Special meeting of UN counter-terrorism body in India with tributes to the victims of 26/11

According to the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, the special meeting will have three areas of focus. According to the UN CTC website, discussions will center around “(a) the Internet and social media, (b) terrorism financing, and (c) unmanned aerial systems (UAS)”. Emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies in terrorism financing will also be looked into. Drone technology will also be discussed

Many global leaders will attend this meeting. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley as well as Foreign Ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Albania are also involved. The UN Secretary General for Counter-Terrorism will also be present. On 28th, the special meeting will begin with a soft start in Mumbai where a ceremony will be held to honor the victims of 26/11 attacks. This will be followed by a full day meeting on 29 October in New Delhi. The meetings will include participation from government officials, multilateral organizations, think tanks and independent experts.

According to David Sharia of the UN CTC, the meetings will seek to mitigate risks from emerging technologies while preserving the benefits brought to society by the Internet and other emerging technologies. According to Sharia, “We can’t think of a better place to hold this meeting than India. India, he said, because of its status as the world’s largest democracy and a technological power. Its Furthermore, Sharia said, India’s “long and tragic experience with terrorism” made it the perfect place to host the meetings.

The discussion revolves around the removal of Pakistan from the FATF gray list and the blacklisting of some terrorists by China in the United Nations. Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, suggested that multilateral listing procedures in bodies such as the United Nations have become “outdated”. He objected to countries, possibly China, using technology to obstruct terrorist lists to aid strategic partners such as Pakistan.

“We will continue to face these challenges until we see a change in the multilateral process in the Security Council or the larger system of the United Nations,” Verma said.

Verma said, “The way things work and the rules reflect the world of 1945. We have moved on and the systems and procedures must reflect the reality of the 21st century.”

David Sharia and India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kambhoj acknowledged that the world has yet to be done. Both argued that the meetings were the beginning of a long process of discussion and action. In Sharia view, they should not be seen as a “silver bullet” for problems arising out of terrorism.