As suggested by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his report (A/71/858) on the Capability of the United Nations to Assist Member States in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force and the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre were moved out of the Department of Political Affairs into a new Office of Counter-Terrorism headed by an Under-Secretary–General.

On 15 June 2017, the General Assembly established the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), which transfered the current Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force Office and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), together with their existing staff, as well as all associated regular and extrabudgetary resources, out of the Department of Political Affairs of the Secretariat, into the Office of Counter-Terrorism.”

The Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in the form of a resolution and an annexed Plan of Action (A/RES/60/288) composed of 4 pillars

1. Addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism
   
2. Measures to prevent and combat terrorism
3. Measures to build states’ capacity to prevent and combat terrorism and to strengthen the role of the United Nations system in that regard;
4. Measures to ensure respect for human rights for all and the rule of law as the fundamental basis for the fight against terrorism.