On June 7, the second meeting of the Coordinating Committee of the Global Counterterrorism Forum met in Istanbul in Turkey. The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers and representatives of the 30 countries that form the membership and representatives of the United Nations. The first meeting took place in New York City in September 2011 when the Forum was launched by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. Both Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Davutoğlu acted as the co-chairs once again for the second meeting.

In his opening address, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu addressed the necessity for coordinated international efforts. “One thing is crystal clear to all of us: no country is immune from the threat and we cannot win the fight against terrorism unless we join hands. Moreover, this fight does not allow for complacency against any particular terrorist organization, irrespective of national threat perceptions or priorities.” Foreign Minister Davutoğlu went on to say, “We have to preserve the critical balance between security requirements on the one hand, and democratic freedoms and basic human rights on the other.”

In her opening address, Secretary Clinton highlighted two areas where she said, “that it is essential we continue to make progress.” “First,” the Secretary said, “we have to continue working together to defeat extremist ideology, blunt the spread of radicalization, and slow the flow of recruits to terrorist networks.” The Secretary pointed to the 2011 announcement by the United Arab Emirates that the country would “host the first-ever international center developed to combat extremism and develop those best practices that will do so.” A tentative opening date for the center is set for the fall of 2012.

Moving on to the second area, the Secretary said, “The second area I want to mention is the rule of law. Experience tells us that democracies are better equipped than autocracies to stand up against terrorism.” Secretary Clinton highlighted the $90 million pledged by the Forum at the September 2011 meeting to “provide rule of law training for police, prosecutors, judges and prison officials in countries seeking to turn their back on more repressive approaches to counterterrorism.”