By ANI | Updated: 16 November 2022
India will raise major issues like lack of universal consensus on laws regarding cybercrimes; weak control mechanisms of social media platforms and their misuse by terrorist and extremist groups, the dark web and crypto-currency in the upcoming international ‘No Money For Terror’ Ministerial Conference this week, top government sources said.
Crowdfunding; anonymous, decentralised, and untraceable nature of terror financing; effective multilateral and multi-stakeholder approach in identification and mitigation of threats of emerging terror-financing mechanisms; misuse of non-profit and nongovernment organisations as front structures for financing terror activities are among other serious agendas to be raised in the two-day international conference scheduled on November 18-19.
A Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official, requesting anonymity, told ANI how the conference being attended by 75 countries is significant amid changing scenario when “terrorists and extremists have improvised on technologies like cryptocurrency and crowdfunding by customising them to suit their requirements”.
“The dark web brings together professional hackers and those terrorists seeking to crowdsource or transfer funds. The anonymous, decentralised, and often untraceable nature of terror financing through various means poses a serious challenge. The world still lacks a universal consensus on laws and norms regarding cybercrimes,” said the official, pointing these matters would be put before the international delegation taking part in the conference.
“An effective multilateral and multi-stakeholder approach can help in the identification and mitigation of threats of emerging terror-financing mechanisms. An effective legislative framework can help ensure the internet service providers and social media platforms work towards their monitoring, control, and correction,” said the official while explaining the points to be raised at the conference.
Recent years have witnessed a combination of cryptocurrencies, the dark web, crowdfunding, and the absence of regulatory environments supporting funding for Terrorists and Extremist groups (TEGs). They have also misused non-profit and nongovernment organisations as front structures for financing their activities.
In the conference, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi around 11 am, India will seek cooperation from all countries to address challenges in combating terrorism financing.
This is the 3rd Ministerial ‘No Money for Terror’ Conference, and India is hosting it for the first time.
This Conference aims to progress the discussions on combating terrorist financing held by the international community in the previous two Conferences in Paris (2018) and Melbourne (2019). It also intends to include discussions on technical, legal, regulatory and cooperation aspects of all facets of terrorism financing. It attempts to also set the pace for other high-level official and political deliberations, focused on countering terrorist financing.
