The following are the outputs of the captioning taken during an IGF intervention. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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>> Ladies and Gentlemen, yes, we are starting. Can I invite our honorable participants and esteemed experts to the panel. Thank you. Dr. Brownlee, we are waiting for you.
Excellencies, honorable participants, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Programme Office on Parliamentary Engagement in Preventing and Countering Terrorism, we would like to welcome you at the side event which is dedicated to the parliamentary approaches to the use of information and communications technologies in counterterrorism in accordance with the United States Security Council Resolution 1373.
And it is my great pleasure to invite here at this stage with the opening remarks, His Excellency, Dr. Ahmed Almohanadi. Dr. Ahmed, thank you.
(No English translation)
>> AHMED ALMOHANADI: I would like to welcome you all to this session, which is really a special session in relation to terrorism and the impact of technology in terrorism, as we see in today using the ICT and also artificial intelligence. It's not only in one field, but it is in so many fields, as we see today. And we cannot really count the fields that's gonna be impacted by the growth and the development of AI on different aspects of life. And this session really is going to be focusing on terrorism and how ICT can help and really help avoiding these things to happen to humanities.
As we see today, we are in a small village, in a global network, and from that global network, we have to realize that we as a human, if we don't take care of our planet, take care of ourself, we will end up somewhere that no more we will be existing, because of our utilization wrong ways for technology and artificial intelligence. Thank you very much.
>> Your Excellency, thank you so much for your insightful speech and for your support and, of course, for the support of the Shura Council for the State of Qatar for all the work our programme office is doing.
Now it gives me a pleasure to invite here at this stage the Chief of the UNOCT Programme Office on Parliamentary Engagement, Mr. David Alamos. Please.
>> DAVID ALAMOS: Thank you very much, Murad.
Good morning, excellencies, honorable participants, esteemed colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honour to welcome you all to this important event, organized on the margins of the Internet Governance Forum here in the beautiful city of Riyadh.
I would like to thank the team of Saudi Arabia and IGF for hosting and organizing this critical global platform, as well as to each of you for your commitment to addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time: Terrorism and its evolving complexities in the digital age.
At the outset, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Shura Council of the State of Qatar for its unwavering and continued support to the Office on Parliamentary Engagement in Preventing and Countering Terrorism.
I wish to extend my appreciation to all participants joining us today, including representative from parliamentary assemblies, members of national parliaments, government of member states, international organization, media, academia and civil society, both in person and also online.
I would also like to convey our gratitude to our expert panel comprised of distinguished representative of parliaments of security and -- with whom we have co-organized this event, the Parliamentarian Assembly of the Mediterranean, the Committee Executive Directorate, and the UNOCT Global Programme on Cybersecurity and New Technologies and other international experts on counterterrorism, ICT and artificial intelligence.
Excellencies, terrorism remains a persistent global threat transcending borders, nationalities and beliefs. The international community through proposed frameworks such as the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 has provided a roadmap for coordinated action. National parliaments are serving as the bridge between international obligations and their implementation through effective legislation, oversight and policies.
As we navigate through rapid technological advancements, the dual role of information and communication technologies, parliamentary artificial intelligence cannot be overstated. It offers opportunities to enhance analysis in threat protection and bolster protective capabilities in counterterrorism. Yet, they also present profound challenges as terrorist groups exploit digital tools for equipment, fundraising and the dissemination of propaganda and disinformation.
The recent UN Summit of the Future underscores the importance of addressing these opportunities and challenges. The Pact for the Future adopted by the General Assembly in September 2024 highlights the necessity of a multistakeholder approach. It calls for enhanced engagement with national parliaments while respecting the legislative mandates and promoting collaboration across all sectors of the society.
In this context, national parliaments are not just participants, but leaders. By proactively regulating ICT to support counterterrorism strategies, they can ensure such measures align with UN Security Council Resolution 1373 to advance Sustainable Development Goals and inclusivity, human rights and gender sensitivity.
Our today's event is a great opportunity to foster dialogue and raise awareness about these critical issues. To conclude, let me reaffirm the UNOCT unwavering commitment to supporting national parliaments and the efforts to combat terrorism and violate terrorism in all its forms.
Thank you very much, and I wish you all and us all a productive and insightful session. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you very much.
Finally, I would like to invite here to connect with us online, Honorable Mr. Kamil Aydin of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in European Parliament Environment Assembly to make his welcoming remarks today with us. Honorable Kamil, the floor is yours. Thank you.
>> KAMIL AYDIN: Thank you, Murad. Can you hear me?
