Terrorism not
only grievously impacts human life but uproots the very foundation of humanity
-Kofi Annan
Since independence, India has been haunted by the scourge of
terrorism. Terrorism in various forms and manifestations continued to cripple the
progress, unity, and harmony of the country. Till the last decade, organized,
established, transnational terror networks have been the fountain heads of
terror attacks across the globe. Though there has been a marginal dip in
attacks from designated terror outfits, of late there is a sudden spurt in
terror attacks by radicalized individuals. Individuals with no traceable links
or affiliations to well-established terror outfits are now launching attacks.
This trend of “lone wolves” attacks has been on a rise.
The use of terrorism as a strategic weapon and foreign
policy by some nations is well established. But threats from indoctrinated individuals
are posing a fresh challenge. The Coimbatore blast last month and the Mangaluru
autorickshaw blast a few days ago aptly reflect this ostensible change. Besides a lurking threat of attacks from the organized
terrorist network which continues to claim the lives of innocent people, the world
is now baffled by the latest tribe of “DIY or freelance terrorists”. These
random, isolated attacks by groups and individuals with no affiliation to any
recognized terror group and seemingly bereft of underlying motivational factors
are making matters worse.
Over the years, countries developed effective
counterterrorism strategies to combat the threats from organized terror groups
and achieved reasonable success in curbing the terrorist forces. The Global Terrorism
Index (GTI) 2022 noted that of the 5226 terrorist attacks recorded in 2021, 52%
were attributed to a group1 indicating a drastic shift in the mode
of operation. Due to significant restrictions on the movement during Covid,
terror groups started co-opting advanced technology to spread their ideology, radicalization,
recruitment process and widening the funding sources.
Also, while there has been a significant decrease in the number
of terror attacks in the West and European countries, a substantial increase is
witnessed in South Asia. The withdrawal of US forces and the ascent of the Taliban
to power in Afghanistan coupled with Pakistan’s exit from the FATF’s grey list,
the region is likely to turn the region into a hotbed of terror. Together, by
adopting open-source, accessible, cheap advanced technologies, the non-state
extremist forces are expanding their reach like never before. Harnessing
emerging technologies, terrorist forces are achieving their strategic goals.
Recognising the need for collective efforts to combat terror,
India has appealed to countries to collectively charter global
counter-terrorism strategies. India first mooted the Comprehensive Convention
on International Terrorism (CCIT) in 1996 and steered counter-terrorism
efforts. But the negotiations are deadlocked due to differences over the
definition of terrorism. Surrounded by states that weaponise terrorism, India
has been consistently working with like-minded countries to develop a framework
to address the various aspects of terrorism.
In its two-year tenure at UNSC, India held an open debate on
counterterrorism and proposed an eight-point action. Sustaining the collective
momentum and reaffirming the need for resolute action against terrorism, India conducted
three international meetings to deliberate on this menace and evolve some
strategies/ frameworks.
India hosted the four-day-long 90th INTERPOL
General Assembly from Oct 18-21 in New Delhi followed by the UNSC’s Special
meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) in Mumbai and New Delhi on
October 28-29. The Ministry of Home Affairs held the third ministerial ‘No
Money for Terror’ on Nov 18-19 in New Delhi. At these meetings, India has
highlighted the unabated cross-border terrorism threats, and potential
challenges faced by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in tracking the
metamorphosed form of terrorist threat emanating from radicalized individuals. Terrorist
elements are now using the dark web, encrypted chat forums that evade scrutiny
of surveillance agencies to propagate their agenda. Besides leveraging social
media, and the internet, they are now using emerging technologies like AI, 3D
printing, and deep fake to disseminate terrorist activities.
While INTERPOL’s mandate doesn’t include counterterrorism,
it keeps a check on the illicit financial flow which is essential for
committing a crime. Besides, INTERPOL plays a crucial role in connecting
agencies of 195 countries through secure communication channels and guarantees
more rapid communication including sharing financial data. INTERPOL’S Financial Crime and
Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC) works closely with other stakeholders which
include FATF (Financial Action Task Force), FATF Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs),
the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), law enforcement
agencies, police agencies and the financial sector2.
Using the information gathered from the member countries
INTERPOL’s dedicated Financial Crime Analysis File (FinCAF) provides actionable
intelligence and timely threat assessments related to organized criminal
activities and financial crimes3. Prior information on cross-border
financial transactions can help in tracking organized crimes including
potential terrorist activities. INTERPOL is a repository of information
containing the details of personal data and criminal activities and its
database- SLTD (Stolen Lost Travel Documents)- has been very effective in
catching terrorists traveling with fraudulent documents to cross borders4.
As pointed out by PM Modi, “A terrorist is an individual,
but terrorism is about a network of individuals”, terrorism thrives on many
aspects- drug trafficking, narco-terrorism, kidnappings, cyber radicalization
etc. Hence monitoring of terrorist groups involves close coordination between
different agencies. With terrorism no longer limited to any specific geography,
global coordination is needed to eliminate the safe havens of terror.
At the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly India
effectively shaped its agenda and appealed to explore the linkages between
criminal syndicates and terrorism. PM Modi in his address stated, “Global
cooperation for local welfare is our call. Let communication, collaboration and
cooperation defeat crime, corruption and terrorism”5.
At the UNCTC special session on “Countering the use of
new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes”, hosted by the Ministry
of External Affairs, India voiced concerns about the internet and social media
turning into “potent instruments in the toolkit of terrorist and militant
groups” facilitating the spread of radicalisation and conspiracy theories
that are destabilizing societies.
