On day 2 of the UNSC counter-terrorism meeting, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said, “Terrorism remains one of the gravest threats to humanity"

On Day 2 of the United Nations Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee (UNSC-CTC) meeting, India, the host nation, reminded the members of the cost of terrorism on victims of terror such as 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

In his remarks at the opening session, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said, “Terrorism remains one of the gravest threats to humanity. 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. This has been very effective in putting those countries on notice that have turned terrorism into a state-funded enterprise.”

Delivered the keynote address at the plenary session of UNSC special meeting of counter-terrorism committee on ‘Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes’ in New Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/1rIVnAvSwe — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 29, 2022

The meeting was held in Delhi on Saturday with representatives from UNSC member-states highlighting the importance of tackling the use of emerging technologies by terrorists.

Keeping the focus on technological innovations, the minister highlighted that while the breakthroughs of the past two decades are “transformative”, there is a “flip side”, especially where terrorism is concerned.

“These very technologies have also thrown up new challenges for governments and regulatory bodies due to their potential vulnerability for misuse by non-state actors, given the very nature of some of these technologies and the nascent regulatory environment,” he said.

After the soft opening in Mumbai on Friday where 26/11 Mumbai terror attack victims spoke and the UNSC delegation paid tributes to the victims of the terror attacks at the Taj memorial, the Indian side put up another video on Saturday as well where victims of terror spoke about their experiences.

At the end of the two-day Special Meeting of the CTC, the “Delhi Declaration” will be adopted which will “exemplify the commitment of the international community in dealing with the threat of the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes,” Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar further added, “I would like to conclude by reaffirming India’s commitment to strengthening international efforts to combat terrorism, including combating the use of new and emerging technologies.“

Later in the day, the ministerial participants will be calling on President Droupadi Murmu. The high-level delegation from member states of the UN Security Council includes Michael Moussa ADAMO, Foreign Minister of Gabon (and President of the UNSC), Shirley Ayorkar Botchwey, Foreign Minister of Ghana, Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Foreign Secretary of the UK, James Cleverly, MOS for the Middle East, South Asia and United Nations of the UK, and Megi Fino, Deputy Foreign Minister of Albania. The UN CTED delegation will be led by Vladimir Voronkov, Under Secretary General, UN Office for Counter-Terrorism.