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The Purpose of the Meeting, Participants, Key Agenda, Logistics
The IS (the Islamic State, former Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham/Levant (ISIS/ISIL), and al-Qa’ida have been active in recent years and continued to present an unprecedented danger to the international system of security. Despite being deprived of its ‘caliphate,’ the IS is still resurgent and maintains its underground networks in Sham (mainly in Iraq). Thousands of foreign terrorist combatants are still on the loose, posing a threat to Iraq, Syria, and any other territories to which they may return or move. The IS and al-Qa’ida intensified their online propaganda, and the recruitment flow is not decreasing.
“The International High-Level Conference on Countering Terrorism” took place in Minsk, Belarus, in September 2019. After the Conference for Heads of Member States’ Counter-Terrorism Agencies in New York in June 2018, it was the fourth in a series of such meetings (United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, 2019a). Member States, UN officials (Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Mr. Antonio Guterres), NGOs, and representatives from civil society (Ms. Gabriela Cuevas Barron) were invited to tackle today’s most severe issues in the field of counter-terrorism. The meeting also included specialists from academia and regional organizations (Mr. Thomas Greminger and Mr. Sergey Lebedev).
The vital issue of this meeting became the issue of the technological development of international terrorism, its rapid growth in the online world, and acquaintance with the most recent technologies (both military and social). Online radicalization, artificial intelligence, hacking, autonomous weaponry, and cross-border travel possibilities of foreign fighters became the most important dimensions of the conference.
The Focus of the Conference, Key Positions, Interactions
The meeting’s major focus was the rising importance of technological advancements in international terrorism and strategies to counter this challenge through different means and on different levels (national, regional, etc.). Terrorists’ exploitation of modern technology and artificial intelligence is becoming more worrying and as a counteract, it was stressed during the meeting the necessity of creation of national, regional, and worldwide methodology and tactics.
The key topic of the conference revolved around three dimensions aimed to deal with the misuse of modern technologies by terrorists. Firstly, international and regional cooperation, which has to be maintained in order to bring terrorists to justice. Secondly, addressing the needs of children linked to different terrorist groups through engagement with civil society and especially with the young population. The third dimension stems from previous points, aiming to enhance Member States’ capacities and address terrorist recruitment strategies, especially online.
Discussions during the conference have underlined the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to counter terrorists’ increasing acquaintance with new technologies. The strategic coalition involving governments, the private sector, the scientific community, civil society, and international and regional organizations can be one of the founding steps in this direction, which was stressed by a number of meeting participants (United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, 2019b). Officials and experts were univocal in that the United Nations could be a starting platform to build such an alliance. It also can facilitate the exchange of expertise between different actors, e.g., private companies and government-affiliated entities.
In terms of countering terrorists’ activities online, it is critical to educate the young population to recognize and reject manipulative narratives, which are actively used by radical recruiters. Xenophobia and hate speech in cyberspace, one of the acute issues in today’s world, and they also can lead to online radicalization to terrorism (United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, 2019b). These issues require profound research and proper response, and cooperation between NGOs and civil society in this regard is essential.
With the current situation, facing a new age of more comprehensive and accurate cyber-attacks, which may avoid detection and overcome existing defenses, thanks to the strength of artificial intelligence. Terrorists are increasingly attempting to use chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons and exploit them for offensive purposes (United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, 2019b). For instance, deepfakes, or the capacity to apply artificial intelligence to create high-quality fake films or pictures, are potent new weapons that terrorists might employ to spread misinformation and destroy people’s confidence in governments and political leaders. This conference has demonstrated the urgent need for increased international collaboration to combat terrorist exploitation of emerging technology and to discuss innovative approaches to address this challenge.
Outcomes of the Meeting
This conference demonstrated the urgent need to strengthen worldwide partnerships to prevent terrorists’ exploitation of modern technology and to exchange creative methods to combat this danger, as well as how multilateral action can be strengthened and global innovation be encouraged in order to counteract terrorist usage of new and developing technologies in conformity with international law.
The United Nations has a critical role to play in assisting the Member States and their partners in combating terrorism via alternative approaches and the use of new and emerging technology, as this conference has shown. The UN Office of Counter-UN Terrorism’s Counter-Terrorism Centre, in particular, will continue to scale up its efforts to undertake global, regional, and national programs that address the evolving threat. The UN will continue to provide specialized and creative capacity-building assistance to Member States, sharing ideas and ways to combat terrorists’ exploitation of technology.
References
United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (2019a). Press Release – High-level Conference on Countering Terrorism and the Use of New Technologies starts in Minsk.
United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (2019b). Summary Conclusions – Joint United Nations – Addressing current challenges.
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