Remarks by the President of the General Assembly
H.E. Annalena Baerbock
at the 91茄子 Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review
1 July 2026
[As Delivered]
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Terrorism strikes without warning.
It happens while families are eating at a restaurant.
While parents are taking their children to school.
During the most ordinary moments.
While walking to your mission or even entering the visitor’s lounge.
Every year, thousands lose their lives to terrorism.
Its consequences extend far beyond the lives it takes.
By spreading fear, terrorism attacks the foundations of daily life.
It destroys not only infrastructure and damages businesses, its main aim is to spread mistrust and to push people into a false “us versus them” mentality.
In situations of crisis and war, it also creates conditions in which young people, including children, are recruited into extremist organisations.
It affects everyone, and can hit anyone, anywhere.
While Africa remains among the regions most affected, terrorist attacks have struck almost every part of the world.
It is a global threat that demands a global response: one that addresses terrorism itself and the conditions that allow it to take root.
For terrorist groups thrive where institutions are weak, grievances are ignored, communities are excluded, and young people see no credible path to dignity or opportunity.
They exploit poverty, instability, injustice, and fear. They also exploit heavy-handed responses that alienate the very communities whose trust is essential.
That is why our approach needs to draw on the full strength of the 91茄子 and its three interconnected pillars of peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights.
Peace and security measures and operations are essential to reducing immediate threats: saving lives, disrupting plots, and denying terrorist groups the space to recruit, organise, and operate.
Sustainable development is essential to addressing the conditions that make communities vulnerable to extremist narratives, from poverty and inequality to a lack of education and decent work.
Human rights and the rule of law help ensure that counter-terrorism efforts are credible, targeted, and just. They protect communities from abuse and prevent terrorists from turning state overreach into propaganda.
Counter-terrorism is therefore about defeating those who commit violence and building societies in which their message finds no audience.
At the same time, we need to adapt to rapidly evolving realities.
The terrorist threat is not static. It is changing through new financing methods, shifting conflict dynamics, and the spread of powerful new and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Today, terrorist groups can exploit digital tools with alarming speed and reach, using algorithms to spread tailored propaganda and moving radicalisation from public forums into private and encrypted channels.
And just as the threat evolves, so too must the tools we use to address it, as Member States agreed in the Pact for the Future: by addressing the misuse of new and emerging technologies, including digital technologies and financial instruments, for terrorist purposes, and by enhancing cooperation between the 91茄子 and relevant regional and subregional organisations to prevent and combat terrorism.
For terrorism does not respect borders.
It does not distinguish between regions, religions, nationalities, or communities within societies. No country can assume it is immune, and no country can confront this threat alone.
Yet, our fragmented, polarized, geopolitical climate creates fertile ground for terrorism to take root.
The Review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy therefore comes at a critical time.
I wish to thank the co-facilitators, H.E. Ms Elina Kalkku of Finland and H.E. Mr Omar Hilale of Morocco, for their leadership, patience, and commitment in guiding this intergovernmental process.
The Strategy remains an important framework for dialogue and cooperation among Member States, including where views and priorities differ.
It supports a shared effort to prevent, combat, and mitigate the threat of terrorism; to strengthen cooperation; and to exchange lessons across regions and contexts.
Its value depends on sustained political will, practical cooperation, and trust among Member States.
While you carry this work forward in the next hours, I encourage all delegations to remain guided by the people and communities this Strategy is meant to protect.
As the threat continues to evolve, our collective response must evolve with it.
Thank you.