>> MURAD TANGIEV: Yes, we can hear and see you very well.
>> KAMIL AYDIN: Thank you. Dear Excellencies, esteemed participants. Above all, I would like to express that I wholeheartedly wanted to be there with you, but I couldn't make it, as we have been intensively discussing the annual budget for the last 10 years in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and I would like to say welcome to everybody participating this very precious organization.
Dear Excellencies, distinguished colleagues and guests, on behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and its ad hoc committee on counterterrorism, it's my great pleasure to welcome you all to this launch and world session on parliament approaches to the use of information and communication technologies in counterterrorism in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1373, on the margins of this year's Internet Governance Forum in Riyadh.
UNOCT is the world's largest regional security organization in order to promote peace and stability across its 57 participating states to dialogue in today's increasingly challenging geopolitical landscape, one of the priorities of the OSCE and its parliament assembly has been developing responses to terrorism and violent extremism that are both effective and then rooted in human rights.
Today's event co-organized with our partners at the UNOCT rejects the shared dedication to global efforts against terrorism, while emphasizing the critical role of AI and new technologies in shaping modern security strategies. We must stand together against those seeking to undermine our democrative volunteers and threaten our societies through malicious acts.
Information and communication technologies have transformed governance and society but are increasingly exploited by terrorist groups for recruitment, propaganda and coordination. Recent data underscores the urgency of this challenge.
The Global Internet Forum to Counterterrorism reported 32% increase in AI-enabled extremist content between 2020 and 2023, highlighting the growing use of technology in radicalization and propaganda.
90% of all terrorist propaganda is currently disseminated online and AI generated content can significantly enhance the quality and quantity of this.
Terrorist organizations such as Daesh, Al-Qaeda, PKK and violent extremist groups are increasingly leveraging AI in their operations, exploiting AI's capabilities to produce sophisticated propaganda or to make recruitment processes and (?) social media algorithms to amplify their narratives.
These and other threats associated with the potential misuse of AI and new technologies for terrorist purposes as well as parliamentary approaches to using AI in counterterrorism will be the focus of today's discussion.
This complex multifaceted nexus between AI and counterterrorism has been high on the agenda of the OSCE parliamentary assembly for some time. Now, not least, since the adoption of our resolution on AI and the fight against terrorism on the margins of our last annual session in Romania, this resolution recognizes the significant threat to international security posed by the potential misuse of AI by terrorists and violent extremists.
And at the same time acknowledges the opportunities that lies in the ethical application of AI in counterterrorism. The document represents the combination of our efforts to be at the forefront in tackling it and other emerging security threats that needs to be addressed, cooperated with.
Accordingly, two weeks ago, in cooperation with the UNOCT we organized a highly relevant parliamentary policy dialogue on countering the misuse of AI in terrorist purposes in Rome, Italy, engaging 13 parliamentary assemblies from around the world and many renowned experts on this emerging issue.
After all, parliamentarians play a critical role in preventing and countering terrorism. Violate extremism and eradication that leads to terrorism. We act as enablers, shaping national legislation and distributing the mandate of counterterrorism bodies.
We serving as controllers, ensuring that all counterterrorism measures respect fundamental freedoms. And we bridge diverging reuse at all levels, facilitating constructive exchanges and ensuring citizens' participation in state affairs.
Against this backdrop, I would like to command our United Nations partners at the office on counterterrorism. UNOCT has been at the very forefront in engaging parliamentarians in counterterrorism affairs and we are deeply grateful to them for their invaluable support and expertise.
It was an honour for our Environment Assembly preside for two constructive years all the work of the new coordination mechanism of Parliamentary Assemblies on countering terrorism and we are confident that our efforts have strengthened parliamentary engagement in the field. The potential misuse of AI for terrorist purposes is an urgent and critical issue, and I am grateful for the expertise gathered in Riyadh today.
While I regret not being able to join you in person, I am confident that my colleague and vice-chair Emanuele Loperfido will present the OSCE's comprehensive work on this matter effectively.
On that note, I wish you all a productive and engaging panel discussion. Thank you. And best wishes from the Grand National Assembly in UNRWA. Thank you.
>> Honorable Aydin, again, thank you very much for your kind words and for all your support throughout the two years we had this privilege to work with the OSCE PA.
And now allow me to give the moderation role to David to continue this dialogue. Thank you. Over thank you.
>> DAVID ALAMOS: Good afternoon already to everybody, excellencies and honorable participants. I will have the pleasure to moderate this panel of distinguished experts to address, basically, the topic of today how parliaments may approach the use of information and communication technologies in counterterrorism in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1373.
