Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT)

Definition

A proposed United Nations treaty, championed by India, that would provide a single, universally agreed legal definition of terrorism and a common framework to prosecute or extradite terrorists, deny them safe havens, and cut off their funding.

Key points

• India first proposed a draft of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the United Nations in 1996; it has been under negotiation in the UN General Assembly's Sixth (Legal) Committee for decades without final adoption.
• Its core aim is a universal, binding definition of terrorism, so that "terrorist acts" are criminalised consistently across all member States, with obligations to prosecute or extradite (the principle of "extradite or prosecute").
• Negotiations have stalled mainly over definitional disputes, including how to treat acts by State armed forces and national liberation or self-determination movements, and questions of the convention's relation to existing sectoral treaties.
• Several sector-specific anti-terror conventions already exist (on hijacking, bombings, financing of terrorism and so on), but no single comprehensive instrument; the CCIT is meant to fill that gap.
• India consistently raises the CCIT at the UN and other forums as part of its push for global cooperation against cross-border terrorism.

Why it matters for CAPF

The CCIT is a flagship India-at-the-UN and counter-terrorism topic; the 1996 Indian proposal, the unresolved definition of terrorism, and the "prosecute or extradite" idea are commonly tested.

Common confusion

The CCIT is still a proposed (not yet adopted) convention; existing anti-terror law is a patchwork of sectoral treaties. Its main obstacle is not enforcement but agreement on a single legal definition of terrorism.

Related concepts

concept financial action task force, concept unlawful activities prevention act, concept united nations system, concept hot pursuit

Parent note

terrorism and counter terrorism