From 28 June to 2 July 2021, pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) of the United Nations Security Council concerning counter-terrorism, Latvia is hosting, in a video-conferencing format, an assessment visit by experts from the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate. In the dialogue, the delegation of Latvia is led by the Head of the Security Policy and International Organisations Directorate, Kaspars Ozoliņš, and the delegation of the Counter-Terrorism Committee – by the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, Michèle Coninsx.
The aim of visits of the Counter-Terrorism Committee is to assess the national legal framework, mutual coordination between responsible authorities, international cooperation and response capacity for implementing counter-terrorism measures as well as providing recommendations on the further strengthening the ability to combat terrorism.
The proceedings of the visit are coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in association with the Latvian State Security Service, and more than 20 institutions in Latvia have been involved in the preparation and running of the meeting.
This is the first time that Latvia is hosting an assessment visit by UN experts. Depending on stabilisation of the epidemiological situation, plans will be made for the in-person segment of the visit.