And I will just very briefly say that we will cover, basically, during the discussion three key questions, okay, which will be what are the challenges and opportunities posed by information and communication technologies in preventing and countering terrorism, what is the role of parliament in addressing these challenges, and how can the UN Security Council 1373 help members ensure that the measures are holistic, inclusive, human rights compliant, gender sensitive and effective.
So, without any further delay in the sake of time, I will give the floor and present our speakers, which I have the pleasure to introduce Dr. Ahmed Buckley, the author of the UN Parliament Handbook on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1373, joined the corps two decades ago, has been dedicated to -- Deputy Director at the Unit for Foreign Affairs. He was also member of the Analytic Support, supporting the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and his background is impressive. He has a Master of Arts in Comparative Politics in the Middle East -- in terrorism and international security, and he's now undertaking a Ph.D. So Dr. Buckley, please, the floor is yours.
>> AHMED BUCKLEY: Thank you very much, David. And I'd like to extend my deep gratitude to the Shura Council of Qatar and UNOCT for having me here, and I don't think we can say this enough but thank you also to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for graciously hosting this event in this fabulous venue.
When we talk about international cooperation on counterterrorism, I always like to begin with highlighting two points. The first is despite all of our definitional differences on what is terrorism, who is a terrorist, all our haranguing on these definitions, we are still as an internal community able to make large strides on counterterrorism cooperation and the bedrock of that cooperation was UN Security Council Resolution 1373 and its descendants.
The second point, which is parliamentary relevant because we are talking in a parliamentary track, is none of this international cooperation could have taken place and none of it is sustainable in the future without the active participation of parliamentarians. Parliamentarians are, of course, the legislators. They are the 1s responsible for transposing all of these international commitments into national laws, but they are also the dispensers of resources. They are the ones who make the correct decisions on appropriations and budgetary allocations to face the threats based on credible threat assessments from the security agencies. They are also in the best position as representatives of the electorate to make sure that before any of these laws or measures are enacted, that they are the culmination of a wide ranging consultive process that takes into account the views of the law enforcement agencies, the private sector, as well as civil society.
Finally, they are the (?) to ensure that all of these measures and laws are commensurate with the member states constitutional and international commitments on human rights, as you mentioned, David.
Now, on the threats, and for the sake of time, I won't delve deep into that. I think they were covered by the Honorable (?) and maybe Akvile will talk about the threats, and we have heard in other workshops emanating from AI, you mentioned propaganda. There is also the fear of terrorists using AI to raise funds in the forms of scams. If criminal organizations are starting to use AI to raise funds, you can be sure that terrorists will be quickly to follow on their heel.
How has the Security Council addressed the issue of the misuse of ICTs? It goes back to the measure of all resolutions, 1373, which obliges member states to (muffled audio) (audio difficulty) extends to virtual territory, online platforms, and to end encryption services, and any other virtual space which has been also used to plan, coordinate, recruit and raise funds for terrorist acts.
There is Resolution 1624 a few years later, which obliged member states to criminalize the incitement of terrorism and the galore radiation of terrorism and it explicitly in that resolution called on member states to take legal and regulatory measures to prevent the misuse of ICTs in creating propaganda for terrorist organizations.
You have Resolution 2232 on global counterterrorism cooperation as well, which laid a roadmap for member states on how to establish robust mechanisms and channels within each member state to gather and disseminate information across borders and to facilitate the drafting, the sending and receiving of mutual legal assistance requests regarding ICTs in terrorism, and you have Resolution 2341, which talked about the critical infrastructure, and while the Security Council did not explicitly in that resolution define what critical infrastructure was for each member state, it still was very cognizant that member states, some of them, will consider the Internet as a critical infrastructure and the Council called on UN entities to help member states, whether through capacity building or technical assistance, to take the appropriate measures to protect the Internet from being misused by terrorists.
I give these examples, again, to make two points, that the Security Council was from the very beginning aware of the misuse of ICTs and gave it its due attention, but also that most of these resolutions have been drafted in a technology neutral language. And, in fact, member states are also encouraged when they develop their legislation, to do so in this technology neutral language which focuses on criminalizing the crime, not necessarily on the tool by which that crime was committed.
In fact, I think it is safe to say that when we are talking about the threats from artificial intelligence, most countries do not require a substantial overhaul of their legal frameworks, but what they need to do is concertedly address raising the capacity of law enforcement agencies to detect and prevent and prosecute these crimes when they are being committed by artificial intelligence tools.
