UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee Meeting

Topic- International Organizations [GS Paper-2], Internal Security [GS Paper-3]

Context- Recently, India has hosted a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) to discuss the issue of terror-financing through crypto-currency and use of drones in the new-age terrorism.

Key Highlights 

• This is the first such meeting of the UNSC-CTC in India since its establishment in 2001. 
• The Permanent Representative of India, Ruchira Kamboj to the UN serves as the Chair of the CTC for 2022.
• The theme of the meeting is “Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.”
• India’s decision to hold a meeting on counter-terrorism is an important marker of the Government’s ongoing effort to highlight terrorism issues at a time the global body has been more focused on the Ukraine war. 
• The meeting brought UN officials, and ministers and diplomats from all members of the Security Council (UNSC), to discuss challenges to the global counter-terrorism architecture. 
• In the meeting, the CTC focus was on online radicalisation and terror recruitment, terror financing through crypto-currency and virtual assets, and unmanned aerial system use including drones for terror strikes, transporting drugs and arms. 
• The deliberations was then led to the “Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes”. 
• India will also host an international “No Money For Terror” conference in November 18-19, and a UNSC special briefing on challenges to global counter-terrorism efforts in December 15-16. 
• During the meeting India has listed five points for the consideration of the CTC,
  • Effective and relevant efforts to counter terror-financing.
  • Sustained efforts of the UN need to be coordinated with other fora like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
  • To make sure that the Security Council’s sanctions regime is not rendered ineffective because of political reasons
  • International cooperation and concerted actions against terrorists and their sponsors including the dismantlement of terrorist safe havens, etc. are necessary
  • Also to recognise these linkages and strengthen multilateral efforts to break against terrorism’s nexus with a transnational organised crime like arms and illicit drug trafficking.

Emerging Challenges for India

• Use of modern technologies for spreading terror is one of the major current issue of increasing concern across the globe.
• As the key conspirators and planners of the 26/11 attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished, it has an adverse effect on India’s security.
• China’s putting a hold on UNSC sanctions against Pakistan-based terrorists on multiple incidents weaken the Security Council to act in some cases.
• Over the years, terrorist groups have also begun to exploit the anonymity of new and emerging technologies such as virtual currencies for fund-raising and finances.
• Pakistan was put on the FATF’s grey list in June 2018 for a lax regime in countering money laundering and terror funding. However the FATF removed Pakistan after more than four years at the plenary in October 2022.
• Discussion over the delisting of Pakistan from last year coincided with a trend of rising terror attacks in Kashmir has been proved to be unsuccessful.

UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee Meeting

• UNSC CTC was established by Security Council resolution 1373 which was adopted unanimously on 28th September 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US.
• The Committee comprises all 15 UN Security Council members with Five permanent members i.e. China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
• The Committee functions for implementation of resolution 1373 which requested countries to implement a number of measures aimed at enhancing their legal and institutional ability to counter terrorist activities at home and around the world.
• The objective of CTC includes taking steps to criminalize the financing of terrorism, freezing any funds related to persons involved in acts of terrorism, deny all forms of financial support for terrorist groups, suppress the provision of safe haven, sustenance or support for terrorists and share information with other governments on any groups practicing or planning terrorist acts.

Way Out

• The meeting will act as an essential aspect of combating terrorism is to deal with terror financing effectively.
• Objective and evidence-based proposals for listing of terrorist groups, especially those that curb their access to financial resources, must be considered as a major step.
• The international community should ignore political differences and focus towards defeating the challenge of terrorism.
• Technical solutions must be mandated to augment and complement the traditional methods of border guarding. 
• These solutions not only enhance the surveillance and detection capabilities of the border guarding forces but also improve the impact of the border guarding personnel against infiltration and trans-border crimes.
• India should take necessary steps to move in the direction of specialisation of military to fight cross-border terrorism.
• Military needs to look at alternative means to strike at the terror camps across the LoC and LAC through mechanisms like Precision Engagement Capability.
• A properly trained manpower and affordable and tested technology working together is likely to yield better results.
• War against terrorism is a low intensity conflict that cannot be waged without the full and unstinted support of the society and can be lost easily if the morale and resolve of the society to fight against terrorism falters.

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