Terrorist attacks are down by 23 percent globally since last year, according to the State Department’s annual Country Reports on Terrorism.
But there is still more work to be done. That’s why at the Global Counterterrorism Forum, the United States and Morocco launched the GCTF Terrorist Travel Initiative.
The Initiative will work with national and local governments, international organizations and border officers to share best practices and develop new tools to stop terrorists at the border. These tools will focus on information and technology sharing, such as advanced biometric data systems.
The GCTF is a forum of 29 countries and the European Union that stretches across the globe. Its goal is to protect people around the world from terrorism by “preventing, combating and prosecuting terrorist acts and countering incitement and recruitment to terrorism.”
“One of the most effective ways to counter terrorist travel is through traveler data,” the State Department said. The partners will share techniques and new technologies that countries can use to stop terrorist movement across borders.