Global Effort Needed To Deal With Challenge Of Terror Groups Abusing New Technologies: UN Chief

UN Chief Antonio Guterres called for a global joint effort to deal with the challenge of terror groups abusing new technologies.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

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New Delhi: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday called for a joint global effort to deal with the challenge of terror groups using new technologies to create conflict, spread disinformation and radicalise youths, PTI reported. 

At the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee's meeting in Delhi, a message by Guterres was read by an official, who expressed Guterres's concern over the abuse of new technologies by various terror groups. 

"New and emerging technologies have unmatched potential to improve the human conditions everywhere, regrettably they have been also been misused by many including malicious actors," the UN Secretary-General said, according to PTI. 

"Terrorists and others posing hateful ideologies are abusing new and emerging technologies to spread disinformation, foment discord, recruit and radicalise, mobilise resources and execute attacks," he added.

He said that the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted many vulnerabilities to such misuse. 

"We must adopt concrete measures to reduce these vulnerabilities while committing to protect all human rights in the digital sphere," Guterres's statement read.

"This can only be achieved through effective multilateralism and international cooperation anchoring our responses in the values and obligations of the UN charter and the universal declaration of human rights," the statement read further.

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). Representatives from all 15 member nations of the UN Security Council are present for the counter-terror meeting being held in Delhi today. 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also addressed the counter-terror meeting and 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.