You mentioned the handbook, and thank you very much for bringing it up. It was a privilege working on it. And the handbook, I think, is a very useful tool. #selfpromotion here. I shouldn't be praising my own product. But I think it is a useful tool, because on one hand, it provides a very good overview for parliamentarians on all of these -- on this overall Security Council resolutions regarding counterterrorism. And it also gives them a sort of checklist, what they need to check to gauge their level of implementation.
Of course, it's not the definitive guide to -- for gap analysis for member states. That is still the preserve of CTED's technical guide on implementing Resolution 1373, but the handbook is a useful reference for some of these checklists, and also for additional resources when member states are making proper legislation.
It also covers some parallel legislative concerns that complement counterterrorism legislation. So, many member states are now undergoing legislation on personal data protection, on cybersecurity, and you will find in the handbook some concerns, some aspects to take into consideration when you are legislating and taking measures against those types of threats.
Now, I don't think that the handbook is complete. I think it should be a living document. You know, it should take into consideration some of the good practices that parliaments have done already in this regard, and that's just a heavy hint, David, to say that we still need to work together on improving the handbook as much as we can. And with that, I will hand it back to you. Thank you very much.
>> DAVID ALAMOS: Thank you very much for your insightful and comprehensive presentation. And I have to say it was also really a big honour for us to work with you in the elaboration of the handbook. This is -- the handbook is with Excellency Dr. Ahmed Almohanadi. So, it is also available online in case that anyone wants to check on our web page and get it from there.
So, it is now my pleasure to introduce the second -- the next speaker, the vice-chair of the ad hoc committee on counterterrorism of the parliamentary of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Honorable Mr. Emanuele Loperfido.
Honorable Loperfido is the member of the delegation to the OSCE, and a principle sponsor of the resolution on artificial intelligence and the fight against terrorism. He currently serves as secretary of the Foreign affairs committee in the Italian Committee of Deputies and also an active member of the Defense Committee. And today Honorable Loperfido will speak about the OSCE PA's very important resolution. For all of us, please, you have the floor.
>> EMANUELE LOPERFIDO: Good morning. Thank you, David, thank you for the kind introduction. Thank you for all of you that are here to listen to us. Thank you to the OSCE PA staff members that work all this year together with us to support the parliamentarian to try to give response to this kind of new challenge that we are facing as parliamentarian. And it is very important, the work that the United Nations organization Office of Counter-Terrorism and the OSCE PA is doing together because the most important thing is to make a real partnership to face the challenges. So, I am delighted to be here and contributing to distinguished panel, my capacity as a vice-chair of the OSCE parliamentarian assembly ad hoc committee on counterterrorism and speaking directly about the artificial intelligence, we know that it has brought significant advantages across various sectors and whole promising potential for the use of authorities in the fight against terrorism.
But at the same time, the same technology, when exploited by malicious actors poses significant risk to international security. As AI capabilities evolve, so does the potential for them to be used in ways that threaten peace and stability. For example while the available AI driven tools could enable individuals or groups to access technologies such as drones that could be misused for surveillance targeted attacks or other malicious purposes.
Another area of concern is potential for extremists to harness AI algorithms to identify and target vulnerable individuals, tailoring messaging to exploit fears and biases. This prospect underscore the importance of vigilance, as AI could aid in amplifying extremist narratives and online radicalization. Particularly the dimension is the rise of deepfake technologies. We must consider how the ability to create convincing but fabricated audio and video content could be leveraged by terrorist group to spread disinformation, incite violence or erode public trust which have far reaching impacts on social cohesion and national security if left unaddressed.
This is why over the past year, the OSCE PA and the ad hoc committee have made significant strides in response to this ever evolving challenges as the world (?) Inter-Parliamentarian Forum dedicated to peace and security, our assembly work hard to promote more knowledge around this topic in order to inform national and international policymaking.
In February, we had high-level panel discuss in Vienna bringing together experts from the tech industry and the public sector. These pressing issues were further examined with row announced academics during the official visit to Turkiye in early May and it were organized by our dear President that I would like to thank for the continued effort to support the assembly in being -- in becoming more and more expert in the counterterrorism.
And at the end, we had last, not least, obviously, conference in Portugal. And during the annual session in Bucharest, our committee, together with OSCE PA adopt the Bucharest Resolution on artificial intelligence and the fight against terrorism which codified some key findings and which represent one of the very first policy attempt to address the dual security impact of the rapid advancement of the artificial intelligence.
