India to host key UN counter-terrorism meeting to tackle technology threat

India will next week host a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) on the issue of the increasing threat being posed by the misuse of new and emerging technologies.

The meeting on ‘Countering the Use of New and Emerging Technologies for Terrorist Purposes’ will be held in Mumbai on October 28 and continue with a full-day event in New Delhi the next day.

With the prevalence of technology and the rapid rise in digitization, the use of new and emerging technologies to counter-terrorism is a topic of growing interest among the UN member states, policymakers, and researchers, particularly in the context of the increasing role played by technology in terrorism and counter-terrorism.

This is addressed by the UNSC in a number of counter-terrorism-related resolutions, most recently in 2021 which explicitly cited “emerging technologies”.

The special meeting will specifically focus on three significant areas where emerging technologies are experiencing rapid development, growing use by member states (including for security and counter-terrorism purposes), and the increasing threat of abuse for terrorism purposes.

They are the internet and social media; terrorism financing, and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).

It will provide opportunities to discuss existing and evolving threats, the deployment of new and emerging technology to counter those threats, continuing challenges and good practices, as well as a range of related human rights and gender considerations.

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