New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the United Nations Security Council's special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in Delhi.


Jaishankar announced that India will be making a voluntary contribution of half a million dollars to the UN Trust Fund for Counter Terrorism this year to augment the efforts of UNOCT in providing capacity-building support to member states in preventing and countering the threat of terrorism, as reported by news agency ANI.


"Global threat of terrorism is growing and expanding"


While addressing the meeting S Jaishankar said that the global threat of terrorism is growing and expanding, particularly in Asia and Africa, despite the UN Security Council's (UNSC) best efforts to combat the "gravest threat to humanity".particularly in Asia and Africa, despite the UN Security Council's (UNSC) best efforts to combat the "gravest threat to humanity".  


“Terrorism remains the gravest threat to humanity"


Addressing the UNSC's special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in the national capital, Jaishankar said, "Terrorism remains the gravest threat to humanity. The UN Security Council in the past two decades has evolved an important architecture built, primarily around the counter-terrorism sanctions regime to combat this menace. This has been very effective in putting the countries on notice that had turned terrorism into a state-funded enterprise," ANI quoted Jaishankar as saying.


"Despite this, the threat of terrorism is only growing and expanding, particularly in Asia and Africa, as successive reports of 1267 sanctions committee monitoring reports have highlighted," he added.


Jaishankar Highlights Rising Challenges Due To Emerging Technologies


Highlighting the flip sides of emerging technologies, Jaishnakar said technologies like virtual private networks, encrypted message services, and blockchains, have also thrown up new challenges for governments and regulatory bodies.


"The technologies have also thrown up new challenges for governments and regulatory bodies due to their potential vulnerability for their misuse by non-state actors, given the very nature of some of these technologies and the nascent regulatory environment," the minister said.


"Terrorist groups use tech, money, ethos of open societies to attack freedom, tolerance, and progress"


Terrorist groups, ideological fellow travellers particularly in open and liberal societies, and lone wolf attackers use tech, money, and ethos of open societies to attack freedom, tolerance, and progress, Jaishankar said


"Internet and social media platforms potent instruments in toolkit of terrorists, militant groups"


Jaishankar also said that the internet and social media platforms have turned into potent instruments in the toolkit of terrorists and militant groups for spreading propaganda, radicalisation and conspiracy theories aimed at destabilising societies.


"Unmanned aerial systems by terrorist groups is a concern for governments around the world"


Use of unmanned aerial systems by terrorist groups and organised criminal networks is also one of the existing worries for governments around the world, the EAM said.


India is hosting the two-day anti-terrorism meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The ongoing meeting in Delhi is being held under India's chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).


 


(With ANI Inputs)