So, the resolution clearly focused on mitigating the risks of the AI misuse, and the focus on strengthen national legal frameworks that govern AI development at deployment, ensuring robust and ethical standards and human oversight, while AI can be a powerful tool in detecting threats and preventing radicalization, its use must always be balanced respect for privacy and freedom of expression. This dual approach not only strengthens public trust, but it also ensures that AI innovation remains aligned with our shared values of democracy and security.
Italy, for instance, has recently underlined the importance of ethics in AI governance by appointing an AI expert member of the United Nations, United Nations committee to lead national AI coordination. This choice reflected a broader commitment to ensure that AI technology are developed and applied with respect for human dignity and rights.
The resolution that we adopted went beyond that, indeed, it emphasized how these tools can also be used by security agency to quickly identify potential threats, preventing attack and supporting early eradication pattern.
Additionally, our document stress the importance of a public and private partnership and the importance of strengthen international cooperation.
Lastly, the resolution highlighted the critical role of the education and to the importance of having a digital literacy in order to create and improve the public awareness campaign in order to help societies to recognize and resist disinformation and manipulation.
So, ultimately through this resolution we aim to foster an environment where AI is secure, ethical, and aligned with the multiple democratic principle, while remaining economically viable, hopefully other international partly and other international parliamentarian will follow our example, as we did in Rome, the last event where, together with the UNOCT and the interparliamentarian policy, we address our effort to reinforce the cooperation, the mechanisms of the cooperation together with the member of the parliament, together with the parliamentarians in order to create legislation that is international, respecting the rights that I just said, but in order to secure to the people that are living in our world to have a secure world.
So, our fourth, we will continue together with our other members of the OSCE, together with UNOCT and together with all the parliamentarians who will support our effort against this challenge. Thank you.
>> DAVID ALAMOS: Thank you very much, the honorable for highly informative presentation.
I would like to also express my gratitude to you to honorable Kamil Aydin online and for OSCE for the continued support and collaboration with our parliamentarian engagement office and especially for this last excellent two years of presidency of the coordination mechanism of parliamentarian assemblies.
Now I would like to give the floor to our next speaker, a representative of the parliamentarian assembly of the Mediterranean, member of the people's national assembly of Algeria, honorable Mr. Abdul Jacobi. He's selected in Paris indeed at the Algerian National Assemblies for Cooperation Committee, a member of the Parliamentarian Assembly since 2021, an expert on AI and ICT, he has a large experience in private sector international companies, and at present he holds the function of (?) rapporteur on Artificial Intelligence. Please, Mr. Honorable Jacobi, you have the floor.
>> ABDUL JACOBI: thank you very much, Dear David. Good afternoon, everybody. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the Parliamentarian Assembly of Mediterranean, PAM, he wish to thank the UNOCT, OSCE PA, and the Shura Council of Qatar for organizing this side event.
I am especially pleased to gather here today following the election of PAM to the presidency of the coordination mechanism of Parliamentarian Assembly on counterterrorism, which took place two weeks ago. In this regard, I wish to strongly reiterate that PAM will work with all internal parliamentarian assemblies to fulfill its mandate and advance towards a future free of terrorism for the generations to come.
The highly development and expansion of AI and emerging technologies made imperative for parliaments to develop more effective frameworks and strategies to counter their abuse and misuse.
As it was predictable, the accessibility, low cost and efficiency provided by AI and emerging technologies have allowed malicious actors including, but not limited to, terrorists and criminal organizations to exploit bad for their purpose.
In response to these threats and in compliance with provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution 1373, a concrete and united international approach is critical to address the challenge, but all the opportunities to AI and emerging technologies in preventing and countering terrorism.
This coordinated approach must take into consideration the centrally of national and regional parliaments to advance relevant and dedicated legislations. Moreover, it is always worth highlighting that any framework adopted by states to combat the misuse of AI and emerging technologies must be compliant with international human rights law, the respect of fundamental freedom of individuals which are equally applicable online as offline.
Fully aware of this complex landscape, PAM, with the support of its centre of global studies, CGS and in partnership with the UN Security Council counterterrorism Executive Directorate, CITEL, recently published a report on the malicious use of AI and emerging technologies by terrorists and criminal groups, impact on security legislation and governance.
Among other elements, the report also stress the AI and emerging technologies play a role in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. This also includes the automatic analysis of vast amounts of data patterns in turn associated with the malicious use of technological tools which enable authorities to rapidly identify the most effective approaches and strategies.