Concluding the session, India rolled out a framework and
essential guidelines, The Delhi Declaration, to protect civilized societies
from the menace of terrorism. Exhorting the Member States the need to ensure
zero tolerance, the declaration noted with concern the use of communication
technologies, financial technologies, and crowdfunding platforms, to recruit,
indoctrinate and radicalise people.
Cognizant of the close links between drug and arms trafficking,
the declaration acknowledged the misuse of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS),
drones, and quadcopters that increased the accessibility of both drugs and weapons
at a very low cost. The non-binding declaration urged States to counter the misuse
of emerging technologies by non-state actors for terrorist activities through
innovative technologies and develop counter-terrorist narratives while
respecting international law.
Recognising the work of FATF’s work on virtual assets and virtual
assets service providers (VASP) in monitoring payment services and discharge of
anti-money laundering measures, the declaration called upon the watchdog to
improve the global implementation of counter-terrorist financial measures.
Concomitantly, the declaration even called on States to enhance the
traceability and transparency of financial transactions and encouraged
financial intelligence services to develop effective partnerships with
financial service providers, social media agencies, to track the sources and
methods of financing terrorism6.
Terrorism thrives on the oxygen of an uninterrupted flow of
finances and hence “following the money” is crucial for
counter-terrorism strategies. To help counter the financing of terrorism,
France sponsored a UNSC 2462 binding resolution to “Combat, Criminalize
Financing of terrorists and their activities” which was passed unanimously
on March 28, 2019. To strengthen international efforts, for the first time,
Paris held the ‘No Money for terror (NMFT)’ ministerial conference in 2018. The
second conference was held in 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. The third
conference scheduled to be hosted by India in 2020 was postponed due to Covid.
This year, the Ministry of Home Affairs organized the conference in
New Delhi on Nov 18-19, which was attended by 78 countries, 20 ministers and
representatives from various multilateral agencies like FATF, INTERPOL, EUROPOL
and NGOs.
According to the IMF, the money laundered globally is 2% to 5% of
Global GDP which roughly translates into $800 to $2 trillion7.
Even if a fraction of this money is diverted to terrorism, the damage will be
enormous. Following the ‘money trail’ is thus inevitable to curb terrorism.
France established FATF in 1989 to stop the illicit flow of finances to
criminal activities.
In 2019, FATF notified that private sectors should apply the AML
(Anti-Money Laundering)/CFT (Counter terrorist financing) measures for virtual
asset service providers to obtain and exchange information on senders and
beneficiaries along with all transfers which are mandatory for normal wire
transfers. NMFT backed these recommendations and sought global cooperation.
Building on the progress made in the previous two conferences, the
current edition of NMFT -focussed on – Global trends in terrorism and terrorist
financing; the use of formal and informal channels of funding for terrorism;
emerging technologies and terrorist financing and international cooperation to
address challenges on combatting terrorist financing.
The fervent push for digitization across the countries during the
covid has inadvertently prompted terrorist elements to seek alternatives for
money transfers. These include both formal and informal channels, the dark web
on the net, cryptocurrencies, and the use of crowdsourcing platforms. The dark
web brought professional hackers and terrorists together making the
traceability of terror financing very arduous. Terrorist groups are capitalizing
on the lack of universal consensus over the laws regarding cybercrimes and weak
control mechanisms on social media to carry out seamless money transfers. Along
these issues, the conference has deliberated on the misuse of non-profit,
non-governmental organizations as a front for terrorist activities.
At the NMFT conferences, India has committed to remain the focal
point for international cooperation on “Countering Terrorism and Combatting
Financing of terrorism”. Expressing disappointment over nations rendering
the UN terrorism sanctions ineffective for political reasons and turning blind
eye to state-sponsored terrorism, India proposed a five-pillar approach to
combat financing of terrorism.
These include- a comprehensive framework for cooperation,
coordination, and collaboration between all investigative and intelligence
agencies; strategy of “Trace, target and terminate”; strengthening and harmonizing
legal structures related to terror finance; robust mechanism against the misuse
of next-generation technology; strengthening the legal and regulatory framework
of asset recovery8.
Calling on members to adopt a “beyond the borders”
cooperation approach, India mooted the need for the establishment of a
permanent secretariat for NMFT to sustain the global focus on countering the
financing of terrorism. Relentless in combatting terrorism and warning against
any ambiguity in countering terrorism, PM Modi said, “the intensity of the reaction
to different attacks cannot vary based on where it happens. All terrorist
attacks deserve equal outrage and action… there is no good terrorism and bad
terrorism. It is an attack on humanity, freedom, and civilisation. It knows no
boundaries. Only a uniform, unified and zero-tolerance approach can defeat
terrorism”9.
Revelations of cryptocurrency angle in the recent Mangaluru blast
case and the use of Onion Router enabled (TOR) dark web for the transfer of
funds from a Middle East Operator resonates with India’s concerns about the
weaponization of emerging technologies by terrorist groups. Deployment of
advanced technologies warrants the need for better forensics, surveillance
mechanisms, expertise in cyber technologies, and above all global coordination
to track the finances.
To uproot terrorism, global cooperation is indispensable. To
effectively design a frame for counter-terrorism cooperation, there should be
an explicit consensus over the definition of terrorism. Home Minister Amit Shah
in his concluding remarks at NMFT underscored the same- “all countries will
have to agree on one common definition of ‘terrorism’ and ‘terror financing’.
It is an issue of the protection of our citizens, and their human and
democratic rights, it should not become a political issue”.
@ Copyrights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment