The threat posed by drones, terror funding through cryptocurrency and the use of internet by terrorist outfits were among the key concerns raised Saturday at the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) meeting in New Delhi.
Government representatives and experts from multiple countries expressed their views on the use of emerging technologies by terrorists. At the end of the two-day meeting, the Delhi Declaration of the CTC took note of the threats and called on members to take measures to combat them.
The declaration expressed “deep concern that terrorism… has become more diffuse… aided by terrorists’ adaptation to, and the use of new and emerging technologies… while recognizing that innovations in technology may offer significant counter-terrorism opportunities.”
It noted with “additional concern, the increasing global misuse of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by terrorists to conduct attacks against, and incursions into critical infrastructure and soft targets or public places, and to traffic drugs and arms”.
Expressing concern over the access that groups such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have to drones, the declaration called on member states “to develop a comprehensive understanding of the risks posed by terrorist use of UAS and of specific terrorist groups’ systems for acquiring UAS and their components”.
It also asked members to develop measures to deter, detect and disrupt the acquisition and use of drones by terrorists, and engage in partnerships with the private sector to this end.
Representatives from countries such as China, Russia and France argued for a united approach against the drone threat and demanded a regulatory framework that could be adopted by member states.
“UAS remains attractive for malicious actors as they are relatively accessible, affordable, and require minimal training… A whole of society approach is needed to counter terrorist exploitation of UAS,” said Madan Oberoi, Executive…