As a result of its report, PAM established a permanent global parliamentary observatory on AI and ICT with (?) by PAM, CGS and begin publication of daily and weekly digest to disseminate news and analysis about trends related to technological advancement in number of fields, including security and defense.
I invite you to reach out to PAM Secretariat in order to strengthen our collaboration, multiplying the effectiveness of our work. Thank you for your attention.
>> DAVID ALAMOS: Thank you very much, Dear Honorable Jacobi, for your precise intervention.
And I would also like to express my gratitude to you, also to Honorable Excellency Pedro Roca, Vice President of the Parliamentarian Assembly of the Mediterranean, who is accompanying also here for your constant support and also for being now. We are grateful for that, the newly elected president and chair of the coordination mechanism of parliamentarian assemblies.
Let my now turn to my dear colleague of the UN and friend, Ms. Jennifer Bramlette, and just to let you know also that Ms. Bramlette serves as the Coordinator for Information and Communication Technology of the United Nations Committee Executive Directorate. In this role she focuses on issues relating to preventing and countering the use of ICT and related new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.
Ms. Bramlette has also served as the Strategic Advisor to CTED, Executive Director CTED legal officer, and as the product manager and Senior Advisor of UNOCT money laundering, (?) of crime and the financing of terrorism. She has a really large experience also, before even the UN, in the U.S. Department of Defense.
Please, Ms. Bramlette, you have the floor.
>> JENNIFER BRAMLETTE: Thank you, David. And good morning or good afternoon to everybody. I just want to start off by saying how delighted I was and CTED was when UNOCT said they were going to put this parliamentarian handbook together on Resolution 1373.
The main reason is that this is -- Resolution 1373 is a groundbreaking, forward-thinking, essential document for all of the work that the UN Security Council and other partner agencies around are doing on counterterrorism. It set the groundwork for everything that has come since.
There have been a number of Security Council resolutions on counterterrorism, 16 of which deal with the issue of information and communication technologies. Resolution 1373 set the groundwork by initiating a requirement for states to share operational communications information.
Now, it seems like a pretty small mandate, but that set operational interactivity between law enforcement agencies, border control agencies, between aspects of government that had never traditionally worked together. Usually operational information was held in the security side of the house. And all of a sudden now you had ministries of Foreign affairs, Ministry of Interior, ministries of education starting to work together. And so Resolution 1373 was essential as a starting point for all of the work that we are doing today and what we are talking about today.
Now, my office is a special political mission that supports the United Nations Security Council's Counterterrorism Committee. For them, we conduct assessments of member states' capacity to counterterrorism in accordance with Security Council resolutions, and parliamentary Resolution 1373.
We also have a mandate to identify gaps in implementation and to facilitate technical assistance so that member states can better implement these resolutions.
We also have mandate to look at emerging threats, evolving trends, and to keep an eye on what's happening in the world so that, again, we can better assist member states to implement Security Council resolutions.
I was so delighted with this handbook because Resolution 1373 is our bread and butter. This is where we first started. And when we first started working with this resolution, we broke things down into looking at legal frameworks, because this is where the resolution sets the groundwork for looking at legal frameworks and how states actually can criminalize terrorist acts with the end state, the goal of bringing terrorists to justice.
And Resolution 1373 lays out all of these various components, these activities that states need to do in order to be able to bring terrorists to justice. The resolution doesn't tell states how to do it. It just says that you must prevent terrorism financing, you must prevent terrorism arming, you must prevent the safe havening of terrorist groups. It doesn't say how.
This is where the regular dialogue with member states, where the activities of capacity-building and technical assistance come into state, is to help member states accomplish these goals.
My office is looking not only now at legal frameworks, but also at institutions and how institutions are mandated and how they coordinate and cooperate and share information, including operational information, again, going back to Resolution 1373, and we are also looking at how the practical measures they are taking are effective or not, looking at good practice and again looking at short falls.
When it comes to ICT, I think Buckley made an excellent point in how we think about terrorist use of social media platforms, online spaces, new technologies like AI, like virtual and augmented reality, even looking forward into quantum computing and we have to think about it differently. Because when we think about terrorism, we often think about bombs and buildings. We think about people being injured, we think about real life harms. And yet there's this whole other world, whether you call it the cyber sphere, the digital world, online spaces, where terrorism happens.
And we were asked, actually, why are terrorism bodies here at the IGF? Well, we made a point earlier in an intervention on misinformation that the way misinformation is being written and propagated online is very similar to how terrorists are using online spaces to move their messaging, their propaganda to coordinate and operate how misinformation and harmful content is housed online, is very similar to how terrorist material was housed online.
