UN Headquarters, 2 December 2022 - The Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) convened an open briefing on its special meeting on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, held in India in October, highlighting the next steps after adopting the landmark Delhi Declaration.
H.E. Ruchira Kamboj, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, said that among the listed items in the Delhi Declaration is the decision to work on recommendations on the three themes of the special meeting. “We intend to finalize these recommendations in next three weeks,” she added.
Those themes – unmanned aerial systems, terrorist financing and information and communications technologies – were the focus of forward-looking guidance the Delhi Declaration has provided to Member States and stakeholders in countering terrorist use of new and emerging technologies. “While many meetings are held to review the state of affairs and work accomplished, this special meeting was organized with distinctly forward-learning intent,” the Chair said. “Our discussions examined not only how terrorists currently exploit new technologies, but we also considered how the related terrorist threats are likely to evolve and grow as new technologies are developed and taken up by all kinds of users, whether for the benefit of society or for harmful purposes.”
In adopting the Delhi Declaration, she said “the Committee has pledged its continued dedication and commitment to its work to counter the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes. The Declaration is a pioneer document aimed at enhancing the Council’s approach to address this threat in a comprehensive and holistic manner.”
She said “the Declaration also manifests Committee‘s intention to develop a set of non-binding guiding principles to further assist Member States in the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, while also reaffirming, inter alia, the importance of public-private partnerships, human rights, civil society engagement, and collaboration more broadly to address the host of challenges stemming from these and other areas of new and emerging technologies.”
“The Declaration is a pioneer document aimed at enhancing the Council’s approach to address this threat in a comprehensive and holistic manner,” she said. “It is my hope that the Declaration will guide the work of this Committee and inform the efforts of the Security Council and the wider United Nations membership in this crucial area for years to come.”
Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) commended the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s leadership in placing a special focus on the challenges and threats posed by new and emerging technologies in the context of counter-terrorism. “I am especially encouraged by the Committee’s consensus adoption of the Delhi Declaration,” he said. “The impact of new technologies is a strategic matter which needs to stay on top of the multilateral counter-terrorism agenda. We need to work together to ensure that Member States’ responses, and the support provided to them, remain fit for purpose in the digital era, and anchored in international law. Maintaining a whole-of-society approach is critical to understand and address the multiple ways in which counter-terrorism and new technologies intersect, including through the lenses of human rights and gender equality.”
Weixiong Chen, Acting Executive Director of CTED, said “the message from the Delhi Declaration, as the outcome of the special meeting, is for a collective response to the threats, trends and challenges and work together on opportunities and effective approaches to address them.”
The special meeting - with its three dedicated themes – represents a significant understanding and commitment of the members of the Committee at the right time and addressing the right topics, he said, adding that “CTED stands ready to continue to support the Committee in developing a set of non-binding guiding principles.”
In addition, he continued, CTED will produce a gap analysis on the capacities of Member States to address this threat, which will further assist in identifying Member States’ technical assistance needs.
Many speakers said the Delhi Declaration marked a new way forward.
Dr. Erin Saltman, Interim Executive Director and Director of Programming, Global Internet Forum to Counter-Terrorism (GIFCT) said online terrorism and violent extremism is transnational by nature. “To counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism online, it is imperative we work together,” she said. “The Delhi Declaration gives guidance for further action in the coming years.”
Antonia Marie de Meo, Director of United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, said “I very much welcome the Delhi Declaration; it is vital that we stay ahead of the curve. The special meeting, which brought together partners from the public and private sector and academia, should encourage our forward thinking.”
Odd Reidar Humlegård, Special Representative of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) said “the landmark Delhi Declaration will inform the programming of INTERPOL’s activities, policies & partnerships to counter the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, while respecting international law, including international human rights law. The outcome Delhi Declaration, unanimously adopted by members of the Committee, serves as a testament to international cooperation and unity in the face of terrorism.”
Beth Alexion, Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, said that "without human rights safeguards, new technologies employed for counter-terrorism can result in human rights harms.”
Counter-Terrorism Committee members and delegates from the wider United Nations memberships also participated in the open briefing. They raised a range of commitments, national experiences and concerns, including about rising terrorist threats in the Sahel region and the increasing use of unmanned aerial systems by such terrorist groups as Al-Qaida and Al-Shabaab. Many welcomed the Delhi Declaration as a way to counter such threats related to new and emerging technologies.
The Delhi Declaration is now available in the six official languages of the United Nations here: https://tinyurl.com/UNCTCEmergingTech
Watch the full open briefing, courtesy of UN WebTV, here: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1l/k1l1de3ite
Visit CTED’s social media accounts for photos and highlights:
- Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/129782416@N08/albums/72177720304151187/with/52538832015/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/UN_CTED #CTCOpenBriefing #UNCTCEmergingTech
For more information on the special meeting on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, visit https://tinyurl.com/UNCTCEmergingTech