Counter-Terrorism: Vote on a Draft Resolution Extending CTED’s Mandate*
On Monday (29 December), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) until 5 January 2029. The US, the penholder on counter-terrorism, authored the draft text. CTED’s current mandate expires on 31 December. (For background on CTED and its work, see the brief on counter-terrorism in our December 2025 Monthly Forecast.)
The draft resolution in blue is short, extending CTED’s mandate without making any changes to its tasks or priorities. It decides that CTED will continue to operate as a special political mission under the policy guidance of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) as set out in resolution 2617 of 30 December 2021, which last renewed CTED’s mandate. (For more information on resolution 2617, see our 30 December 2021 What’s in Blue story.) The draft text also includes previously agreed language on the threat that terrorism poses to international peace and security, the overarching objective of the CTC, and the core function of CTED.
It appears that the negotiations were relatively smooth, with Council members apparently agreeing from the outset to extend CTED’s mandate without making any changes. The US circulated the first draft of the text to all Council members on 5 December following discussions among the permanent members. After one round of in-person negotiations on 9 December, the penholder put the first draft under silence procedure without making any amendments to it. The deadline for the silence procedure was on 15 December. Following a silence break by 13 Council members and consultations among members, the US put a revised draft under silence until 22 December. Silence was not broken and the revised draft was then put in blue.
The only contentious issue during the negotiations was the length of the mandate extension. It appears that the US argued that the mandate should be extended until 31 March 2028 and that this date was included in the draft put under silence on 15 December. The remaining 14 Council members favoured an extension for four years, in line with the previous resolutions extending CTED’s mandate. Thirteen Council members broke silence over this issue on 15 December, while a 14th member, Pakistan, subsequently expressed support for their position. In an apparent compromise, the draft resolution in blue extends CTED’s mandate until 5 January 2029.
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**Post-script: On 29 December, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2810, extending the mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) until 5 January 2029.