UNITED NATIONS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) on Tuesday joined the United Nations coordination system to counter terrorism.
With this latest addition, the counter-terrorism compact, already the largest coordination framework within the UN system, comprises 47 UN and non-UN entities.
"UN-Habitat will add great value to the work of the counter-terrorism compact, particularly in addressing issues related to countering the financing of terrorism and protecting soft targets through strengthening the role of cities and urban development," said Vladimir Voronkov, UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism and Chair of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact.
Michal Mlynar, assistant secretary-general and acting executive director of UN-Habitat, said that by joining the compact, "UN-Habitat reaffirms its commitment to leveraging urban development as a tool for promoting peace, security, and resilience in cities and communities worldwide."
Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, UN-Habitat works in over 90 countries to promote transformative change in cities and human settlements through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance and collaborative action.
The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, launched by the secretary-general in December 2018, is the primary institutional vehicle for coherent and coordinated support to member states in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism serves as the compact secretariat. ■