So, we have to have this open mindset that the cyber sphere, these online spaces are operational spaces for terrorist organizations, and that everything that's being discussed here at the IGF is relevant to countering terrorism. Everything being talked about with regard to misinformation, and the way societies need to be able to be inoculated against misinformation and disinformation and also terrorist propaganda are all similar.
In our work, our assessment work, some of the challenges we have seen are many. And I won't go into all of them. But I would say that where we have seen great success is in states investing in digital and AI literacy training to build resilience in their populations, and this is from children all the way through to elders, to teach them how the Internet works, how social media works, and how they can interpret the information they see so they can determine for themselves if it's true or not and if it's something they should believe. So, this investment into AI and digital literacy training is very important.
Also efforts to work with the tech industry on safety by design, and on issues around good programming and the tech aspects to ensure that material going into the Internet and the spaces on the Internet are safe and monitored and workable for all cultures and all societies.
I would reiterate the points made on human rights, that human rights cannot be sacrificed in any way. I know many states claim that it's difficult to balance security and human rights. But I would say that human rights are as applicable online as they are offline, and they cannot be compromised. And so there must be a way to have justice in all aspects of life for users and for states and that's a conversation that must continue with the outcome of privacy, data protection, freedom of expression, and all of the other fundamental freedoms that we have come to enjoy and need to maintain. Thank you very much. I will stop there.
>> DAVID ALAMOS: Thank you very much; Jennifer, for your insights, observations and recommendations. Also was very relevant, highly relevant and valuable and really appreciate the collaboration with CTED. That's really important for us of this common approach to member states.
And I would like now to give the floor to our final speaker, who is our dear colleague from UNOCT, Ms. Akvile Giniotiene.
You have full time, because we have been given extra time. It's like a football match. So we have some extra minutes. So, please, you can please have your five to seven minutes completely.
But let me first say that Mrs. Giniotiene is the head of the Cyber and New Technologies Unit at the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. Prior to joining the United Nations, she excelled for 25 years in different capacities for the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, including as the Deputy Director of the State Security Department, Deputy Chair National Security Authority, and in private sector where she has been an active participant of international cybersecurity dialogue and capacity building initiative and assisted governments in the development of national cybersecurity strategies and critical information infrastructure protection frameworks.
Dear Akvile, thank you very much. You have the floor, please.
>> AKVILE GINIOTIENE: Thank you, David. Good afternoon, all. It's a pleasure to be here and be engaged in the discussion of parliamentarian approaches to the terrorist use of ICT.
I come from a little -- not a legal background, but from a more operational background and the programme is a capacity-building tool to support member states to develop necessary capacities to respond both to the challenges and opportunities that new technologies provide in countering terrorists.
In our work, we are helping member states to understand the threat stemming from terrorist use of new technologies, what are the opportunities and also build necessary capacities like protect critical infrastructures against terrorist cybersecurity attacks, develop necessary law enforcement capacities to use new technologies for investigation of terrorist offenses, also develop policy frameworks that are necessary to ensure the strategic and whole of the government approach to new technologies in countering terrorists.
And of course from my capacity-building work, I can say that capacities cannot -- such capacities cannot be built in a vacuum. So, there should be legal mandates in place for law enforcement to do things online, to use information collecting using new technologies for investigation and prosecution. There should be policies in place as well.
And I had the pleasure also to participate two weeks ago in a Parliamentary Assembly dialogue in Rome, and I was really, really impressed of the amount of thought given by parliamentarians on how to go about it and at least my takeaway from all the discussions there were that to regulate, legislate and deliver proper oversight of new technologies in countering terrorist domain. First you need to know what is the threat, how malicious actors can abuse technologies for counterterrorism and what are the opportunities there for law enforcement and wider communities to use new technologies in this regard.
And I am happy that a programme in a little bit of a way supports member states in this regard. So, three years ago we published the report on the use of artificial intelligence by terrorist organizations, outlining different areas how terrorists can use artificial intelligence in future. So be it cyber enabled attacks, being it physical attacks using self-driving cars or drones equipped with facial recognition technology to identify parliamentary targets in the crowds, to enhancing the operational capability to counter documents and spread misinformation and disinformation. It was a little bit futuristic at that time because generative AI was not there. But two years passed and generative AI hit the floor and we see some of the scenarios already becoming a reality of today, that parliamentarians are trying to address today.
