Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, has stressed the importance of bolstering the international cooperation for combating the use of the internet for terrorist purposes.
NEW YORK, (Pakistan Point News - 29th Jun, 2018) Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, has stressed the importance of bolstering the international cooperation for combating the use of the internet for terrorist purposes.
The UN official made this statement at the "International Cooperation to Combat the Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes: Opportunities and Challenges" event that was organised by the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the UN, in association with UN Office of Counter Terrorism, OCT, UN Office on Drugs and Crimes, UNODC and missions of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Belarus, Estonia, Kenya, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Mexico to the UN, and with the participation of Maqsoud Kruse, Executive Director of Hedayah Centre.
Agenda of the conference, organised on sidelines of the UN High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States, highlighted the role of international cooperation, information sharing and promoting of messages of tolerance through the social media in combating terrorism.
The meeting was told that social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, can also play an important role to stop terrorist organisations from using the worldwide web for promoting their vicious ideologies.
Organisers said that the conference was aimed at promoting understanding of the threat posed by the exploitation of the internet by terrorist groups, highlighting the importance of regional and international cooperation and information sharing and fostering the exchange of the best practices and innovative mechanisms to strengthening partnerships against terrorism. This is in addition to promoting the understanding of the role of social media platforms for combating the use of the internet for terrorist purposes, exposing terrorist propaganda and promoting tolerance worldwide.
Salem Al Za'abi, Head of the UAE National Counter-Terrorism Committee, who led the first session, said that despite the great achievements made by the international community in defeating terrorism, the terrorist groups remain adamant in using the internet for promoting their violent ideologies, recruiting and training fighters as well as financing and planning terrorist attacks.
He also pointed out that the conference stressed the role of governments and private businesses in countering hatred messages being promoted by the terrorist organisations through the social media platforms.
"Governments and telecommunication companies have a role to play in educating the public on the danger posed by terrorist organisations who use the social media platforms to recruit individuals, and promote hatred," Al Za'abi said.
The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, adopted by the General Assembly in 2006 and reviewed this month, highlights the importance of addressing the issue of using the internet by the terrorist groups, through cooperation between international bodies, UN member states and the private sector.
The strategy also deals with social media platforms as means of countering terrorism and promotion of tolerance dialogue.
