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Insights on the work of the UN Security Council

Counter-Terrorism: Briefing on the Secretary-General’s Strategic-Level Report on ISIL/Da’esh

On Monday morning (10 February), the Security Council will convene for a briefing on the Secretary-General’s 20th biannual strategic-level report on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh). Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism and Head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Vladimir Voronkov and Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) Natalia Gherman are expected to brief.

Voronkov and Gherman are likely to report that the threat posed by ISIL remains undiminished. The Secretary-General’s report (S/2025/72), which was circulated to Council members on 31 January, notes that ISIL continues to demonstrate resilience and adapt its modus operandi despite the steady progress made by member states in targeting its leadership and financial operations. The report also says that the group’s propaganda output “remained extensive” and indicates that it still has access to “significant cash reserves”, estimated at approximately $10 million in Iraq and Syria alone.

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