Also, one of the most recent reports that is also available online is regarding terrorist use of cybercrime as a service on dark web, how cybercrime as a service is available at a cheap price and cause massive effects on critical infrastructure or help them to raise money.
In terms of capacity-building, we are engaging with member states to help them develop understanding of the threats and risks at national level in a structured manner, inviting all relevant parties to prioritize the risks, which can become a national risk, be it use of deepfakes, be it artificial intelligence, and how to address them through policy responses, how to prevent those scenarios from happening, how to deny them from happening, how to protect and recover once they happen, and how to prosecute through policy approaches.
In our capacity-building work, I would say it's always very good to have parliamentarians in these discussions. It's not always happening. But in those cases that we had the representatives from the, let's say, committees on national security and defense or committees on new technologies, it was a very good discussion, bringing all relevant parties together.
So, when it comes to opportunities of new technologies, the programme mostly focusing on building law enforcement capacities. So, we helped law enforcement to embrace open-source intelligence, how to conduct investigations online, how to conduct dark web investigations, how to use facial recognition, how to use digital forensic techniques, how to run cryptocurrency investigations, how to seize cryptocurrencies, which is also a very difficult thing to do, and how drones can support counterterrorist efforts.
In all these regards, to wrap it up, it's very important that there are legal aspects are addressed. First of all, the use of new technology shall be based on clear provisions of law by counterterrorist agencies to ensure the principles of rule of law and adherence to rules of international law, because if law enforcement agencies do not have a mandate to use those new technologies, it will not lead to prosecution and adjudication of terrorist offenses which is the end goal of any counterterrorist agencies to reduce the number of threat actors that we need to deal.
Second, and it was also, I am repeating other experts on the panel that any measures impacting or restricting human rights must be established by law, necessary and proportionate.
Also, I think it's very important that the law establishes legal powers for review and redress which are independent from law enforcement agencies, so if there are concerns that law enforcement agencies are not using the powers and new technologies properly so they are mechanic negativities to raise that and as a result of a necessary mechanism.
Increased use of advanced data collection which is a very efficient way for law enforcement to address counterterrorists and use of CCTV and big data, but they also should be governed to prevent excessive information collection. And prohibition of active terrorists because that's how law enforcement have powers to investigate. It's very important that these new and evolving crimes are addressed in criminal laws and they give a mandate to law enforcement to do those.
And legal arrangements to support cross-border cooperation is also very, very important because terrorists has no borders, technologies have no borders. Data is everywhere. So, parliamentarians have a very important role to play and they increasingly making efforts in this regard, which is appreciated by law enforcement and counterterrorist community.
So, thank you again for inviting me to be on this panel and thank you very much.
>> DAVID ALAMOS: Thank you very much, Ms. Akvile for your presentation. And let me highlight the important work that you and your unit is doing in serving and supporting member states on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and ICT and the prevention on countering of terrorism.
We have just two more minutes, okay, because we will need to close because there is a new session at 1:15. But if there is any comment or question that would like to be raised, please just in 30 seconds, I will be very grateful.
>> PARTICIPANT: Thank you from Shura Council Qatar. I thank everybody here. Unfortunately, the law enforcement used the word of terrorism in many aspects long time ago. So if you want to put someone in trouble, just tell them use the word, and that's enough to put them in too much troubles. And if you also support them with legal action, we are afraid to go deeper. So, that's one point.
And hopefully we can understand and definition of the terrorist or terrorism or whatever. You know, the word is just wide used for everybody and everybody just misuse it and, you know, but the terrorism, as Dr. Ahmed said in the beginning, it means a lot and it means not only, but it means other -- many other things and we seen it in hackers or whatever. It's all, it's terrorism. So, thank you.
>> DAVID ALAMOS: Thank you very much, Excellency.
So, if there is any other follow-up question, I go to -- yeah, I know. I would suggest after the event, you reach out to our distinguished panelists.
I would like to conclude by just saying that we still have a lot of challenges. We need to keep on working on strengthening the legal frameworks, especially we need to -- we have UN Security Council Resolution 1373 as a guiding document also for that, it has to be taken into consideration as a mandatory resolution from the Security Council.
Let me just highlight the important role of parliamentarians, not only in developing legislation, but also, yes, it has been said in allocating budgets, in conducting the oversight functions, and in especially also for all of us has been reiterated in many occasions, but I would like to include with that, importance of having, right, at the forefront of all our dialogues and decisions in these key matters.
Let me conclude by thanking all of the distinguished panelists and experts that have been accompanying us during today's session. And to all of you also for having been with us and participating in this session. Thank you very much.