IMO’s maritime security provisions and the IMO treaties for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of navigation can be seen in the wider context of the global fight against terrorism. The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UNCTED) carries out assessment visits to countries to assess their compliance with various international security instruments and UN Security Council resolutions. IMO has participated in a follow-up UNCTED assessment visit to Greece (31 January to 1 February), alongside the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the international police agencies Interpol and Europol.
The maritime security aspects of the visit (which was a follow-up to a 2010 assessment) focused in particular on compliance with the ISPS Code for ships and port facilities, as well as Greece's experience with inter-agency cooperation on risk assessment, amongst entities which include the coast guard, police and customs, with a view to identifying best practices.
The multi-agency inclusion in the UNCTED assessments of IMO and partner organizations demonstrates a "one UN" response and provides an opportunity to highlight maritime security responsibilities as part of wider national security policies and procedures in a dialogue involving senior levels of government departments and agencies. Henrik Madsen participated on behalf of IMO.