CT TECH regional awareness raising workshop for Central Asia and Mongolia

The Global Counter-Terrorism Programme on Cybersecurity and New Technologies, implemented by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), in collaboration with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) , held a CT TECH regional awareness raising workshop for Central Asia and Mongolia on 27 September in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The workshop focused on developing national counter-terrorism policy and operational responses to counter the use of new technologies for terrorist purposes while protecting human rights. Hosted by the Government of Uzbekistan, the workshop brought together 28 officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

In his opening remarks, the Head of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Col. Xatamov Rustam Abduganiyevich, welcomed the organization of the workshop as part of the roadmap developed following the high-level international conference on “Regional cooperation among Central Asian countries within the framework of the Joint Action Plan for the Implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy” in Tashkent in 2022. He also expressed appreciation for the start of capacity-building support provided under UNOCT/UNCCT Global Programme on Cybersecurity and New Technologies.

Ambassador of the European Union to Uzbekistan, H.E. Charlotte Adriaen emphasized that “the threat from terrorist exploitation of the increasingly available and advanced technologies is growing in scope and complexity. She also stressed that “Designing effective counterterrorism policies and measures while preserving core democratic values is a challenge. Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies is at the core of our actions, using a human rights-based approach, by ensuring that human rights and gender considerations are fully integrated and respected.”

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Ms. Consuelo Vidal-Bruce highlighted that the “Cybersecurity and New Technologies” initiative implemented by UNOCT in collaboration with INTERPOL and with the financial support of the European Union is indeed, timely and critical, to facilitate the effective implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in the region. Chief of the Countering Terrorism Section in UNOCT/UNCCT, Mr. Ulrik Ahnfeldt-Mollerup stressed that “despite our efforts, terrorist actors, unconstrained as they are by morals or laws, continue to use technology to sow fear and disrupt our communities. We must have responses that counter this threat effectively but that are also grounded in human rights and the rule of law.”

During the workshop, CT TECH Partner States shared their approaches to countering the use of new technologies for terrorist purposes. The UNOCT/UNCCT Global Counter-Terrorism Programme on Cybersecurity and New Technologies, together with INTERPOL presented the seven knowledge products launched under CT TECH initiative during the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week held in June 2023. The presentations also included human rights-based and gender-responsive approaches to the use of technology in counter-terrorism including in the context of countering terrorist exploitation of new technologies.

The workshop in Tashkent is the second of five CT TECH regional awareness raising workshops organized by UNOCT. The next workshop will be convened in October in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for CT TECH Partner States from Europe and MENA region.

The CT TECH initiative was launched in 2022 as a joint UNOCT/UNCCT and INTERPOL undertaking, implemented under UNOCT/UNCCT Global Counter-Terrorism Programme on Cybersecurity and New Technologies and funded by the European Union. It aims to strengthen the capacities of law enforcement and criminal justice authorities to counter the exploitation of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, as well as support the leveraging of new and emerging technologies in the fight against terrorism.

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