Does the Terrorism Prevention Branch prevent terrorism? Assessing the role and impact of the UNODC's Terrorism Prevention Branch

For the past two decades, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) has worked at the intersection of crime prevention, criminal justice and counter-terrorism. For much of this time, the TPB was the main entity within the UN system with a mandate to support counter-terrorism programming. However, recent reforms at the UN have significantly expanded the counter-terrorism architecture, notably with the creation of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism in 2017.

These reforms have led to increased scrutiny from UN Member States, UN Special Procedures and the wider policy community over the impact of the rise of counter-terrorism within the UN system. Despite a considerable focus on counter-terrorism entities in New York, there has been very little independent analysis on the mandates, role and impact of Vienna-based institutions such as the TPB – including how it complements the broader counter-terrorism architecture. 

This report assesses the good practices and current shortcomings of the TPB. It also makes recommendations for the TPB to capitalise on these good practices, address its shortcomings and navigate the dilemmas it faces.

Listen to an overview of the report by Jordan Street, Senior Policy and Advocacy Lead at Saferworld USA and one of the report's authors: 

Read the report here

Read more about our work on alternative approaches to counter-terrorism, and see related publications here

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