Internet, social media turned in potent instruments in terrorists’ toolkit: EAM

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, at the special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) of the United Nations on Saturday, underlined that the internet and social platforms have become potent instruments in the toolkit of terrorists.

“Internet and social media platforms have turned into potent instruments in the toolkit of terrorists and militant groups for spreading propaganda, radicalisation and conspiracy theories aimed at destabilising societies,” Jaishankar said during the UN special meet on ‘Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes’ in New Delhi.

Characterising terrorism as one of the gravest threats to humanity, the minister said,” The UN Security Council, in the past two decades, has evolved an important architecture, built primarily around the counter-terrorism sanctions regime, to combat this menace. And this has been very effective in putting those countries on notice that had turned terrorism into a State-funded enterprise.”

He noted that the threat of terrorism is only growing and expanding, particularly in Asia and Africa, as successive reports of the 1267 Sanctions Committee Monitoring Reports have highlighted.

In his address, Jaishankar revealed that in recent years, terrorist groups, their ideological fellow travellers, particularly in open and liberal societies and ‘lone wolf’ attackers have significantly enhanced their capabilities by gaining access to these technologies. “They use technology and money, and most importantly, the ethos of open societies, to attack freedom, tolerance and progress,” he said.

The External Affairs Minister also announced that India will make a contribution of half a million dollars to the UN Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) to help in capacity-building support to Member States in countering terrorism. Jaishankar said he had advocated for member states to increase funding for UN organs such as the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, the UNOCT.

“Excellency, I am happy to announce 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,” he added. (ANI)