States’ capacity to achieve these goals; and ensure respect for human rights.

By its terms, the Assembly called on States to make every effort to conclude a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. By further terms, it called on Member States to consider measures to counter the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, virtual assets and unmanned aircraft systems.

“This resolution is not fit for purpose,” said the representative of the United States, whose delegation called for the vote. Regretting that the Assembly did not consider alternative texts her delegation put forward, she said the resolution is “bloated, outdated and lacks focus”. It ignores her country’s red lines, she said, adding that the UN should avoid distracting narratives and references such as the “2030 Agenda; unnecessary references to gender; and divisive ‘diversity, equity, inclusion’-related programmes”

South Africa’s delegate pointed out that the technical roll-over does retain “a workable and important framework” to direct collective actions to counter terrorism.

During the ensuing day-long debate, the representative of Uruguay urged Member States to “recognize that the ninth review did not fully reflect the level of update and ambition that the circumstances required of us”. The limits of this process should serve as a reminder that “a lack of political will cannot continue to deprive the international community of more effective and updated responses”, she said.

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Bahrain’s representative, speaking for the Gulf Cooperation Council, underscored that terrorism must not be linked to any religion, culture, nationality or race.

Saudi Arabia’s delegate spoke for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which he described as “the largest negotiating bloc, representing 57 Member States”. He regretted that the ninth review did not capture his group’s proposal to condemn acts by racist and extremist right-wing elements to instigate violence and terrorism against Muslims.

“Our group spent endless hours explaining how such acts of hatred promote Islamophobic, anti-minority (and) anti-immigrant narratives,” the Saudi representative added.

The representative of Turkiye also expressed regret that the document does not include stronger condemnation of the repeated targeting of Muslims, the desecration of mosques and the burning of the Qur’an. Nevertheless, he welcomed its provisions concerning the financing of terrorism and the misuse of emerging technologies.

In his remarks, Ambassador Asim Ahmad, the Pakistani envoy, also said that terrorism transcends national boundaries and manifests itself in an increasingly interconnected yet decentralized organizational manner globally, necessitating a multifaceted strategy.

In this regard, he said, the GCTS is a living document that must constantly adapt to emerging threats in the counter-terrorism (CT) landscape.

Regrettably, the Pakistani envoy said the 9th Review failed to achieve that, despite our best efforts to address existing gaps in the strategy and to incorporate the concerns of the OIC, whose members are among the countries most adversely affected by terrorism.

For a future free from terrorism, a robust multilateral strategy is needed, he said.

In this regard, he called for conducting a comprehensive overview of new and emerging threats and trends in both the physical and virtual domains, proposing realistic pathways for resolving prolonged unresolved conflicts; pledging to end foreign occupation, confront oppression, and ensure respect for human rights and rule of law; reaffirming the commitment to the exercise of right to self-determination in accordance with international law and UNGA resolution 46/51, and rejecting any attempts to confuse the just and legitimate struggle for self-determination and liberation from foreign occupation with terrorism.

The Pakistani envoy also called for condemning states complicit in state terrorism against peoples under foreign occupation, taking concrete steps to prevent xenophobia, racism, and other forms of intolerance; countering alarming rise in threats posed by violent nationalist, far-right, neo-fascist, supremacist, and xenophobic groups that attack vulnerable communities, target mosques, and desecrate the Holy Quran; eliminating Islamophobic narratives and biased terminologies just like “Islamic terrorism" and “radical Islam” and to end stigmatization of Muslims; reforming UN’s CT architecture and sanctions regimes; regulating social media and ICTs for countering hate speech, online radicalization, recruitment, terrorist propaganda, and disinformation; and, regulating digital financial payments, virtual assets, and cryptocurrencies.

"We should ensure that intergovernmental bodies like FATF (Financial Action Task Force) are inclusive, fair, transparent, and depoliticized-- No country should be allowed to weaponize such forums for domestic or political agendas," Ambassador Asim Ahmad said.

"Pakistan and OIC showed utmost flexibility, but consensus eluded us, and after three years we have zero value addition to GCTS. That’s unfortunate," he noted.

"This stalemate could be termed a failure but it is also a wake-up call. We believe that this global challenge demands that we come together and act in concert. We will work with all member states."

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